Matt Guidera believes the penalty should fit the crime.

Guidera’s competition license was suspended for one year by the  NHRA for failing to produce an adequate urine sample in a 24 hour time frame during the NHRA U.S. Nationals and eliminated him from contention in the 2009 Countdown to 1. Guidera will finish 10th in the standings.

In Guidera’s case, the penalty for missing the deadline is worse than that of a positive drug test. He said he never refused to submit, he just couldn’t produce a sample within the prescribed 24 hours.

Guidera was at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals tuning his two-bike team, his first appearance at an NHRA event since Indianapolis. He’s presently appealing the suspension of his competitor's license.

Matt Guidera believes the penalty should fit the crime.

Guidera’s competition license was suspended for one year by the  NHRA for failing to produce an adequate urine sample in a 24 hour time frame during the NHRA U.S. Nationals and eliminated him from contention in the 2009 Countdown to 1. Guidera will finish 10th in the standings.

In Guidera’s case, the penalty for missing the deadline is worse than that of a positive drug test. He said he never refused to submit, he just couldn’t produce a sample within the prescribed 24 hours.

Guidera was at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals tuning his two-bike team, his first appearance at an NHRA event since Indianapolis. He’s presently appealing the suspension of his competitor's license.

“It’s not as exciting and I’d much rather be racing the bike,” said Guidera as he read the computer graphs for rider G.T. Tonglet Jr. “It’s nice to be back out here, even if it’s in a tuning capacity.”

Guidera has spent most of his time since the U.S. Nationals preparing an appeal which he hopes will lead to clearing his name. The four-time NHRA winning rider believes he’s been unfairly labeled as someone with something to hide while his real transgression was in not being able to produce an adequate sample. He contends he was ready and willing to generate a sample but that his time ran out.

The appeal process, Guidera said, has also been depressing.

“I’d rather be spending my time working on my race bikes and my fitness rather than working on appeal letters and talking with the NHRA about when I can return to the track,” he confirmed. “That’s been something I haven’t enjoyed doing. But, it’s something I’ve gotta do. This weekend out here has been an inspiration. I’m not a quitter and neither is my team.”

On the day of his test, Guidera points out that he never quit trying to provide an adequate sample – even to the point he consumed three bottles of water on site. He alleges that he only left the facility when he was asked to leave the premises by those administering the tests.

The NHRA is clear in its drug testing procedures that a driver must show up and provide a urine sample within a 24 hour time frame once they are randomly selected. The amount of the sample is governed by the policy administrator and not by the NHRA.

RELATED LINK - http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/12450-drag-racing-and-drug-testing-the-nhras-substance-abuse-policy

“I can’t say it enough that I was willing to and not trying to duck their system,” said Guidera. “I feel like they should have been willing to work with me. They’ve been unwilling to work with me and it seems like they are bound and determined to suspend me for a year, no matter what I say or do.”

Guidera believes the NHRA is determined to make an example of him. He believes that his previous four drug tests, which he passed, and the willingness to produce the sample should have been taken into consideration when it came down to handing out the punishment.

 “I hope they take mercy on my situation because I want to be out here and there are a lot of fans who want me to be out here,” Guidera said. “They think differently about the NHRA for the way they’ve treated me.”

Once he was suspended, Guidera didn’t ask for an immediate appeal because by his own admission, he didn’t understand how the appeal process worked.

“I asked about the appeal process and I was told [NHRA] would be sending over a letter and when I received the letter, I could appeal,” Guidera said. “I was referred to the rulebook for the appeal process. I did that and I was told I could appeal for a stay of action. My understanding is that I had to wait for them to address me before I could address them. I didn’t know who to address.”

Guidera said that once he received a letter from the NHRA, he appealed for a stay of action, along with submitting a letter of appeal, which included a $1,500 appeal fee. The NHRA board to which Guidera pleaded his case was comprised of the sanctioning body’s comptroller, an NHRA track operator and the publisher of National DRAGSTER.

“Before they would hear my appeal, I had to send in $1,500 dollars,” Guidera confirmed.

He says he’ll keep appealing the suspension for as long as possible even though it appears to be an exercise in futility.

He contends his 24-hour period to be tested began an hour before his qualifying run on Friday and ended two hours after his participation in the Ringer Pro Bike battle on Saturday.

“They say it's 24 hours but actually through the first day because of the time there was only actually seven hours available to me and my day was filled,” Guidera said. “And because I was late in producing a sample, they couldn’t let me slide.”

His appealed filed, Guidera is now waiting on a response.

“They said they’d get back to me within 30 days. After the season is over, they will tell me what they came up with. After what I’ve seen already, I don’t think they are going to turn it over.”

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