The battle is over for Top Fuel racer Mike Strasburg.

A three-person NHRA Review Panel modified the NHRA’s action against Strasburg, who was fined and suspended under its drug and alcohol testing policy. Strasburg was notified of the NHRA Review Panel’s decision in a letter dated July 6, 2011.

Strasburg originally was suspended for one year on April 2 and fined $2,500 for failing to produce an adequate urine sample as required by the NHRA’s drug and alcohol testing policy at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas.

Strasburg’s suspension was reduced until the 2011 FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals July 29-31 in Sonoma, Calif. However, the initial fine was upheld, and Strasburg also was required to pay the $2,500 fine before he would be allowed to participate in future NHRA events. Strasburg paid the fine Wednesday.
 
“Once we got the letter, then we had to look at it and decide if we were going to take it to the next level of appeal,” the 51-year-old Strasburg told CompetitionPlus.com in an exclusive interview Thursday evening. “After we looked at it and we all talked about it, we decided as far as we are concerned, we won. We are able to go back and race now, and everything is good. We are now registering to race at Sonoma and we are pretty happy with the outcome. It has taken a long time and we have been pretty careful with what we said. We did not want to undermine their (NHRA’s) drug policy. It is a good thing and something you have to have. It needs a little bit of re-working. I was very, very surprised with their (NHRA’s) decision. We had been told by numerous people that they tried to do this on other things and go through the appeal process, and they had no luck.

The battle is over for Top Fuel racer Mike Strasburg.

A three-person NHRA Review Panel modified the NHRA’s action against Strasburg, who was fined and suspended under its drug and alcohol testing policy. Strasburg was notified of the NHRA Review Panel’s decision in a letter dated July 6, 2011.

Strasburg originally was suspended for one year on April 2 and fined $2,500 for failing to produce an adequate urine sample as required by the NHRA’s drug and alcohol testing policy at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas.

Strasburg’s suspension was reduced until the 2011 FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals July 29-31 in Sonoma, Calif. However, the initial fine was upheld, and Strasburg also was required to pay the $2,500 fine before he would be allowed to participate in future NHRA events. Strasburg paid the fine Wednesday.
 
“Once we got the letter, then we had to look at it and decide if we were going to take it to the next level of appeal,” the 51-year-old Strasburg told CompetitionPlus.com in an exclusive interview Thursday evening. “After we looked at it and we all talked about it, we decided as far as we are concerned, we won. We are able to go back and race now, and everything is good. We are now registering to race at Sonoma and we are pretty happy with the outcome. It has taken a long time and we have been pretty careful with what we said. We did not want to undermine their (NHRA’s) drug policy. It is a good thing and something you have to have. It needs a little bit of re-working. I was very, very surprised with their (NHRA’s) decision. We had been told by numerous people that they tried to do this on other things and go through the appeal process, and they had no luck.

At the Vegas race in April, Strasburg failed to deliver an adequate sample within the required 24-hour time period. NHRA drivers have 24 hours from the time they receive the drug testing paperwork from the testing lab to comply with the policy during the random drug testing process. Per the NHRA rulebook, Strasburg was entitled an appeal.

“I went down there today (Saturday) before my (second qualifying) run and I just couldn’t pee,” Strasburg said in an interview with CompetitionPlus.com on April 2. “I drank three bottles of water and I went down and made my run, and I went (to test) and I still couldn’t (pee). But, they (NHRA) wouldn’t let me wait there until I could (pee). They said the time ran out. It’s my fault. I should have went down sooner (to test).”

Initially, Strasburg filed a letter requesting the NHRA to reconsider its decision. In its response letter, the NHRA said it stood by the decision to suspend him for one year.

The next step in the process was an appeal to an NHRA board. Strasburg filed the appeal. Per the NHRA rules, Strasburg had to pay $1500 to file the appeal which he did.

“I think the NHRA will now have different options in place (for their drug testing),” Strasburg said. “(For example), there is a saliva test where they swab your mouth with a big Q-tip. Now, they (NHRA) are telling me you can request a blood test, but you have to do it up front. If you are dirty, you are dirty, but if you are clean and you can’t give them enough urine there should be another option that you can do. There will be another time that this same thing comes up. Who knows, it might be 10 years down the road, but there needs to be a back-up plan because it is really hurting the sport and hurts the show when they (NHRA) make someone park their car.

“We have to get our license once a year and go get a physical. It should be an option that we can have a hair follicle test done, that goes (back) 12 months. That would save NHRA time and money.”

According to Strasburg, he was told by the officials in the NHRA drug-testing lab at Las Vegas at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals that “They were not equipped to do that (give a blood test).”

Prior to Strasburg’s suspension, Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Matt Guidera was the last driver to be suspended for a year for failing to comply with the NHRA’s drug testing policy within the 24-hour time period. Guidera was suspended on Sept. 5, 2009 at the US Nationals in Indianapolis.

When Strasburg returned home from Las Vegas in April, he immediately took steps to clear his name.

“The first thing I did when I got into town was I stopped at the hospital (Intermountain Health Care in Utah) and I had them to do a hair follicle test where they shave your chest,” Strasburg said. That hair goes back about 12 months. I had that ran and, then I had those results sent to NHRA, so that proved for the last 12 months there was nothing in my system. I was not dirty.”

Strasburg did compete in his Top Fuel dragster June 24-26 at the IHRA’s Nitro Jam event at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. That was the first time Strasburg got behind the wheel of his Top Fueler since he was suspended in Las Vegas.

Strasburg has been racing in the Top Fuel dragster ranks since 2002 on a limited basis. Before that Strasburg competed several years in the alcohol ranks.