CHARLOTTE, N.C. – NASCAR announced Wednesday that Xfinity Series driver Spencer Gallagher has been suspended indefinitely for violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy.
In a press release, NASCAR stated that Gallagher was found to have violated Section 19 of the 2018 NASCAR Rule Book on May 1. Gallagher, who won his first career race last week at Talladega Superspeedway, agreed to participate in NASCAR’s Road to Recovery Program.
Gallagher released a statement apologizing for his “error in judgment.”
“I recently have had a positive result in a NASCAR drug screen which has violated NASCAR’s substance abuse policy. I want to assure everyone in the NASCAR community this one time error in judgment will never happen again. I am taking the steps to enroll in the Road to Recovery program supported by NASCAR. I would like to say that I am sorry to all of the GMS organization for my actions, especially my team and team owner, who have worked so hard this year and have put faith in me. I also want to apologize to NASCAR, Chevrolet and my fans for letting them down. I have no upheld the behavior that is expected of me. I promise you all here and know, I will do whatever it takes to make this right.”
As a result of the penalty, Gallagher will not receive a waiver to be eligible for the 2018 Xfinity Series playoffs. In 98 combined starts in NASCAR's Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series, Gallagher has five top-five finishes and 22 top 10s.
