Staff Report | NASCAR.com
Matt Borland, crew chief of the No. 13 entry driven by Ty Dillon in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, has been indefinitely suspended for a violation of the sanctioning body’s Substance Abuse Policy, according to Germain Racing.
The organization made the announcement Monday, and NASCAR officials confirmed the suspension later in the morning. Borland said in a statement released by the team that he was notified last weekend of a positive test for the banned substance DMAA (2-amino-5-methylhexanamine). He and team owner Bob Germain Jr. said a derivative of the substance was an ingredient in a diet coffee that he had been using regularly for the last six months.
“I gave the doctor all of the details of the coffee and ingredients, and after he researched it, he said he thought that this was the cause,” Borland said in a statement provided by the organization. “Even after doing my due diligence, I felt comfortable in drinking the coffee. I plan to work with NASCAR to figure out what exactly has happened and resolve this issue as quickly as we can. I will cooperate with them and do whatever is requested of me to make this situation right.
“I have worked in the NASCAR garage for 20 years now and have never been a part of anything like this in my life. I take full responsibility for this incident and want to get it taken care of completely.”
Borland will need to complete the NASCAR Road to Recovery program to be reinstated. Justin Alexander, who was crew chief for Austin Dillon’s Daytona 500 win last season, will step in as interim crew chief for Ty Dillon.
Borland is in his second season with the Germain team. He has 13 victories at the Monster Energy Series level — all paired with driver Ryan Newman.
Germain said he supported his crew chief in his efforts to return to the sport.
“Based upon the ingredients label we do not believe that Matt had reason to know that the coffee contained a banned substance,” Germain said. “However, we also understand and respect NASCAR’s decisions to strictly uphold their policies for each and every owner, driver and crew member in the garage. As an organization, we stand behind Matt. He has been and remains an integral part of our race team and we look forward to his return to the garage and pit box.”
