MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Germain Racing has confirmed that Matt Borland, the crew chief of the No. 13 Chevrolet driven by Ty Dillon in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR.
The team said in a statement that Borland was found to have violated NASCAR’s substance abuse policy following a random drug test. The statement indicated that the positive drug test was believed to have been caused by a coffee product Borland has been using.
“Matt Borland has informed me that he was notified by NASCAR that a random urinalysis showed a substance, DMAA (2-amino-5-methylhexanamine) that is impermissible under the NASCAR substance abuse policy,” said team owner Bob Germain Jr. “We reviewed the ingredients label on a coffee product that Matt had been drinking and it includes DMHA (2-amino-5-methylheptane), a derivative of DMAA. Based upon the ingredients label we do not believe that Matt had reason to know that the coffee contained a banned substance. 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.”
Justin Alexander will serve as interim crew chief of the No. 13 Camaro until Borland is cleared by NASCAR to return. Borland must complete NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program in order to be cleared.
“This past weekend I was informed by a NASCAR doctor that I had DMAA (2-amino-5-methylhexanamine) in my system,” Borland said. “After the surprise of this and not even knowing what that was, I asked if it could have come from a diet coffee I have been drinking for the past 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. 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.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to my team, sponsors, associates, NASCAR and my family and I look forward to resolving this situation in an efficient manner.”