Denny Hamlin ruffled quite a few feathers in the NASCAR community when he guessed that 70 percent of NASCAR drivers were taking Adderall on Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take podcast.
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Bubba Wallace took a shot at Hamlin following the Daytona 500 that nearly led to an altercation between the two. The two collided near the end of the race, and Hamlin was upset with Wallace. Wallace said Hamlin "might need to take some Adderall for that one," which further upset Hamlin.
Hamlin insisted he was joking about Adderall on Pardon My Take — which, to be fair, is a humorous podcast. But as one Reddit user points out, NASCAR has had an Adderall problem in the past.
Before a July race at Daytona in 2012, Team Penske driver A.J. Allmendinger tested positive for Adderall. He was released from his contract and suspended from driving in NASCAR.
He said he was given the Adderall by a friend, who told him it was an energy pill. But the suspension nearly cost him his career, and while he's back in the Cup Series with JTG Daugherty Racing, he missed out on an opportunity to compete with the superior Team Penske.
Here's NASCAR executive Steve O'Donnell breaking the news of the suspension.
So, it's understandable why drivers and teams were upset with Hamlin's comments, even if they were a joke.
NASCAR executives probably didn't view Hamlin's comments as a laughing matter, either.
