Dillon crew chief Borland suspended after failed drug test; cites diet coffee as possible cause

Veteran Monster Energy Series crew chief Matt Borland has been suspended for a failed drug which he says was caused by a diet coffee he’s been drinking.

Borland and Germain Racing both issued statements Monday morning. Borland, 47, is in his second season as crew chief for Ty Dillon and the No. 13 GEICO team.

More NASCAR

Road course ace van Gisbergen set for Truck Series race at Watkins Glen

The RACER Mailbag, April 22

Be prepared for familiar frustrations as NASCAR goes superspeedway racing again this weekend

“This past weekend I was informed by a NASCAR doctor that I had DMAA (2-amino-5-methylhexanamine) in my system,” said Borland. “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 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 the 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.”

Justin Alexander will serve as Dillon’s crew chief in the interim.

All three of Dillon’s top-10 finishes in the Cup Series have come since being paired with Borland, who earned 13 wins in the series during his tenure as Ryan Newman’s crew chief (2000-06, 2012-13).

Before joining Dillon’s team, Borland was the crew chief for Paul Menard at Richard Childress Racing.

Team owner Bob Germain Jr. acknowledged that DMAA is on the banned substance list, and after hearing from Borland, he also checked the diet coffee ingredients. Germain said he does not believe Borland “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 by 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.”