NASCAR Truck Series owner-driver Cory Roper suspended for Substance Abuse

Cory Roper made his NASCAR debut at the age of 40 for his family-owned team.

NASCAR Truck Series owner-driver Cory Roper suspended for Substance Abuse

Cory Roper

NASCAR has announced that Cory Roper, the owner and driver of Roper Racing, Cory Roper will be suspended for an indefinite time under Section 4.1 of the rule book, which discusses substance abuse. NASCAR has yet to reveal further details about the suspension, and the Roper family team has yet to state the sanction publicly.

Cory Roper’s last drive in the Truck series was in 2021 when he raced 16 races in the No:4 Ford F-150. He had one race scheduled for 2022 in Talladega but withdrew at the last moment. Roper’s best finish in NASCAR was P3 in the 2021 Truck season opener at Daytona. He has started 43 races in his Truck carer and has finished inside the top 10 three times.

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The team was planning to field the No:4 Truck for Kaden Honeycutt. They had six races scheduled for the 2023 season. Their season opener was a disappointment as Honeycutt failed to qualify for the main event on Friday. It was the Daytona International Speedway debut of the 19-year-old.

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The last driver to be suspended for substance abuse in NASCAR was an owner-driver as well

Caesar Bacarella
Caesar Bacarella (Getty Images)

NASCAR introduced strict drug tests for all personnel in 2009, and since then, a handful of drivers and crew members have been caught red-handed. The most recent suspension issued to a driver was in 2021.  Xfinity Series owner-driver Caesar Bacarella was the sanctioned piolet.

The then 45-year-old driver who owned and drove for Alpha Prime Racing was suspended for using a workout supplement on the banned substances list. He claimed he took it by accident and was enrolled in Road to Recovery program. He returned to NASCAR in 2022 at Daytona and started four races that year. Stefan Parsons replaced him after qualifying for the 2023 Xfinity series opener.

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