Why did NASCAR suspend a driver, team owner?
By Asher Fair
Shortly after the start of the 2023 season, NASCAR suspended Roper Racing Truck Series driver-owner Cory Roper indefinitely.
After the 2023 NASCAR Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR announced that they had suspended Roper Racing team owner Cory Roper indefinitely after he was found to have violated Sections 4.1 & 10.1.A of the NASCAR rulebook.
Those two sections pertain to the sport’s Substance Abuse Policy. While specifics of Roper’s violation were not publicized, the infraction means that in order to return, the 45-year-old Vernon, Texas native must complete the Road to Recovery program.
Roper hasn’t actually competed in a Truck Series race since the 2021 season, so the suspension really had no affect his driving schedule.
In fact, when the suspension was announced, Roper Racing hadn’t even competed in NASCAR at all since 2021.
Roper, who withdrew from their only 2022 appearance last October at Talladega Superspeedway, hadn’t announced any plans to compete throughout the 2023 season, and even if he did, it wouldn’t have been for quite some time, with Kaden Honeycutt competing in the season’s first six races.
Honeycutt, who failed to qualify for the season opener, finished in 25th place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in what was his first race behind the wheel of the No. 04 Ford, as Roper’s suspension does not actually prevent his organization from continuing to compete at the sport’s third highest level. He finished in 33rd in the following race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The 19-year-old Willow Park, Texas native, who competed in select races for G2G Racing and On Point Motorsports in his first season in the series, is also set to compete in the upcoming races at Circuit of the Americas (Saturday, March 25), Texas Motor Speedway (Saturday, April 1), and Bristol Motor Speedway (Saturday, April 8).
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From their Truck Series debut in 2018 until now, Roper Racing have made 49 total starts, including 43 with Roper himself behind the wheel. He owns all but one of the team’s four top 10 finishes, including their all-time best result of third place at Daytona International Speedway in 2021. Chase Briscoe owns the other, having finished in fifth at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2021.