BY MONTE DUTTON, AOL

DOVER, Del. -- NASCAR has updated its policies regarding drug testing of its drivers and crewmen. Once, its position was that no problem existed. Once, its vice president of corporate communications, Jim Hunter, described the program as "random based on suspicion," which, of course, makes no sense. A random policy can't possibly be based on suspicion.

At Dover International Speedway, Hunter and another VP, Steve O'Donnell (racing operations), conducted a press conference in which they sold what is apparently a new program of legitimately random testing as making a good program better.

Events intervened. NASCAR officials learned some hard lessons that stock-car racing isn't immune from the temptations offered to the young and upwardly mobile who can't adequately deal with them.

All the drivers will be tested before next February's Daytona 500. Teams will be required to test employees through reputable outside companies certified and approved by NASCAR. All drivers and "over-the-wall crewmen" (i.e., pit crews) will be subject to random testing throughout the year. NASCAR officials are to be tested.

According to O'Donnell, once results have been verified, violators will be publicly identified and immediately suspended, and reinstatement will require successful completion of a program designed by the ruling body's expert, Dr. David L. Black of AEGIS Sciences Corporation. Dr. Black will be the sport's official consultant on the issue of drug abuse, treatment and rehabilitation.

Why the change? Seven drivers have been suspended since 2000. One Craftsman Truck Series competitor, Aaron Fike, was arrested in July 2007 and later admitted in a published report that he used heroin on the day of races.

On paper, it all seems impressive. Time will tell whether NASCAR has confronted successfully the reality of modern life.

NASCAR isn't the same as other sports. Among drivers, there apparently isn't much to be gained from so-called performance-enhancing drugs. Steroids, for instance, aren't likely to give a driver better eyesight or reflexes. Presumably, they might make him more durable in a sport where heat and fatigue are factors, but the use of steroids, human growth hormone, testosterone, etc., would seem to offer performance enhancement that is negligible when compared to a home-run hitter, a linebacker or a cyclist. A race driver also needs the judgment that drugs might impair.

Pit crewmen, many of whom are former college athletes, are probably more likely to have used performance-enhancing drugs.

But it's easy to see how all the money, fame and exposure breed temptation. It's hard to discern the extent of the temptation. Stock-car racers live in a world that changes rapidly. They are better equipped to deal with the demands of competition than the temptations of celebrity. Modern trends favor the youthful over the mature. Corporate sponsorship means that image is important, but it's hard to determine whether racers are more adept at keeping their heads on straight or at hiding the reality that they aren't.

A step in the right direction? Sure. At least NASCAR is finally confronting the possibility of a problem. Perhaps NASCAR's new policy will prove that there isn't a significant problem. Perhaps it will force what few violators there are to clean up their acts and monitor their lifestyles. Perhaps it will protect them from themselves.

It's all still a little fast and loose, though. There's no formal list of banned substances. O'Donnell said NASCAR doesn't want to limit itself from dealing with unforeseen circumstances that may arise. The alleged safeguards require a certain faith in NASCAR's judgment without an accompanying guarantee that the system is completely verifiable and foolproof.

If what Hunter and O'Donnell said proves true -- outside monitoring and supervision from reputable companies, public disclosure -- then the new policies are admirable. NASCAR doesn't often stride into a brave new world, though, without leaving itself room to wiggle and duck for cover.

Speeds on pit road are electronically monitored, but NASCAR doesn't furnish the proof that one car is speeding and 42 others aren't. Electronic monitors are placed around the tracks for scoring purposes, but few really know where they are. More than once, NASCAR officials have admitted in hindsight developments that were hidden at the time they occurred.

It all looks good. NASCAR is adept at appearances. It's impossible to quiet relentless conspiracy theorists. It's important to try, though.

MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE TRACK

--Kyle Busch's championship aspirations are in ruins. The winner of eight regular-season races has turned in a 34th and a 43rd in the first two races of the Chase. Even when the Red Sox lost three straight to the Yankees in the 2004 playoffs, no one actually conceded, which a frustrated Busch did after his engine went sour in the Camping World 400. It's still too early to give up on a miracle, and he's lucky NASCAR isn't boxing. He can't actually throw in the towel. Someone at Joe Gibbs Racing needs to yank it out of his hands.

--The anti-Busch is Greg Biffle, who has emerged as a contender by winning the first two Chase events. He didn't win any races in the regular season. Winning the Chase would be miraculous. Already Biffle has demonstrated that NASCAR has the world's longest and most irrelevant exhibition schedule in sports.

--In 2005, owner Jack Roush put all five of his drivers in the Chase but didn't win a championship. This year Roush Fenway Racing has only three in the field. It's going much better, though. In New Hampshire, Jack's Pack came home first and third. In Delaware, the finish was 1-2-3. What's it going to take? More of the same. So far, so good, but two races do not a Chase make.

--How does Carl Edwards win the championship? Keep swishing treys. He has finished third in both races. And wait for teammate Biffle to clank one.

--There's still a lot of smart money on Jimmie Johnson, who's tied with Biffle, 10 points behind Edwards. Biffle and Edwards have been there before, but Johnson has won there before. Twice.