Johnson worried about Allmendinger test result

Johnson worried that energy type drinks and allergy medicines could trigger a positive result

A.J. Allmendinger's recent failure of a drug test has the attention of five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson acknowledges that while he knows a lot about what enters his body, he can't know everything.

Dietary supplements can include illegal stimulants, experts say.

"I'm nervous because I have seasonal allergies," Johnson said Thursday during a visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to promote the Brickyard 400, which he has won three times. "I would hate for something in that department to trigger something.

"That's why I make sure I keep (NASCAR) up to speed on my prescription use."

Allmendinger, who has been temporarily suspended since Saturday, has maintained his innocence. The test results of a second sample have not been released.

Johnson admits he has gotten comfortable with NASCAR's drug testing program — maybe too much, he said.

"In other sports, you hear of guys getting in trouble after buying things at . . . supplement stores," he said. "I certainly shop in those places.

"I just continue to follow protocol . . . and then I save the end of a serving from any of the pills, powders, anything that I'm taking, so if there is a positive, I can give that to them and hopefully they can trace it back to something there."

Johnson is coming off his first triathlon: a 600-yard swim, 12 miles on a bicycle and a 5-kilometer run. He finished 27 seconds behind Kasey Kahne in Sunday's Charleston (S.C.) Sprint Triathlon.

"I swam in high school, and I've always been into cycling and running. I just got the itch," he said. "That $55 for the entrant fee kept me honest for a few months, kept the training going." Indy Star