Mayfield denies use of Meth
Posted on Jun 26By Kyle Ocker
Sprint Cup Series beat reporter
Jeremy Mayfield filed another round of court documents on Thursday, saying that because of the suspension he received from NASCAR for violation of their substance abuse policy, he has lost sponsorship and had to lay off ten employees.
ESPN The Magazine reported in May that two independent sources confirmed that Mayfield took methamphetamines as the third drug that showed up in the drug test. Mayfield claims that it was a false positive from a mixture of a prescription medication, Adderall-XR, and an allergy medication, Clariton-D. The driver takes Adderall-XR for his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Mayfield said in an affidavit that he has never taken meth in his life.
“I have never taken methamphetamines in my life, and when accused of taking them I immediately volunteered to give another urine sample,” Mayfield said. “Aegis refused my offer.”
The suspended driver and owner now fears that his racing career is over.
“On a personal level, my wife and I are now forced to borrow funds from family members and to sell personal assets in order to meet our living expenses,” Mayfield said in an affidavit included in the brief filed Thursday. “I have always anticipated that I would be able to race for another ten years, but I believe my career will be effectively over if I am forced to sit out the rest of this season. I am afraid that I will have to sell my race team, and I know o no other way to make a living except as a professional race car driver.
“I’ve tried to contact smaller sponsors in an effort to mitigate the team’s losses, but even companies that I worked with successfully in the past will not contract with me now.
Mayfield Motorsports, Inc., the team that Mayfield owns, did field the No. 41 car in two races with driver J.J. Yeley after Mayfield first received his suspension in May during the Darlington Raceway event. However, the car has been absent from the race track since it withdrew its entry to the Dover race that was scheduled for May 31.
Mayfield Motorsports, Inc. has not entered into this weekend’s New Hampshire event either.
“Because of my suspension, I missed races in Charlotte, Dover, where I hold the track speed qualifying record, Pocono, I have won two races at Pocono, Michigan, Sonoma and June 27 in New Hampshire,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, there is no way to know exactly where I would have finished if I’d been able to compete. The next race is July 5, 2009 in Daytona Beach.”
Mayfield and NASCAR will enter federal court on July 1. U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen will review Mayfield’s preliminary injunction request that could allow Mayfield to race at the Daytona event on July 4.
In the mean time, Mayfield still wonders why this is happening to him.
“I do not understand how or why this is happening to me and my family,” Mayfield said.
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