Jeremy Mayfield: Is His Career Over?
This story just seems to get more bizarre each and every day.
This story started innocent enough in Richmond, during the weekend of May 2. When Jeremy Mayfield was randomly selected to take a drug test for NASCAR. Nothing unusual about this. NASCAR has been doing random drug test for awhile now. But little did anyone know that in a week Jeremy Mayfield would be suspended from NASCAR and would be accused of having an illegal drug in his system, during the time of the test.
NASCAR took two samples from Mayfield that fateful day in May. And both samples would eventually be tested by NASCAR's lab Aegis Laboratories and Dr. David Black. Which probably was not fair to Mayfield, but NASCAR had it done and both test came back positive.
Since them Mayfield has taken another drug test and it too came back positive. But Mayfield claims that he had an independent test taken an hour after the one he gave to NASCAR and according to Mayfield it came back negative.
The drugs in question is Adderall and Claritin-D for allergies. Mayfield claims that he is taking the drug Adderall for ADHD. NASCAR claims that they were never informed that Mayfield was taking Adderall.
So who exactly is telling the truth? Who knows. But one thing is for certain this is going to get alot uglier before it is all over.
Mayfield's step-mother has come forward and has accused Mayfield of being a meth user for several years. Claiming that she even saw him making his own meth. According to an article on FoxSports.com Mayfield's step-mother, Lisa Mayfield claims that Jeremy told her he used meth before a season-ending NASCAR awards ceremony while driving for Ray Evernham. She also said Mayfield used meth during a 1999 trip to Myrtle Beach that preceded a race at nearby Darlington Raceway.
"We left Myrtle Beach and traveled to Darlington for the race," she wrote. "I saw Jeremy using methamphetamine again when we reached Darlington."
"Between 1998 and 2005, I am personally aware that Jeremy used methamphetamines often," she said in her affidavit. "I was concerned about his heavy use and talked to his father about it. I saw Jeremy use methamphetamine by snorting it up his nose at least 30 times during the 7 years I was around him. Jeremy used methamphetamine not only in my presence, but also when we were both in the presence of others."
Lisa Mayfield, Jeremy Mayfield's stepmother, in an affidavit.
Now of course Mayfield dismisses these statements. He claims that his stepmother is only saying these things because she is broke and because NASCAR is paying her to do so.
"I don't trust anything NASCAR does, anything (doping program administrator) Dr. David Black does, never have, never will," Mayfield told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Black is the administrator for NASCAR's drug-testing program.
"And they picked the wrong woman to use against me because that (expletive) is trash and has got nothing on me but lies."
"She's tried everything she can do to get money out of time. I won't help her, so I guess she found a way to get money from NASCAR by giving them an affidavit full of lies," he said.
So with all of the back and forth going on in the media, it is hard to know who to believe.
But one thing is for certain, Mayfield's days in NASCAR may very well be over. Even if he is found to be innocent of the meth accusations, it is going to be hard for him to find an owner, or sponsor to support his career.
And that is what is so sad about this whole situation. An innocent man may be marked for life as a drug abuser.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/9787800/NASCAR:-Mayfield-tests-positive-again-for-meth
This story just seems to get more bizarre each and every day.
This story started innocent enough in Richmond, during the weekend of May 2. When Jeremy Mayfield was randomly selected to take a drug test for NASCAR. Nothing unusual about this. NASCAR has been doing random drug test for awhile now. But little did anyone know that in a week Jeremy Mayfield would be suspended from NASCAR and would be accused of having an illegal drug in his system, during the time of the test.
NASCAR took two samples from Mayfield that fateful day in May. And both samples would eventually be tested by NASCAR's lab Aegis Laboratories and Dr. David Black. Which probably was not fair to Mayfield, but NASCAR had it done and both test came back positive.
Since them Mayfield has taken another drug test and it too came back positive. But Mayfield claims that he had an independent test taken an hour after the one he gave to NASCAR and according to Mayfield it came back negative.
The drugs in question is Adderall and Claritin-D for allergies. Mayfield claims that he is taking the drug Adderall for ADHD. NASCAR claims that they were never informed that Mayfield was taking Adderall.
So who exactly is telling the truth? Who knows. But one thing is for certain this is going to get alot uglier before it is all over.
Mayfield's step-mother has come forward and has accused Mayfield of being a meth user for several years. Claiming that she even saw him making his own meth. According to an article on FoxSports.com Mayfield's step-mother, Lisa Mayfield claims that Jeremy told her he used meth before a season-ending NASCAR awards ceremony while driving for Ray Evernham. She also said Mayfield used meth during a 1999 trip to Myrtle Beach that preceded a race at nearby Darlington Raceway.
"We left Myrtle Beach and traveled to Darlington for the race," she wrote. "I saw Jeremy using methamphetamine again when we reached Darlington."
"Between 1998 and 2005, I am personally aware that Jeremy used methamphetamines often," she said in her affidavit. "I was concerned about his heavy use and talked to his father about it. I saw Jeremy use methamphetamine by snorting it up his nose at least 30 times during the 7 years I was around him. Jeremy used methamphetamine not only in my presence, but also when we were both in the presence of others."
Lisa Mayfield, Jeremy Mayfield's stepmother, in an affidavit.
Now of course Mayfield dismisses these statements. He claims that his stepmother is only saying these things because she is broke and because NASCAR is paying her to do so.
"I don't trust anything NASCAR does, anything (doping program administrator) Dr. David Black does, never have, never will," Mayfield told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Black is the administrator for NASCAR's drug-testing program.
"And they picked the wrong woman to use against me because that (expletive) is trash and has got nothing on me but lies."
"She's tried everything she can do to get money out of time. I won't help her, so I guess she found a way to get money from NASCAR by giving them an affidavit full of lies," he said.
So with all of the back and forth going on in the media, it is hard to know who to believe.
But one thing is for certain, Mayfield's days in NASCAR may very well be over. Even if he is found to be innocent of the meth accusations, it is going to be hard for him to find an owner, or sponsor to support his career.
And that is what is so sad about this whole situation. An innocent man may be marked for life as a drug abuser.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/9787800/NASCAR:-Mayfield-tests-positive-again-for-meth
Well TS alot of people do not want to really touch this one for obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteIt should be much simpler than it is. Regardless of a possible drug addiction, why did Mayfield wait untill the time of the test to say something about his meds ? Because if he did they would have benched him on the spot.
Am I missing something ? In my opinion I seriously doubt that Nascar is singling out or going after Mayfield. Many think that Nascar is the bad guy but few think about rules and regulations and the intention of having them in place.
Mayfield should have tucked his tail and kept quite instead of firing cannon shots across the Nascar's bow. He continues to talk ALOT and is making his situation worse.
To me the deal was sealed when Jeff Hammond put up a post on FOX Sports concerning this. Someone on another forum said that Hammond's write was just an opinion but the management at FOX gave his post the green light.
Whe it gets to the point that a front line TV commentator calls out Mayfiled the writing is on the wall.
Yup, this is starting to look a lot like a Jerry Springer episode and we all know those never end well.
ReplyDeleteCan't quite figure out how he tested positive a second time knowing he was under such intense scrutiny.
So either NASCAR truly is an evil empire on a witch hunt or Jeremy has a serious drug issue and needs help.
Clearly losing his dad in such a tramatic way (does anyone remember hearing about his dad dying??) is also a good reason to get some help.
PS. TSFan -- I finally checked in over at Foxsports and saw your blog saying you were coming over here and what Lady Di said...
ReplyDeleteI know her from the Kurt Busch boards -- ignore her and know she isnt included in the joint blog invitation. She likes to stir it up at Foxsports -- she is a completely different person on the KB board.
I think he became addictive to Clarton D as if it was candy, My Dad was to Dristan nasoul spray for 10 years or so before the Dr realize and told him it was addicting. Many over the counter stuff is with warnings like if you are taking so many consult a Dr.
ReplyDeleteAdded with the other thing he took. I have to disagree with you RL, NASCAR has done it before with Tim Richmond and when a company say's we are not telling you what we are looking for is saying you better not bad mouth us or this name. It gives them a hold over the drivers and that is not right.
Many of the great drivers that draw the crowds could walk and NASCAR cup racing would be nothing but a nationwide cup racing.IMO
Cheers2You TSfanpc
Jamie, there is nothing to dissagree with. I have taken care with use of words in this matter.
ReplyDeleteIt comes down to basic's. If you say that he was hooked on Claratin, is not that a problem ? Does Adderall have the potential to change body functions and is it used to change behavior ?
Tim Richmond loopholed his way back onto the track but there is little comparision other than it is the sanctioning bodies fault that people have and or are trying to cover up medications or drug use.
This is a big game that they play and the competitors have to meet certain standards to compete fairly and safely.
I do have the opinion that Nascar is not trying to set up Mayfield rather Mayfield is trying to save his own A S S.
I am not a Nascar fan, just a race fan and am lucky enough to voice my thoughts as I am fortunate enough to read yours and TS's.
RLGuido, I agree if Mayfield had not told NASCAR about these two drugs, why did he wait until a drug test came back positive? I mean it is not like NASCAR makes public anything that the drivers are taking. If Mayfield did not want it to be public knowledge that he has ADHD, that would not have been a problem. NASCAR has to keep the drivers' health records private.
ReplyDeleteI doubt if NASCAR is singling Mayfield out too. It has been stated over and over again, that it was a random drug test. And it just so happened that it was Mayfield's turn.
And I agree with you about Jeff Hammond. He and the other Fox Sports commentators have been pretty quiet about the Mayfield drug tests. But when Hammond wrote "his opinion" he had to have the green light from Fox or it would have been pulled.
Kristen, it is like a Jerry Springer episode. I did some checking and Adderall is a amphetamine. I don't know if the addition of Claritin-D can cause a positive for methamphetamine or not.
ReplyDeleteI did some searching too about his dad. According to ESPN (link below) His dad back in 2007 due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Jeremy blames his stepmother and he is planning on filing a wrongful death lawsuit against her. Guess Jeremy is trying to get money from anyone he can.
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=4330592
Kristen as far as Lady Di, I do ignore them. I figure it is best to just wish them a good day and keep going. I use to just delete them or ignore them. But I decided sometime ago to just wish them a good day and keep moving. Nice to know that she isn't invited to the joint blog. Would hate to have to ignore her over here. lol
ReplyDeleteI have been on other boards and have come across other people like her. And I just ignore them as well. lol
Jamie, my dad got hooked on Dristan nasel spray too when I was young. He did not know that it could be addicted. When the doctor told him about it, he quit it. And has never used it since.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten that NASCAR went after Tim Richmond. He was doing things that NASCAR did not want associated with their sport and Richmond paid for it. Unfortunately he paid with his life because of his lifestyle. But that does not excuse NASCAR for their actions.
But then again, it was the 80s and AIDS/HIV was just starting to come to the forefront of the publc awareness and not much was known of it. So there were alot of people who were scared by the unknown of this disease and how widespread it seemed that it was becoming.
Alot of people were shunned when it was discovered that they had the disease. And NASCAR did shun Richmond when he was diagnosed. But Richmond's problems with NASCAR along time before he was diagnosed with AIDS.
If the big names would walk, NASCAR might change their ways. But then again, they might do like they did back in the 1960s when the big names of the day sat out Talladega. Just bring in ringers and the show went on.
RL Guido to answer your questions, according to WebMD Adderell can change the behaviors of the person taking them, including mood swings, aggression, agitation, depression and abnormal thoughts. Here is the link if you want to look for yourself:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-63163-Adderall+Oral.aspx?drugid=63163&drugname=Adderall+Oral
Click on side effects.
I went by the drug store after work to pick up my daughter's Adderall. The prescription can't be called in. I had to drive to the doctor's office, get the paper prescription and hand deliver it to the pharmacist. Must have something in it to be so careful about it!
ReplyDeleteTSfan -- did you get the invite to the joint blog?
ReplyDeletelugnuts and fanaddicts?
If not I dont have the right email for you...can you send me it at klvalus@yahoo.com
Belle from the more I research about this drug, the more and more I am convinced this drug doesn't belong in a driver's system that is going 200 mph in a race car. It sounds like it can be a great help to people with ADHD, but its side effects could possible cause alot of problems for the user.
ReplyDeleteklvalus I did finally get it and as you already know I am in. Thanks again for getting this together. It really will make it easier to find everyone.
ReplyDelete