Embattled driver, Jeremy Mayfield will have his case heard in Federal Court. Jeremy Mayfield is the lead NASCAR driver for Mayfield Motorsports. He began his own race team in 2009 and has grown his business to nearly 20 employees.
According to Jeremy's own website,
“Mayfield Motorsports is a collaboration of a team of good people and friends of mine”. He adds that “In owning my own racing team, we are able to put people back to work, which has given everyone here a real connection to the team.”Unfortunately, those fine people have not worked at the track for over a month. On May 1st at Richmond International speedway, Mayfield tested positive for an illegal substance. NASCAR which has the most stringent drug testing policy of any professional sport, and rightly so due to the inherent danger of driving a race car at 200mphs, suspended Jeremy on May 9th for failing the random drug screen. Mayfield requested a second sample be tested per NASCAR policy and that sample also tested positive. NASCAR has not released to the drivers a list of banned substances which might have helped Mayfield in his decision making process with regards to drug use, either legal or illegal.
The drug allegedly found in Mayfield's system have not been disclosed to the public. Mayfield contends that he tested positive for an illegal substance due to the combination of over the counter medication and Aderol, a prescribed drug for adult attention deficit disorder. The Masked Writer spoke with a knowledgeable therapist and a pharmacist, and they both stated that Aderol can show up as a methamphetamine in a person's system. Rumors speculate that Mayfield did indeed test positive for methamphetamine use.
In a press release, Mayfield stated:
"As both a team owner and a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, I (Jeremy Mayfield) have immense respect for the enforcement policies NASCAR has in place. In my case, I believe that the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over-the-counter medicine reacted together and resulted in a positive drug test. My doctor and I are working with both Dr. Black and NASCAR to resolve this matter."The soap opera like drama will soon end as Mayfield has been granted a hearing in a Federal Court. U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen has added Mayfield's preliminary injunction request to his work schedule. If the Judge's ruling is in favor of the driver, Mayfield might be able to compete in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4th. If the Judge rules against Mayfield, he will be required to meet detailed criteria prescribed by NASCAR's outside experts in order to be considered for reinstatement for competition and will most likely miss the rest of the 2009 season.