-
Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Sprint Cup
CUP: Mayfield Remains Calm And Collected
Jeremy Mayfield's legal fight against NASCAR continues...
Jeremy Mayfield was suspended from NASCAR in May 2009 for testing positive for methamphetamines. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
COMMENTARY
As Jeremy Mayfield waited for his hearing to start in front of three U.S. Court of Appeals judges last Tuesday, he had to listen to a couple of other cases before arguments in his suit against NASCAR began.
One of the cases dealt with people found guilty in a cockfighting scheme. One of the arguments involved whether the defendants knew they were violating state law.
During the hearing, a judge used a comparison to laws on stolen goods.
“For example, stolen goods, … wouldn’t you have to have some indication it was known to be stolen?” the judge asked during the cockfight hearing.
The judge probably had no idea that Mayfield, one of the parties in an upcoming hearing, could eventually return to a courtroom with that exact issue being discussed.
In an ironic way, it symbolized the long road that Mayfield still has ahead of him, a road filled with more courtrooms as he fights for his freedom, both literally and financially.
It would appear from the outside that Mayfield’s world is crumbling.
He not only is neck deep in a no-holds-barred fight against NASCAR, but he also has a current criminal charge and potentially more hanging over his head.
The NASCAR case took center stage Tuesday as Mayfield continues to fight his suspension over a May 2009 drug test. NASCAR says it was positive for methamphetamines, and Mayfield argues it was a false positive result for a mix of prescription and over-the-counter medication.
Mayfield argues in court filings that NASCAR didn’t follow proper procedures in the test, turned a blind eye to the legal drugs he had in his system and that NASCAR Chairman Brian France has a personal vendetta against him.
Since his suspension, he appears to be struggling financially. According to judgments against him, Mayfield owes more than $838,000 in property taxes, state taxes, credit card fees and legal fees and more than $1.36 million to repay a loan that came due when he couldn’t meet minimum payments. His property also is being foreclosed on, with proceedings set to start in February.
If that wasn’t enough, he faces criminal charges for possession of methamphetamines and is being investigated into why goods reported to have been stolen were found on his 388-acre property. Mayfield has said he had no knowledge of the methamphetamine nor the goods alleged to have been stolen.
So it was ironic that the case earlier in the day brought up the theory about knowledge of stolen goods, a defense that Mayfield could use if indicted on charges of possession of stolen property.
With all that going on in his life, Mayfield appeared calm and collected at the courthouse in Richmond last Tuesday.
Prior to the hearing, he and his wife said hello to people (including media) in attendance, just as they have in the past.
Afterward, he stopped to talk, albeit briefly as his attorneys wanted him to keep walking. It was clear the fight is still there for Mayfield, a former race winner and two-time competitor in the Chase For The Sprint Cup.
Mayfield said he was working through all his legal problems and hoped to have a resolution soon. He didn’t deliver any barbs toward the media, toward NASCAR, nor the police, saying only that he’d just like to get through it.
He had the appearance of a person worn down from all the troubles. He appeared as if he was working on lap 100 of a 200-lap race.
Mayfield did appear a bit confused trying to figure out what had happened in the appeals court. That’s natural. The appeals hearing is before three judges, who have already read the transcripts from district court and the briefs submitted on the appeal.
The judges interrupt the attorneys’ presentations to ask questions. It is hard to predict how the judges will rule just from a 40-minute hearing. It appeared that the judges were leaning toward NASCAR’s side, but it’s common for the attorneys arguing the appeal – Mayfield’s, in this case – to face more scrutiny. Mayfield’s attorneys are the ones trying to prove that the district court judge erred in the original decision to throw out his case.
It appears that this case will come down to whether the appeals judges believe that Mayfield should be allowed to introduce allegations that Brian France had him parked during the 2006 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, whether NASCAR has to follow federal employee guidelines in administering drug tests because it uses labs certified to test federal employees and whether NASCAR’s publicizing of the test results was malicious.
It also possibly could come down to an interpretation of Florida law on waivers and how it relates to the one that Mayfield signed as part of the NASCAR-driver agreement, which includes a provision that drivers will not sue over the substance-abuse policy.
A decision in the case likely won’t come before March, and the judges could take as long as June.
That’s a long time for Mayfield to wait. But he’s going to be busy in the meantime trying to fend off the criminal methamphetamine charge and possibly a stolen goods charge.
At least Mayfield knows he has support. A woman sat in the gallery throughout the Mayfield hearing muttering about how Mayfield had gotten a raw deal (not exactly in those terms). She believes France has it out for Mayfield and said she came all the way from Florida just to show support for the former driver.
After the cockfight hearing, one person in the gallery turned to Mayfield after it was over. He wished Mayfield good luck and told him he missed watching him race.
Mayfield could use some luck. He probably isn’t too worried about getting back on the track one day but about keeping his life on track as his long legal journey rounds another turn.
SceneDaily.com • Crew chiefs preparing cars but anticipate more changes to Daytona rules
As Jeremy Mayfield waited for his hearing to start in front of three U.S. Court of Appeals judges last Tuesday, he had to listen to a couple of other cases before arguments in his suit against NASCAR began.
One of the cases dealt with people found guilty in a cockfighting scheme. One of the arguments involved whether the defendants knew they were violating state law.
During the hearing, a judge used a comparison to laws on stolen goods.
“For example, stolen goods, … wouldn’t you have to have some indication it was known to be stolen?” the judge asked during the cockfight hearing.
The judge probably had no idea that Mayfield, one of the parties in an upcoming hearing, could eventually return to a courtroom with that exact issue being discussed.
In an ironic way, it symbolized the long road that Mayfield still has ahead of him, a road filled with more courtrooms as he fights for his freedom, both literally and financially.
It would appear from the outside that Mayfield’s world is crumbling.
He not only is neck deep in a no-holds-barred fight against NASCAR, but he also has a current criminal charge and potentially more hanging over his head.
The NASCAR case took center stage Tuesday as Mayfield continues to fight his suspension over a May 2009 drug test. NASCAR says it was positive for methamphetamines, and Mayfield argues it was a false positive result for a mix of prescription and over-the-counter medication.
Mayfield argues in court filings that NASCAR didn’t follow proper procedures in the test, turned a blind eye to the legal drugs he had in his system and that NASCAR Chairman Brian France has a personal vendetta against him.
Since his suspension, he appears to be struggling financially. According to judgments against him, Mayfield owes more than $838,000 in property taxes, state taxes, credit card fees and legal fees and more than $1.36 million to repay a loan that came due when he couldn’t meet minimum payments. His property also is being foreclosed on, with proceedings set to start in February.
If that wasn’t enough, he faces criminal charges for possession of methamphetamines and is being investigated into why goods reported to have been stolen were found on his 388-acre property. Mayfield has said he had no knowledge of the methamphetamine nor the goods alleged to have been stolen.
So it was ironic that the case earlier in the day brought up the theory about knowledge of stolen goods, a defense that Mayfield could use if indicted on charges of possession of stolen property.
With all that going on in his life, Mayfield appeared calm and collected at the courthouse in Richmond last Tuesday.
Prior to the hearing, he and his wife said hello to people (including media) in attendance, just as they have in the past.
Afterward, he stopped to talk, albeit briefly as his attorneys wanted him to keep walking. It was clear the fight is still there for Mayfield, a former race winner and two-time competitor in the Chase For The Sprint Cup.
Mayfield said he was working through all his legal problems and hoped to have a resolution soon. He didn’t deliver any barbs toward the media, toward NASCAR, nor the police, saying only that he’d just like to get through it.
He had the appearance of a person worn down from all the troubles. He appeared as if he was working on lap 100 of a 200-lap race.
Mayfield did appear a bit confused trying to figure out what had happened in the appeals court. That’s natural. The appeals hearing is before three judges, who have already read the transcripts from district court and the briefs submitted on the appeal.
The judges interrupt the attorneys’ presentations to ask questions. It is hard to predict how the judges will rule just from a 40-minute hearing. It appeared that the judges were leaning toward NASCAR’s side, but it’s common for the attorneys arguing the appeal – Mayfield’s, in this case – to face more scrutiny. Mayfield’s attorneys are the ones trying to prove that the district court judge erred in the original decision to throw out his case.
It appears that this case will come down to whether the appeals judges believe that Mayfield should be allowed to introduce allegations that Brian France had him parked during the 2006 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, whether NASCAR has to follow federal employee guidelines in administering drug tests because it uses labs certified to test federal employees and whether NASCAR’s publicizing of the test results was malicious.
It also possibly could come down to an interpretation of Florida law on waivers and how it relates to the one that Mayfield signed as part of the NASCAR-driver agreement, which includes a provision that drivers will not sue over the substance-abuse policy.
A decision in the case likely won’t come before March, and the judges could take as long as June.
That’s a long time for Mayfield to wait. But he’s going to be busy in the meantime trying to fend off the criminal methamphetamine charge and possibly a stolen goods charge.
At least Mayfield knows he has support. A woman sat in the gallery throughout the Mayfield hearing muttering about how Mayfield had gotten a raw deal (not exactly in those terms). She believes France has it out for Mayfield and said she came all the way from Florida just to show support for the former driver.
After the cockfight hearing, one person in the gallery turned to Mayfield after it was over. He wished Mayfield good luck and told him he missed watching him race.
Mayfield could use some luck. He probably isn’t too worried about getting back on the track one day but about keeping his life on track as his long legal journey rounds another turn.
SceneDaily.com • Crew chiefs preparing cars but anticipate more changes to Daytona rules
Shake and Bake: Recent Posts
-
Charlotte TV Schedule: Coca-Cola 600 Weekend »
-
Don't Act Like You're Not Going To Buy This Miss Sprint Cup Collectible Car »
-
Jimmy's Take: 150 MPH Pit Stops, Bruton Smith & Remembering Dick Trickle »
-
All-Star In-Car Highlights: Rowdy - "Imagine That. Mr. (Expletive) 5-Time Walking Away" »
-
NASCAR Fan Uses Driver Numbers To Win $1 Million Lottery Jackpot »
-
Johnson & Kahne Are The Drivers To Beat This Weekend (Video) »
-
GIF It Up: Stenica Hairstyling & Champagne Shower »
-
Is Bruton Smith Really Moving The Fall Charlotte Race To Vegas? »
2013 All Star Race
LATEST HEADLINES: NASCAR
-
CUP: Thursday Charlotte Notebook
Practice, qualifying for Coca-Cola 600 scheduled today at Charlotte...… -
CUP: Patrick Refuses To Be Danica Downer
Danica Patrick has finished 25th or worse in nine of 11 NASCAR Sprint… -
SPEED Quotes: Joy, Petty, Hammond Discuss 2014 Hall Inductees
SPEED's NASCAR experts analyze the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2014...… -
CUP: 2014 NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class A Family Affair
Dale Jarrett will join his father Ned in the NASCAR Hall of Fame...… -
CUP: Tim Flock, Maurice Petty Lead 2014 Hall Class
Tim Flock and Maurice Petty were two of five legends voted into the… -
HAMMOND: Consistent Bowyer A Title Contender
Clint Bowyer finished runner-up in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points… -
CUP: Kenseth Wins Q1 DOTY Honors
Matt Kenseth has three victories already this season… - More News
