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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: NASCAR Says Mayfield Has No Case
The legal jockeying in the Jeremy Mayfield-NASCAR case continued Tuesday...
Bob Pockrass  | http://www.scenedaily.com  |  Posted November 18, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Jeremy Mayfield has denied using methamphetamines and contends the drug-test findings that prompted his suspension by NASCAR were the result of prescription medication. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The legal jockeying in the Jeremy Mayfield-NASCAR case continued Tuesday as the sanctioning body requested that U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen should rule in its favor based on the pleadings that already have been filed and without the two sides continuing to investigate the issues.

NASCAR filed its motion Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte.

As it has in previous filings, NASCAR stressed the danger of its sport as a reason why it must be able to enforce its drug-testing policy if it believes a driver has used methamphetamines. Mayfield was suspended May 9 for a May 1 test that NASCAR says was positive for methamphetamines, and the Sprint Cup driver has sued NASCAR for breach of contract, discrimination and defamation in an attempt to get back on the track and for financial damages.

Mayfield has denied using methamphetamines and contends the drug-test findings that prompted his suspension resulted from a combination of prescription drug Adderall, which is used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and over-the-counter Claritin-D allergy medicine.

“A professional racecar driver who used methamphetamine and is armed with a vehicle weighing more than a ton and capable of driving at nearly 200 miles per hour … may kill himself, another driver, a crew member and/or hundreds of fans,” NASCAR states in its motion.

Mayfield, who qualified for five of the first 11 Sprint Cup races this season after starting his own team and has 433 career series starts, is the only Cup driver to be suspended under NASCAR’s random drug-testing policy implemented this year.

He contends that NASCAR must follow guidelines that regulate federal agencies. NASCAR denies that Aegis Sciences Corp., which conducts the NASCAR drug-testing program, must follow those regulations.

In its motion Tuesday, NASCAR claims:

• The driver agreement with NASCAR waives all claims arising from the implementation of NASCAR’s substance-abuse policy.

• NASCAR’s substance-abuse policy does not include an obligation to follow guidelines that regulate federal agencies.

• NASCAR Chairman Brian France and Aegis’ Dr. David Black have no reason to believe the tests are inaccurate, so their statements about Mayfield testing positive were done without malice – and with Mayfield a public figure, their statements cannot be considered defamation.

• NASCAR did not discriminate against Mayfield because Mayfield is not a NASCAR employee and not a qualified person with a disability under North Carolina law.

The judge won’t rule on the motion until after Mayfield has a chance to file a response. Mullen is the same judge who initially granted Mayfield an injunction to have the suspension lifted July 1 although he has since indicated he would reverse his decision based on additional information.

After Mayfield obtained the injunction, NASCAR obtained another urine sample from Mayfield on July 6 that officials say also tested positive for methamphetamines. Mayfield has filed documentation from a test he said he took within an hour of the NASCAR test that was not positive for methamphetamines.

The U.S. Court of Appeals granted NASCAR’s request for a stay of the injunction July 24, and Mayfield has been suspended since then. Mayfield has filed documents indicating he is not interested in the injunction any longer. The case is going through the discovery process, where each side investigates the other, and is scheduled for trial in September 2010 at the earliest.

In another move, NASCAR recently changed its North Carolina attorneys in the case. NASCAR is now using the Charlotte firm of Wyatt & Blake. When the case started, NASCAR used Hendrick, Bryant & Nerhood out of Winston-Salem, N.C.

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Bob Pockrass

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