Mayfield denies drug use; notes personal cost of court case

Jeremy Mayfield denies taking methamphetamines "in my life'' in an affidavit that is among hundreds of pages of court documents recently submitted before a July 1 hearing in U.S. Federal Court in Charlotte. NASCAR countered by getting affidavits from Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon and Jimmie Johnson stating

NASCAR officials stated last month that Mayfield tested positive for an unnamed drug. NASCAR states in court documents that it was an illegal drug and suspended him indefinitely. Mayfield since sued and NASCAR has fought back. What illegal drug Mayfield is accused of taking has always been blacked out in court documents, thus this is the first mention of methampetamines by either side that was not blacked out. It had been reported that was the drug that caused Mayfield to fail his drug test.

During the July 1 hearing, Mayfield's lawyers will seek an injunction that would allow Mayfield to compete immediately in NASCAR Sprint Cup events. Court documents state that Mayfield would attempt to qualify for the Daytona Cup race scheduled for July 4 should he get the injunction.

Mayfield also stated in the documents how the being accused of failing a drug test has impacted him. The court documents state that because of NASCAR's actions that Mayfield's sponsor will no longer honor its commitment to the team and even "smaller sponsors'' that he's worked with in the past won't work with him now. Mayfield also says that the lack of income by losing the sponsor and not participating in recent events has forced him to lay off 10 people at his shop. Mayfield also states: "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.''

As for his career, the 40-year-old Mayfield states: "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 of no other way to make a living except as a professional race car driver.''

After having read hundreds of pages of court documents the last few weeks, Mayfield's side is attacking elements of the drug test, suggesting how some federal guidelines were not followed. One of the key points Mayfield's lawyers are making is that federal guidelines give a person who has tested positive 72 hours to determine what to do with the B Sample (in this case, Mayfield's urine sample was split into an A sample that was tested and then the B Sample that was later tested).

Mayfield's side contends he had not yet requested the B Sample be tested (which could have been tested at a different facility, Mayfield's lawyers state) before it was actually ordered tested. NASCAR's side, including an affidavit from Dr. David Black, who is Chairman of the Aegis Sciences Corp., argues that "under the NASCAR Policy, the Federal Employee Drug Testing Guidelines do not match NASCAR's requirements.'' Black notes that "sports testing laboratories follow procedures developed by the World Anti-Doping Agency and used by the United States Anti-Doping Agency which require that the B sample be confirmed in the same laboratory that conducted the A sample analysis.''

Mayfield contends "I never instructed ... anyone ... to test Speciman B. I was completely unaware of my right to have Speciman B tested by a separate, independent laboratory.''

At the end of his affidavit, Mayfield states: "I do not understand how or why this is happening to me and my family. The Aegis (the lab that did the testing) drug test was erroneous. Their actions and those of NASCAR have eliminated my ability to show the test results were a "false positive.''

As for the NASCAR affidavits from Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. They were like form letters with each having a statement that read: "I make my livelihood by racing in NASCAR events. Racing is my life and career. However, I am not willing to put my life at risk driving a racecar on a NASCAR track with drivers testing positive for drugs that diminish their capacity to drive a racecar. I support NASCAR's Substance Abuse Policy and depend on NASCAR to prohibit drivers who don't abide by the policy from racing. If drivers are on the track in violation of NASCAR's Substance Abuse Policy, it presents serious questions as to whether or not it makes sense for me to put my life at risk.''

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