Mayfield may lose it all

CHARLOTTE, N.C. --- Jeremy Mayfield will go head-to-head with NASCAR this week in what might be his last shot at racing again this season.

If a federal judge agrees Wednesday to lift his indefinite suspension for a failed random drug test, Mayfield has indicated he'll go straight to Daytona International Speedway to try to resurrect his career.

But if the decision goes for NASCAR, Mayfield is in for a long legal battle that will potentially destroy him both personally and professionally.

As the first driver suspended under a toughened drug policy, Mayfield was thrust into a career-killing drama that's mushroomed since a random sample collected May 1 came back positive for what NASCAR deemed "a dangerous, illegal, banned substance."

He immediately denied drug use, blaming his positive result on a mix of Adderall for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Claritin-D for allergies. His explanation, debunked by the program administrator, confused NASCAR's competitors and forced Chairman Brian France to address the drug policy in a rare town hall meeting.

Mayfield then sued to have his suspension lifted, and things really got interesting.

The past 30 days have been a flurry of legal activity, culminating in last week's filing of hundreds of pages of documents as both sides prepared for their showdown in U.S. District Court.

Among the paperwork was a six-page affidavit in which Mayfield laid out his side of the story. He said he's never used methamphetamines and doesn't know how his drug test came back positive.

He also said the suspension has crippled his career, forcing him to lay off 10 employees, borrow money from family and sell personal assets to meet his living expenses. He said sponsors won't work with him, and he's not been able to send his team to the track the past five weeks.

So Mayfield needs a miracle to get back on track. The question remains, though: Just what does he have to return to?

Before his suspension, May-field had qualified for just five of 11 races and didn't have a finish higher than 32nd. The team he threw together weeks before the Daytona 500 was going nowhere fast, and the bills were apparently piling up. Triad Racing Technologies recently filed suit for $86,304.55 for parts, pieces and chassis work Mayfield owes.

The suspension has made him toxic, and no company will touch him or his team.

So even if he is reinstated, he's not heading back to the most stable situation. NASCAR will almost certainly continue to fight the already cash-strapped Mayfield, who has hired the most prolific lawyer in Charlotte.

It makes one wonder whether the more sensible route would have been quietly serving his suspension and then trying for a comeback. Of course, participating in NASCAR's "path to reinstatement" would have been akin to admitting guilt, something Mayfield has adamantly opposed.

But the process might have been faster and most certainly cheaper. More important, it couldn't possibly have damaged his career any worse than what's been done the past seven weeks.