Mayfield says NASCAR paid stepmom to lie
Circuit says driver tested positive for methamphetamine again
 | NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield has denied ever taking methamphetamines. |
J. Pat Carter / AP |
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Jeremy Mayfield tested positive again for methamphetamine, NASCAR said, igniting another round of denials from the driver, who angrily accused the sanctioning body of paying his stepmother to lie about his alleged past drug use.
The positive result from a July 6 random test was included in a U.S. District Court filing Wednesday that asked the federal judge who lifted Mayfield’s drug suspension to reinstate the ban. The filing included an affidavit from Mayfield’s stepmother, Lisa, who said she witnessed the driver using methamphetamine at least 30 times over seven years.
“I don’t trust anything NASCAR does, anything Dr. David Black does, never have, never will,” Mayfield told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Black is the administrator for NASCAR’s drug-testing program.
“And they picked the wrong woman to use against me because that (expletive) is trash and has got nothing on me but lies.”
According to documents, Lisa Mayfield said she first saw the driver use meth in 1998 at a race shop in Mooresville, N.C. She said Mayfield cooked his own drugs until the ingredient pseudoephedrine was taken off the shelves and it became too difficult for Mayfield to obtain the ingredients. She said her stepson then began to purchase meth from others.
“Between 1998 and 2005, I am personally aware that Jeremy used methamphetamines often,” she said in her affidavit. “I was concerned about his heavy use and talked to his father about it. I saw Jeremy use methamphetamine by snorting it up his nose at least 30 times during the 7 years I was around him. Jeremy used methamphetamine not only in my presence, but also when we were both in the presence of others.”
Mayfield contested his stepmother’s account.
“She’s tried everything she can do to get money out of me. I won’t help her, so I guess she found a way to get money from NASCAR by giving them an affidavit full of lies,” he said.
Mayfield was suspended May 9 for failing a random drug test conducted eight days earlier. NASCAR later said he tested positive for methamphetamine.
He sued, and U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen issued an injunction July 1 that allowed Mayfield to return to competition. Mullen based his decision on Mayfield’s argument that the testing system is flawed and there was a reasonable likelihood of a false positive. He also gave NASCAR the right to test Mayfield at any time.
NASCAR did just that five days later at Mayfield’s home and said in its filings that the “A” sample had levels of methamphetamine consistent with habitual users who consume high doses.
“My only comment is that’s their result,” Mayfield attorney John Buric said. “But what I want you to keep in mind is that test was performed by the defendants in the case. Aegis Laboratories and Dr. Black are defendants in this case. I don’t know if NASCAR has the right to ask the defendant to test Jeremy’s urine sample. It ought to be done independently, but NASCAR didn’t do that.”
On July 6, Mayfield also had a second test at a lab chosen by his attorneys. Buric said that test came back negative but was sent back to the lab Wednesday for “reconfirmation” after the NASCAR test results were received.
The filing also claims Mayfield and his attorneys have failed to select a qualified laboratory to test the backup “B” sample. Buric acknowledged the two sides are still haggling over a lab for the “B” sample and said NASCAR rejected the lab they picked.
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