If nothing else, 2009 will be remembered as the year of the spectacular Jeremy Mayfield flameout, when a well-known driver saw his career completely shatter beyond all hope of repair amid drug allegations, alleged murder plots, and enough family drama to fill ten reality series.
Now, Mayfield is talking on camera about the entire affair; he'll be on ESPN's Outside The Lines this Sunday at 9 a.m. to discuss everything that's happened to him since he qualified for Daytona way back in February. You've read and heard plenty about the Mayfield saga -- here it is, presented in verse and music -- but for most people, this will be the first chance to look in Mayfield's eyes and decide for themselves whether he's telling the truth.
Mayfield, as you no doubt know, was suspended in May by NASCAR for testing positive for methamphetamine. He charged that the test was a false positive stemming from his use of prescription medication Claritin-D and Adderall. His suspension was lifted later in the summer, but almost immediately afterward, he tested positive again. In the course of the affair, he's traded shots with his stepmother, accusing her of being complicit in the death of Mayfield's father.
Now, with hope for resuming his NASCAR career gone, Mayfield is apparently determined to take some people down with him. According to ESPN, Mayfield claims that "NASCAR is using his situation to scare the sport's marquee drivers who he says use drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine."
"You use me as an example to let everybody know who may have already tested positive for marijuana, cocaine or whatever, that they haven't got anybody for, and it puts the fear of God in everybody in the whole sport," Mayfield says. "I was a good example, a good pawn who wasn't going to cost them any money at all. I was worth more to them as a failed drug test then I am as a driver, owner for my own team."
However, it's not a pity party for Mayfield. When asked whether the combination of Adderall and Claritin-D could cause a false positive for meth, Dr. Anthony Butch, director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory and an experienced hand with drug testing, flat-out stated, "No, they could never be confused for methamphetamine in a confirmation."
The Mayfield show airs Sunday morning at 9 a.m., just the thing to get your Martinsville race day started.