Not every Southern boy’s daddy ran moonshine or tried to outrun cops on country roads. They weren’t all named Bo or Luke Duke.
But many of the people who don’t keep up regularly with NASCAR still think it’s just a step above running moonshine. They think it’s a bunch of good ’ol boys with accents and a bunch of redneck fans sitting around the infield camping out, drinking beer and rolling around in the mud.
Of course it is far from that. But it doesn’t help the image much when one of the series’ drivers tests positive for methamphetamines, which is what NASCAR claims veteran driver Jeremy Mayfield has done.
Mayfield said the positive test came from medication he was taking for ADHD and allergy problems. His challenge is to the testing system employed by NASCAR and that he was never allowed to have a second sample tested.
And while mistakes can happen in testing, when your main argument centers around what happened with a second test after a first one was positive, it certainly smells of smoke. And where there’s smoke ... well, you know?
Mayfield, though, received a favorable ruling in federal court Wednesday, as a judge lifted NASCAR’s suspension, clearing him to attempt qualifying at this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Mayfield’s lawyer told the Associated Press prior to the ruling it would not cause any harm for him to be behind the wheel, and the judged apparently agreed.
Not to be unfair but going on what we know, we have a guy suspected of using meth and we’re going to put him behind the wheel of a car going 190 miles an hour inches away from a couple of other cars that are running in front of 40 other cars driving the same speed.
Is there any harm having him out there?
I think that’s easy to answer.
Mayfield’s No. 41 car has sat out the last five races after using J.J. Yeley behind the wheel the first two outings following the suspension.
We’ll see how it turns out. Obviously NASCAR is in a lot of hot water if Mayfield's explanation can somehow be proven true. Barring that, however, Mayfield will be damaged goods for a long time.
Odd rookie
Despite running nearly a full season on the Sprint Cup Series earlier this decade, Brendan Gaughan had never been a regular on the Nationwide Series before 2009.
Thus, he’s eligible for that series’ Rookie of the Year award, which he leads over Justin Allgaier and Michael McDowell.
Gaughan previously had a good run on the truck series as well, finishing fourth in that series’ points standings in 2003.
Notes of note
Only 12 drivers won races in 2008, but 11 already have visited Victory Lane in 2009 after Joey Logano’s triumph in New Hampshire last week ... After five straight weekends of racing, the Camping World Truck Series is off for the next three weeks. Ron Hornaday Jr. leads the series standings ... Four different drivers have been atop the Indy Car points standings, and the leader has changed after each of the last three races.
Christian Potts
366-3531
cpotts@normantranscript.com
Sports
Mayfield can race, but he's still in a tight spot
Christian Potts' Victory Lane
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