He said:

I screwed up. NASCAR tested me…when I wanted go spot for someone at Nashville. I already have two NASCAR licenses, but they said I needed a spotter’s license, and that included taking a drug test. I took the test, and got a call a few days later saying I had tested positive for marijuana.

According to LaJoie, he smoked marijuana once after the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

He said:

I volunteer my time driving a golf cart taking people back and forth. I dropped one group off in the campground after the race, and there was a pretty good party going on. I did something I shouldn’t have done, and while I sure wish I had picked up a different bunch. I don’t blame any of them. I blame myself. You can’t fix stupid. 

LaJoie said he will do whatever NASCAR requires to be reinstated.

Later, NASCAR confirmed the suspension. LaJoie was found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 19 (violation of the NASCAR substance abuse policy) of the 2010 NASCAR Rule Book.

In his May ruling, Mullen wrote:

Plaintiffs (Mayfield) agreed to release Defendants from all claims arising under a negligence theory or otherwise; Plaintiffs thereby waived their right to pursue their claims for defamation, unfair and deceptive trade practices, breach of contract, and negligence. Plaintiffs also failed to allege facts to support each of their claims. … Plaintiffs claims are hereby dismissed.

But Mayfield is arguing, according to SceneDaily.com, is that Mullen made a mistake by allowing NASCAR’s countersuit against Mayfield for breach of contract to proceed while dismissing his suit. The motion also argues that the judge did not give Mayfield the opportunity to amend his complaint to bring claims of wrongful interference with contractual or business relations. It also argues that the correct Florida law was not applied.

Shortly before the case was dismissed, Mayfield’s attorney’s subpoenaed Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson to depose them in regard to sworn statements they made about his lawsuit. It is unclear at this point whether or not they will be deposed in the event that Mayfield’s case is reinstated.

In May 2009, Mayfield was suspended for violating NASCAR’s substance abuse policy. At the time, Mayfield claimed the failed drug test was the result of the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over the counter medicine that reacted together. He later said that the mix was of Adderall RX, which he said he was prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Claritin. David Black, whose Aegis Labs runs NASCAR’s random testing program, disputed that claim.

Mayfield later sued NASCAR challenging the suspension. He was hoping to get a temporary restraining order that would allow him to return to the track while the suit was ongoing. That request was denied.

In response, NASCAR filed a countersuit against Mayfield accusing him of willfully violating NASCAR’s substance abuse policy, breaching his contract, and defrauding competitors of earnings. The suit contends that Mayfield was under the influence during races, and in those races won more than $150,000 that would have gone to other competitors.

In July of last year, Mayfield was granted an injunction, allowing him to return to the Sprint Cup Series. But he never returned to the track. But less than a month later, NASCAR got Mayfield’s injunction overturned. NASCAR attempted to get Mayfield’s injunction thrown out permanently, but that request was denied in September.

Since then, things were relatively quiet until Mayfield subpoenaed Gordon and Johnson.  Shortly after that, his case was dismissed.

Mayfield won an injunction earlier this month after a lower court judge ruled that the harm to Mayfield substantially outweighed the harm to NASCAR.

The court order said:

Upon review of appellants’ motion for a stay of the preliminary injunction pending appeal and appellees’ response, the Court grants the motion for stay pending appeal.

This could be devistating news for Mayfield, who recently said that he was lining up a huge sponsorship deal that would allow him to race for any team. I would think that no sponsor would want to get involved with a driver who couldn’t race until at least October.

According to Lisa Mayfield, Jeremy’s stepmother, she said she first saw him use methamphetamine in 1998 at a race shop. she went on to explain that when pseudoephedrine was taken off the shelves, it became harder for Mayfield to make his own drugs The affadavit says:

Between 1998 and 2005, I am personally aware that Jeremy used methamphetamines often. 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.  

Last week, NASCAR requested a sample from Mayfield. There was a disagreement between Mayfield and NASCAR as to how the test was performed, which resulted in the sample being provided hours after it was requested, despite a two-hour deadline usually given to drivers.NASCAR officials took this to be an indication that Mayfield was trying to avoid the test.

In the filing, NASCAR wrote:

Because Mr. Mayfield’s repeated and confirmed use of methamphetamine violates NASCAR’s Substance Abuse Policy, and because NASCAR must be permitted to protect the safety of its drivers, crews, and fans, as well as the integrity of the sport, defendants respectfully request that the court … reinstate NASCAR’s suspension of Mr. Mayfield.

Mayfield originally failed his drug test on May 9th, and was suspended indefinitely. He, then, claimed that it was due to the a mix of Adderall RX, which he said he was perscribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Claritin.

He later sued, and won an injunction to return to the track. Despite being cleared by the court to return, he has not been back to the track, and he said he is considering selling the team.

Mayfield’s stepmother’s affadavit, if true, will certainly be damning to Mayfield’s case. It should be interesting to see how this plays out, and whether or not what she says is true. Like I said before, this is certain to get uglier.

All parties involved, including AEGIS Sciences, which runs NASCAR’s drug testing, are under gag order and cannot speak about the case. Thus, none of the parties would confirm or deny the report.

After failing the test, Mayfield said:

In my case, I believe that the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over-the-counter medicine reacted together and resulted in a positive drug test.

Ryan McGee, also appearing on NASCAR Now, said that sources he talked to said that Mayfield’s explanation was possible. The combination of ingredients could make Mayfield’s test look like he was taking methamphetamine, but a second, more-conclusive test would have likely ruled that out. While McGee said that there was no way of knowing if Mayfield took the more-conclusive test thanks to a gag order and the privacy surrounding NASCAR drug test results, he called Mayfield’s explanation “possible, but very unlikely.”

Dr. David Black, of AEGIS, however, immediately disputed Mayfield’s claim of a false positive after his test, saying:

What we have is a clear violation of policy. … In my many years of experience, I have never seen a violation like this due to the combination of over-the-counter or prescription products. 

Mayfield failed a random drug test in May and was suspended indefinitely. He filed a suit against NASCAR challenging the suspension. He was hoping to get a temporary restraining order that would allow him to return to the track while the suit was ongoing. That request was denied.

In response, NASCAR filed a countersuit against Mayfield accusing him of willfully violating NASCAR’s substance abuse policy, breaching his contract, and defrauding competitors of earnings. The suit contends that Mayfield was under the influence during races, and in those races won more than $150,000 that would have gone to other competitors.

After failing the test, Mayfield said the he had not received a copy of his results; a claim NASCAR quickly denied. At that point, I began questioning whether Mayfield was telling the truth. I, however, thought the positive test was a result of marijuana usage.

Mayfield still contends that his result was a false positive and that the combination led to the result. Both sides are waiting for their court date, which is expected to be sometime in late June.

In order to return to racing, Mayfield has to apply for reinstatement, which would require he enter a substance abuse program. Mayfield, however, has refused to do that.

I’m not sure whether Mayfield is telling the truth or not, but I think it is more likely that he is lying than it is he is telling the truth. If you consider NASCAR’s policy, and the uncertainty surrounding it, I would think that most drivers would be very cautious about taking anything, and they would check with NASCAR before taking anything.

As far as I can tell from researching this story, Mayfield didn’t disclose the Adderall until after he was test, which at the very least, looks suspect. That said, he is going to spend an awful lot of money defending himself in this case, and suing NASCAR. If he knows he is lying, why would he do that? It would seem he is going out of his way to damage his reputation. Why would he do that? I don’t know.

In the end, it’s up to the court to figure it out. But, I can tell you this: Mayfield has a lot to lose by sticking to his story, if it isn’t true.