Published: July 07, 2009 11:58 pm      

de la BASTIDE: Mayfield’s career has irreparable damage

Despite court ruling, racer is damaged goods after failed drug test

Whether he is guilty of using methamphe-tamines or not, the NASCAR career of Jeremy Mayfield is at an end.

NASCAR suspended Mayfield on May 9 after a failed random drug test and later said he tested positive for methamphetamine. Mayfield has denied results of the drug test and won an injunction to allow him to compete.

Mayfield said the positive test was a result of two drugs he was taking. NASCAR has filed an appeal to keep Mayfield from competing.

Although the court ruling was last week Mayfield was unable to field a car at Daytona last weekend and is not entered for Saturday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway.

The reality of the situation came to light when several team owners announced that Mayfield would not be hired to race their cars. Sponsors want nothing to do with a driver accused of drug abuse.

Mayfield will forever carry the label of an illegal drug user as a result of NASCAR’s actions. No sponsor is going to step up and put the name of its product on a car driven by the Kentucky native.

When the suspension was first announced, NASCAR officials wouldn’t name the illegal drug that caused Mayfield to test positive. But when Mayfield denied the allegation and took his fight to court, the sanctioning body revealed the test was positive for methamphetamine.

In the long run Mayfield probably would have been smarter accepting the NASCAR suspension and then returning to racing. It seems likely that fans, other teams and sponsors wouldn’t have known what substance resulted in the positive test.

Mayfield was a driver on the downside of his career. He first competed in a Sprint Cup race in 1993 and has only five victories to his credit. Unable to secure a ride for the 2009 season, Mayfield formed his own team. He qualified for five races but was not a serious contender for a top finish.

We may never know if Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamine or if the drug test was faulty. It really doesn’t matter because Mayfield is now “damaged goods.”

In other racing news

Charlie Shaw, owner of Winchester Speedway, has proven himself to be fan friendly.

During last week’s racing program, on hand were 15 USAC sprint cars, four Champion Racing Association Street Stocks and 13 Front Wheel Drive cars. There was a nice crowd at the historic oval that could have left with a bad taste in its mouth because of the low number of competitors.

Shaw announced he was disappointed with the low car count as well and went on to tell fans to save their rain checks which would be good for $3 off the price of a ticket for a future event. It was a nice gesture to the fans who continue to support the track.

• Ken de la Bastide may be reached at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com or (765) 454-8580.