Auto Racing Capsules: Mayfield misses deadline to enter car at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Jeremy Mayfield missed the deadline to enter this weekend's race after successfully fighting NASCAR to get back behind the wheel following a failed random drug test.

His only hope for participating in Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway is as a relief driver, a change NASCAR must approve.

With that looking like a long shot and Mayfield yet to arrive at Daytona, NASCAR questioned the need for the injunction.

"Jeremy and his legal team asked for a temporary injunction for emergency relief because it was necessary apparently to come compete here in Daytona," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said. "Apparently, he's not here and it appears as if he's not going to compete this weekend, which would raise some questions on how much of an emergency it really was."

As the cars fired their engines Thursday afternoon for the first practice session of the weekend, the Mayfield watch ended roughly 24 hours after a federal judge lifted the indefinite suspension and cleared him to race at Daytona.

Mayfield's absence calmed at least one driver, who was admittedly uncomfortable driving against Mayfield now that NASCAR said he tested positive for methamphetamines in a urine sample collected May 1.

"A federal judge releasing someone to drive without clarifying everything, that's not cool," said Ryan Newman, one of the most vocal drivers about drug testing since Mayfield's suspension. "People make mistakes. I hope the judge didn't make one."

Mayfield sued NASCAR over the suspension, which covered his roles as owner and driver of the No. 41 Mayfield Motorsports Toyota. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen issued a temporary injunction based on the argument that NASCAR's testing system is flawed.

Although Mayfield said after the ruling he intended to travel to Daytona, he wasn't sure he'd be able to compete because of the short turnaround.

He's admittedly cash-strapped, revealing in an affidavit last week that since his suspension on May 9 he's had to lay off 10 employees, borrow money from family and sell personal assets to cover his living expenses. Triad Racing Technologies also is suing Mayfield for more than $86,000 for parts, pieces and chassis work he allegedly owes the company.

The outstanding balance would make it difficult for him to purchase a motor to use in the No. 41, and he also would have had to pay a $5,005 late entry fee to bring his own car to Daytona.

His other option was finding a team owner willing to give him a ride. Ten teams are trying to qualify for eight open spots in Saturday night's race, but only a handful likely would consider making a driver change to accommodate Mayfield.

Of them, Tommy Baldwin, Larry Gunselman, Joe Nemechek and Phil Parsons said they weren't interested.

"Whether he's right, wrong or different right now, he's marked," said Tommy Baldwin, an interim crew chief for Mayfield in 2007. "And that's going to hurt him probably for the rest of his career."

Driving Gunselman's No. 64 was believed to be Mayfield's best opportunity at Daytona, but Gunselman said Southeastern-based discount store Fred's, which signed on to sponsor the car this weekend, did not want to associate itself with Mayfield.

"They probably would choose not to be involved at this particular time," said Gunselman, who added he had not had any direct conversations with Mayfield about replacing Mike Wallace in the car.

"For being a small, startup team that's struggled, I have to consider every potential scenario for our race team. Everybody's feelings are kind of sensitive at the moment, and I'd have to be very aware of everything involved."

Gunselman, who does not have a sponsor lined up for next week in Chicago, said he'd be willing to work with Mayfield going forward.

"I've been involved in NASCAR for a long time, and I'm hoping all parties can put this thing behind them and move forward in a positive manner," he said. "If I can help mediate that or be somehow involved in that, that would be wonderful."

There was mixed reaction throughout the garage whether Mayfield will be able to move past the suspension and the ongoing lawsuits. Many drivers said they believed Mayfield will blend right in when he does return, but Baldwin doesn't think it will be so easy.

"We all like Jeremy, there's no doubt about that," he said. "The unfortunate thing is the last couple months here, he's gone through his struggles and it's not going to help him in the business world of racing, that's for sure."

Plus, finding work or getting his own team back to the track will be a difficult challenge.

"He didn't have a job prior to this," Jeff Burton said. "I don't think (team owners) Rick Hendrick or Richard Childress were going to call him, anyway. I'm not being ugly; it's just the truth. Without a doubt, there's now an asterisk next to his name, and that's going to make it a whole lot harder."

Drivers react to Mayfield's reinstatement

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Bump-drafting, slingshot passing and restrictor-plate racing weren't the buzzwords being thrown around Daytona International Speedway on Thursday.

There was way more talk about affidavits, B samples, false positives and a judge's temporary injunction that reinstated suspended NASCAR owner-driver Jeremy Mayfield.

A federal judge in Charlotte, N.C., lifted Mayfield's indefinite suspension Wednesday, allowing him to race at Daytona this weekend.

"The situation that we had, when somebody tests positive, is something to be seriously considered, and there's a lot of responsibility that goes along with that," driver Ryan Newman said. "People make mistakes. I hope the judge didn't make one."

Mayfield missed the deadline to enter his No. 41 Toyota into Saturday night's race. He still could drive for another team, although no owners seemed ready to offer him a ride.

"Everybody out here wants to race, and they want to race hard and race with people that are in the same state of mind that you're in," former teammate Kasey Kahne said. "If people are into other things, they should go do those things by themselves and not be on a race track going 200 mph with other racers."

Mayfield failed a random drug test May 1 and was suspended eight days later. Outside court Wednesday, NASCAR said Mayfield had tested positive for methamphetamines. But in an affidavit filed last week, Mayfield denied ever using the illegal drug. He has blamed the positive test on the combination of Adderall, prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Claritin-D, used to fight allergies.

NASCAR attorney Paul Hendrick argued that the "massive amounts" of methamphetamines in Mayfield's sample suggest his defense was "simply not true." But U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen ruled in Mayfield's favor, saying the likelihood of a false positive was "quite substantial."

That decision shocked many in the sport.

"Either Jeremy or NASCAR is wrong, and I don't know which one, but whichever one is wrong is really hurting the other," said veteran Mark Martin, adding that his biggest concern is that NASCAR doesn't have the final say in who can and can't drive.

Three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was simply baffled by the whole mess.

"I don't even know where to start because you hear one rumor that it's one way and another that it's another way," Johnson said. "Now, next thing you know, there's a chance for him to come back to the racetrack and makes you believe maybe there's something wrong with the system and then you hear the rumors. It's just a confusing mess right now. I look forward to the day that it's all laid out plain and simple."

For some it already is.

"If he's out there on the race track with me, it doesn't bother me," Kyle Busch said. "Normally, we're ahead of him anyway."

Kahne, too, took a shot at Mayfield.

"As far as racing with Jeremy, I don't ever race with Jeremy," Kahne said. "He's at one end; I'm at the other."

Even so, some drivers have expressed concerns about even being on the same track.

Johnson and four-time Cup champ Jeff Gordon both signed affidavits, part of a recent NASCAR court filing, saying they didn't want to be on the same track as someone who tests positive for a banned substance or has drugs in his system.

"It's almost a ‘duh' statement when they say they don't want drivers using drugs on the racetrack. Who does?" Mayfield's attorney, Bill Diehl, said in court.

The two former champs are among those having a hard time keeping track of all the developments.

"I'm so confused right now at the whole thing that I'm going to let it all play out," Gordon said. "I haven't been following it enough to know what's going on, so leave me out of it. I support NASCAR in what they're wanting to do and what they're trying to do with the drug policy. I think it's the right thing to do."

Added Johnson: "We just want people on the track that are sober and not under the influence of anything. ... If he passes the test, then put him back on the track. It's hard to know with all that's gone on over last few months what is what. It's just getting more confusing as every day unfolds."

Jeff Burton had a better feel for the details.

"Ultimately, unless there is some agreement prior to that, it will eventually go to trial and that decision of that trial will be huge," Burton said.

Until then, Burton would like to see Mayfield tested as often as possible.

"The fact of the matter is that he failed a drug test, and that opens the door to question," Burton said. "I deserve to 100 percent know that he is 100 percent clean and so he should be tested soon enough, early enough, often enough to where he can never be on the race track while he is using drugs."

-- Mark Long

'Marked' man Mayfield in for quite a fight

When NASCAR people talked about the need for speed, methamphetamines weren't part of the conversation.

Suddenly, they're talking about little else.

What ignited all the talk was driver Jeremy Mayfield's come-from-behind win earlier this week in what promises to be a long and grueling legal race. Fair or not, the only way Mayfield wins - let alone makes it to the end - is if he turns out to a better plaintiff than driver.

Hauling NASCAR before a judge to contest his suspension for failing a May 1 drug test is like setting fire to the toll booth that sits on the only span leading back to the sport.

If he thinks the guys on the track play hardball, wait until he tries running with NASCAR's suits in a courtroom. Fair fight or not, they're in the image business. Instead of just bumping Mayfield, their job is to make him disappear.

"Either Jeremy or NASCAR is wrong, and I don't know which one," said veteran driver Mark Martin, "but whichever one is wrong is really hurting the other."

What isn't in doubt is who is more capable of hurting whom.

U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen certainly gets that.

NASCAR indefinitely suspended Mayfield for a failed drug test in May - acknowledging Wednesday that methamphetamines tripped the positive - then turned the matter over to the lawyers and expected it to go away.

But Mayfield, who has denied ever using methamphetamines, had a lawyer, too. On Wednesday, Bill Diehl convinced the judge in Charlotte, N.C., that the testing program was flawed enough that barring Mayfield from the race track caused him more harm than any damage his presence could cause NASCAR.

Never mind that a few top drivers had filed affidavits in support of the racing circuit, saying they wouldn't feel safe sharing the race track. The judge didn't buy that argument any more than Mayfield's lawyer.

"Who does?" Diehl said.

Keep in mind that even though Mayfield won Round 1, the celebration didn't last long.

Although the temporary injunction granted him the right to enter this weekend's race at Daytona, he didn't turn up by Thursday's deadline to claim a spot for his own team. Strapped for cash, he seems to make sponsors jittery, or as one small team owner put it, he's "marked."

It wasn't the first time someone described Mayfield that way. Except they meant marked for stardom, not nicked by the first big drug-testing mess that landed in NASCAR's lap.

Mayfield was a rising star nearly a decade ago, and as recently as 2004, he got another shot at a breakthrough. He squeezed into the initial "Chase for the Championship" by winning the final qualifying race in the last laps, including an audacious bump of Dale Earnhardt Jr. near the very end.

Hungry to promote their just-launched playoff series, NASCAR stressed the last-chance angle in a few ads. It turned out to be more accurate than Mayfield or the marketing people dreamed. He wound up leaving Ray Evernham's top-flight operation in 2006 the same way he left Roger Penske's a few years earlier - with bruised feelings on both sides.

Mayfield hasn't been offered a ride from a top-flight team since. This season, he owns his own low-budget team. He says he's had to borrow from relatives, lay off 10 employees and sell personal assets to met his living expenses. His best chance for a paycheck comes at the Brickyard in Indianapolis at the end of the month; whether he'll have enough cash to run a car and still pay a lawyer is anyone's guess.

NASCAR hasn't said much about its legal battle plan going forward. But with its deep pockets and non-nonsense attitude, the people in charge will do all they can to make sure he's nowhere near the race track at all.

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke@ap.org

NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees a who's who of stars

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Stock car racing giants ranging from Bill France Sr. and Junior Johnson to Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are among the 25 nominees for NASCAR's first Hall of Fame class.

The announcement Thursday night comes 10 months before the Hall of Fame's scheduled opening in downtown Charlotte. An inaugural class of five will be chosen from the group that includes the bootleggers who helped create the sport to the drivers, owners and officials who made it popular.

NASCAR patriarch France and his son, Bill France Jr., were among the candidates selected by a 21-member panel. The drivers include Petty, Earnhardt, Johnson, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarbrough and Glenn "Fireball" Roberts.

Car owners are represented, too, including Bud Moore, Raymond Parks, Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress and Glen Wood.

A panel of people in the sport and a fan vote will decide the first class, which will be announced in October. Induction will take place in conjunction with the Hall's opening in May.

"That first class, just like the first baseball class that has the likes of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, is going to be extremely special," Hall of Fame director Winston Kelley said.

The list of nominees is a cross section of the sport's history. Yet the star quality in the group begins with Petty and the late Earnhardt, who share the NASCAR record with seven championship titles.

Earnhardt, who died in a last-lap crash at the 2001 Daytona 500, won 76 races and his black No. 3 car remains one of the signature symbols of NASCAR.

Petty is a Hall of Fame lock. His staggering 200 career victories, 123 poles, 10 consecutive wins and seven Daytona 500 victories are all records. He remains involved in the sport by helping run a race team, now called Richard Petty Motorsports.

The nominating committee included all areas of the sport in choosing the candidates.

France and his son, both deceased, help create NASCAR, and the France family still runs the enterprise. Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett were successful drivers-turned-broadcasters. Richie Evans became a star racing modifieds. Joe Weatherly went from dominating modified racing to winning two Cup championships.

The drivers cover all the sport's eras. Red Byron won NASCAR's first sanctioned race in 1948 on Daytona's beach course. Buck Baker was the first driver to win consecutive points titles in 1956-57. Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500. Roberts, Tim Flock, Herb Thomas and Curtis Turner were other early stars nominated.

Johnson, who honed his skills racing souped-up cars to stay out of reach of the police in the North Carolina hills, won 50 races before becoming a successful car owner. Waltrip won his three Cup titles working for Johnson before embarking on a broadcasting career.

Pearson starred in the 1960s, winning three championships. His 105 career wins are second overall. Waltrip and Allison are tied for third with 84 wins each. Yarbrough dominated much of the 1970s, winning three consecutive Cup titles and amassing 83 career wins.

Several drivers and owners, including Richard Petty, have donated items to the Hall of Fame. The facility, under construction since early 2007, will include 40,000 square feet of exhibit space, a theater, racing simulators, restaurants and retail outlets.

-- Mike Cranston

Biffle, Hornish crash during practice

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish Jr. wrecked during practice for Saturday night's NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway.

Neither driver was injured.

Biffle and Hornish got together during the second of two Sprint Cup practices Thursday. Both cars hit the wall and sustained right-side damage. Biffle's crew unloaded a backup car and started getting it ready for Friday's qualifying session. It was unclear whether Hornish's team would do the same.

Biffle, ninth in the points standings, was 17th fastest in the practice session at 188.636 mph. Hornish, 25th in points, was ninth-fastest at 189.306 mph.

IRL

Source: Power to race in Toronto

INDIANAPOLIS - Australian driver Will Power will rejoin Penske Racing for the July 12 event in Toronto.

Power will drive five races in the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Dallara/Honda this season.

He opened the season with Penske's team as a temporary replacement for Helio Castroneves. When Castroneves was acquitted of tax evasion charges in April, he reclaimed his seat, and Penske kept Power on the team for two more races - Long Beach and the Indy 500.

The team confirmed in June that Power would run five more races for the team.

A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday that Power also will race in Edmonton on July 26, Kentucky on Aug. 1, Sonoma on Aug. 23 and Miami on Oct. 10. The person requested anonymity because the dates had yet to be announced.

-- Cliff Brunt