Mayfield goes on 12-day tour of Iraq

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

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Jeremy Mayfield left May 6 for 12 days where even if he got offered another NASCAR ride, he wouldn’t be able to accept it until he returned.

Mayfield took a 12-day tour of Iraq where he, along with a few drag racers, visited three to seven bases a day to talk to troops stationed over there. Mayfield said he was impressed with what the soldiers are currently doing in Iraq in trying to rebuild the country.

“I thought it would be a depressing deal, but it really wasn’t,” Mayfield said in a phone interview Tuesday. “All the soldiers, everybody from the guy on the front line through the commanding general, was just really upbeat, in a great mood. Everything was positive. … What got me was how many people re-enlisted to come back over.”

A two-time Chase participant, Mayfield drove for Haas CNC Racing for the first seven events this year before parting ways with the team. He has had a few talks with other teams, but when the idea was presented to him, he opted to go on the goodwill trip to Iraq.

“It’s something I am proud to say I did,” Mayfield said. “It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I met a lot of great people there. As far as my career, I’ll go from here and see what happens.

“The timing was perfect on it. I was sitting here not having a ride, and I went and did it. I think I made a difference. I think it was more important than waiting around hoping somebody calls me. It’s hard for me to sit here and tell you what it means to the guys over there.”

Many of the soldiers wanted to talk about racing with him, but Mayfield couldn’t stay awake to watch the races with the troops, which were televised in the early morning at bases that had television capability.

“I couldn’t believe there were that many Mayfield fans over there to start with, and on top that there were so many huge NASCAR fans,” Mayfield said. “It definitely was a humbling experience.”

The driver admitted he was a little nervous about making the trip. He would see troops going to and from combat. The group of racers would take Blackhawk helicopters to each base, going from Baghdad to remote outposts in northern Iraq.

“There were things that go on like we all expect,” Mayfield said. “Every day, there’s some kind of maneuvers with some of the insurgents where they will cover up a bomb here or there, and once in a while one of those would go off.

“About every night or so, outside in the desert, three or four guys would launch a rocket over into a base, and 99.9 percent of those either don’t make it or get blown away. … Overall I felt secure, but you still wonder because it’s busy there 24 hours a day nonstop, so you never know when you lay down to go to sleep at night. I got pretty used to it.”

Now back home, Mayfield seems willing to wait for the right opportunity to get back in a race car. A 15-year veteran of the sport with five wins, Mayfield feels as if he has something to offer to a team.

“I was part of the reason why I don’t have one – I’d rather not have one than run like I was running every week,” he said. “I’ve come to
realize that. I don’t want any pity. When you go to Iraq, you really understand the true meaning of feeling sorry for something when you go into one of the hospitals. There’s a lot of people have got it worse off than we do.

“Going over there was very humbling. It makes you look at life a little bit different.”