NASCAR-Jeremy Mayfield settlement discussions provide no resolution
NASCAR and driver Jeremy Mayfield met Wednesday in court-ordered mediation but were unable to come to a settlement over issues surrounding a 2009 drug test that NASCAR says was positive for methamphetamines. // Archive, NASCAR Illustrated
NASCAR and Jeremy Mayfield met Wednesday in court-ordered mediation and were unable to come to a settlement over their issues surrounding a May 1, 2009, drug test that NASCAR says was positive for methamphetamines, according to a court filing Friday by NASCAR.
A U.S. District Court judge in Charlotte ruled in May that Mayfield, who has said he did not use methamphetamines, did not have a case against NASCAR and ruled in favor of NASCAR without the case going to trial.
NASCAR’s countersuit against Mayfield for fraud and breach of contract is still pending with a trial scheduled for July 2011, and the two sides met in mediation Wednesday.
With no settlement, NASCAR has now asked that the court allow Mayfield to file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals and have that appeal decided before NASCAR’s counterclaim proceeds.
“There is overlap in witnesses and discovery issues related to [Mayfield’s] claims and NASCAR’s counterclaims. … There is no just reason for delaying an appeal,” NASCAR wrote in its request.
Mayfield, who was indefinitely suspended from NASCAR on May 9, 2009, had sued NASCAR for breach of contract, discrimination and defamation in an attempt to return to racing and for financial damages. He won an injunction to participate in NASCAR in July 2009 but never returned to competition.
The injunction was later stayed, pending appeal, and Mayfield – the only driver suspended for violations of the substance-abuse policy since NASCAR implemented random drug testing in 2009 – eventually asked for the court to drop the injunction so the case could proceed more quickly toward trial. The judge then surprisingly dismissed Mayfield’s claims in May.
The 41-year-old Mayfield, who has 433 career starts with five Cup victories and two Chase appearances, qualified for five of the first 11 races of the 2009 season before being suspended. He has denied using methamphetamines and contends that the drug-test findings that prompted his suspension resulted from a combination of the prescription drug Adderall, which is used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and over-the-counter Claritin-D allergy medicine. He also argued that NASCAR must follow guidelines that regulate federal agencies.
NASCAR denied that Aegis Sciences Corp., which conducts the NASCAR drug-testing program, must follow those regulations, and U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen agreed in his ruling in May. Mullen also ruled in May that Mayfield had given up his right to sue on a variety of issues because of waivers he had signed with NASCAR in order to compete.
