NASCAR: Independent lab verified Mayfield test results
In a brief filed in U.S. District Court on Monday night, NASCAR contends that a test of Jeremy Mayfield’s urine samples at a second laboratory proved that the suspended owner/driver had an illegal drug in his system.
Mayfield and NASCAR are scheduled to be in U.S. District Court in Charlotte on Wednesday for the hearing on Mayfield's request for an injunction seeking to stop the sanctioning body from suspending him until the driver's suit can be heard by the court. NASCAR filed its brief Monday night in response to Mayfield’s brief in support of the injunction request filed Thursday.
Mayfield has argued that his May 1 test produced a false positive reading for methamphetamines, according to court documents. He contends the findings resulted from a combination of prescription drug Adderall, which is used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and over-the-counter Claritin-D allergy medicine. NASCAR, which has not named the illegal drug it says Mayfield used, has asserted that could not be the case.
NASCAR states in its filing Monday that the prescription for Adderall that Mayfield supplied to NASCAR did not come from his primary physician but from the “Vitality Anti-Aging Center & Medical Spa.”
In its filing Monday, NASCAR indicated that it has tested Mayfield’s specimen samples by a lab independent of Aegis Laboratories, which, according to documents filed with the court, has a three-year contract to administer the NASCAR drug-testing program. NASCAR states in its brief that it sent the untested portion of the A and B samples to Medtox Laboratories in St. Paul, Minn.
“Medtox … confirmed the presence of [drug name redacted] in both Mayfield’s A and B samples,” NASCAR states in its brief.
Mayfield’s experts, in earlier filings, state that because seals were broken on the A and B samples for the original tests done by Aegis, that the results are compromised. NASCAR disputes that argument in its filings.
NASCAR also argues that Mayfield doesn’t need an injunction because if there are merits to his case, he can be compensated for damages. It also states that Mayfield’s team could still compete with a different driver, which it did for two weeks after Mayfield was suspended May 9.
“While [Mayfield and his team] have not suffered, and will not suffer, any harm that could not be compensated through a monetary award, reversing the suspension would create a real and serious risk of injury or death to others...,” NASCAR states.“Not surprisingly, many drivers are unwilling to risk their lives racing with someone who tested positive for [drug name redacted], a mind-altering substance that diminishes the ability to safely drive a race car.
“If other drivers refuse to race, it will harm the relationships that NASCAR has developed with its drivers, fans, sponsors and broadcasters over the last sixty years.”
NASCAR has countersued Mayfield for breaching his agreements with the sanctioning body, which, NASCAR says, require him to inform officials about any changes in his health (Mayfield began taking the Adderall in March) and for allegedly violating the substance-abuse policy.
“No one but Mayfield knows whether his [drug name redacted] use was an isolated event,” NASCAR states in its brief. “But it is indisputable that (i) [the drug] is a highly addictive drug, (ii) Mayfield has been using amphetamines daily for months, and (iii) Mayfield raced at Richmond, where he crashed into a wall, under the influence of amphetamines, which he admits he ingested right before the race.
“The safety risk is simply too significant to let Mayfield back on the track.”
