Court temporarily lifts injunction, NASCAR suspends Jeremy Mayfield

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., on Friday granted NASCAR’s request to lift an injunction granted by a lower court judge, and Jeremy Mayfield is again suspended for what officials say was a May 1 positive test for methamphetamines until an appeal of the judge’s ruling can be heard.

"We are pleased with the 4th Circuit Court's ruling to reinstate NASCAR's suspension of Jeremy Mayfield," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said in a statement. "This is an important decision for NASCAR to make fair and equitable regulations for the safety of competitors and spectators at the track. We will continue to respectfully make our case for as long as the litigation continues."

Mayfield had obtained an injunction July 1 to keep NASCAR from enforcing that suspension. NASCAR then asked U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen to lift his injunction until an appeal could be heard and/or rescind the injunction based on a July 6 test that NASCAR says also showed positive results for methamphetamines. Mayfield disputes that finding because he took an independent test on the same day that he says shows negative results for methamphetamines.

NASCAR also had asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to lift the injunction until the appeal could be heard - an appeal which likely wouldn’t be decided until October. It was that request that was granted Friday.

“Upon review of appellants’ motion for a stay of the preliminary injunction pending appeal and appellees’ response, the Court grants the motion for stay pending appeal,” the one-page order says.

The decision was made at the direction of Judge Roger Gregory, with the concurrence of Judges Diana Gribbon Motz and Dennis Shedd.

Because of the decision, Mayfield is once again suspended, Poston said. Mayfield was not entered for the Allstate 400 this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I’m disappointed in the outcome,” Mayfield attorney John Buric said. “I expected there to be a decision by the fourth circuit that would have denied the request for a stay. That’s what we [were] expecting, that’s what we briefed, that’s what we think was the right outcome.

“The consequence to Jeremy is really … not going to affect him one way or another unless he can get sponsorship."

The schedule in appeals court requires NASCAR to file its final brief Aug. 31, with Mayfield responding by Oct. 5 and then NASCAR’s rebuttal due 14 days after Mayfield’s filing. After that, a hearing would occur. Buric said if he can get his response in earlier than the Oct. 5 deadline, the appeal on the injunction could be determined earlier than currently scheduled.

“I called Jeremy when I got the result and we talked briefly on the telephone,” Buric said. “We’ll regroup Monday morning and see what we’re going to do. … I don’t think it means that the Court of Appeals is going to reverse Judge Mullen [later this year] any more than it means they’re going to not reverse Judge Mullen.”

Mayfield claims that his May 1 test resulted in a false positive reading caused by prescription drug Adderall, which is used to treat attention-deficity hyperactivity disorder, and the allergy medication Claritin-D.

Friday’s decision is based on that original test and not the July 6 tests.

NASCAR argued in its motion filed July 8 with the appeals court that Mullen’s decision could result in a wide array of lawsuits over its ability to police the sport.

“It is against the public interest to allow judicial second-guessing of a private sports organization’s internal rules and decision-making after a participant fails a drug test, absent any evidence of bad faith or illegality,” NASCAR writes in its appeal. “Such second-guessing would invite drug users to routinely seek injunctions in drug-related termination or suspension cases. …  It invites the unthinkable: that a driver who tested positive for banned substances could simply declare himself fit to race and litigate himself back onto the track.”

NASCAR contends that Mullen failed to properly consider the sophistication and sensitivity of the Aegis Sciences Corp.’s drug-testing procedures used to conduct NASCAR’s tests and the fact that a Mayfield expert, Dr. Harold Schueler, stated that the level of methamphetamine (48,000 nanograms per milliliter) would indicate  that Mayfield might be a chronic user.

Schueler, of the Broward County (Fla.) medical examiner’s office, theorized in court papers that Mayfield is not a chronic user because he had passed an initial drug test in January. He also says in an affidavit that pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in Claritin, could convert to methamphetamine if not tested properly.

NASCAR stated in its filings that a false positive reading resulting from Claritin-D and Adderall is “scientifically impossible” and that there is no evidence that would make adulteration or a mixup of Mayfield’s urine samples plausible.

Mayfield has also contended that NASCAR must follow guidelines that regulate federal agencies. NASCAR denies that Aegis must follow those regulations.

NASCAR also questioned Mullen’s reasoning that Mayfield could be tested daily, including with a hair test, to see if he is a safety risk. NASCAR says in its appeal that “no such tests even exist,” but Mayfield’s side disagrees.

“Judge Mullen correctly took judicial notice of a reality reflected in numerous reliable sources [on hair tests],” Mayfield’s attorneys stated in a court filing.

NASCAR also stated that because an independent lab retested its Mayfield samples and came up with the same result, the testing procedure cannot be considered flawed. Mayfield’s attorneys have argued in previous filings that any test conducted after the seal has been broken is not valid.

Mayfield is the first driver suspended since NASCAR implemented random drug-testing this year.