CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR filed court documents Monday night that show an independent laboratory found an illegal substance in the urine sample that led to Jeremy Mayfield’s suspension for a failed drug test.
The documents, part of NASCAR’s response to Mayfield’s lawsuit to have his indefinite suspension lifted, show that Medtox Laboratories in Minnesota tested both his “A” and backup “B” samples last week and “confirmed the presence” of a substance that is blacked out in the filing.
Both sides are due in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, and Mayfield is hoping a judge reinstates him in time to travel to this weekend’s race at Daytona International Speedway.
NASCAR, which is countersuing, argued in its filing Monday that the “safety risk is simply too significant to let Mayfield back on the track.”
“No one but Mayfield knows whether his (drug name redacted) use was an isolated event,” NASCAR said in its brief.
Mayfield has been suspended since May 9 for failing a random drug test eight days earlier for what NASCAR has deemed “a dangerous, illegal, banned substance.” Mayfield indicated in an affidavit filed last week that he tested positive for methamphetamines, which he denied using.
Mayfield has previously blamed his positive test result on the combination of Adderall for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Claritin-D for allergies, but that explanation was debunked by NASCAR’s program administrator.
In Monday’s filing, NASCAR claimed Mayfield provided a prescription for Adderall that he received from the “Vitality Anti-Aging Center & Medical Spa” in Hickory, and not his personal physician.
Mayfield’s lawyer’s are challenging the validity of NASCAR’s drug testing process in their bid to have Mayfield reinstated. Mayfield has missed seven races since his suspension, which also covers his role as owner of Mayfield Motorsports.
He said in his affidavit last week that his career has been ruined by the suspension, and he’s been forced to borrow money from family and sell personal assets to pay his living expenses. His wife, Shana, is currently listed as the owner of the No. 41 Toyota, but she has not sent it to the track to compete the last five weeks.
NASCAR argued in its Monday filings that Mayfield Motorsports can send the team to the track with a substitute driver, as it did the first two weeks of his suspension.
The sanctioning body also cautioned against allowing Mayfield to fight his positive drug test in court instead of abiding by the toughened policy, which calls for him to participate in a reinstatement program.
“It is not in the public interest to send the message that (drug name redacted) and other drug users can simply ignore a sports league’s decisions by racing to the courthouse to overturn the league’s decision — all by merely alleging procedural imperfections, without any evidence that some imperfection actually led to a false positive,” NASCAR wrote.
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