Nascar News: 2009

Friday, July 10, 2009

Mayfield Lets Loose in ESPN Interview

Jeremy Mayfield, friends, is a tired fellow.Tired, that is, of NASCAR -- in his eyes -- writing the best fiction story they can about his alleged drug abuse and the accompanying legal battle that has blown up in the sanctioning body's face with the driver's desire to fight the allegations.And so, Mayfield opened up and proceeded to light up NASCAR this week after winning a federal injunction that allows him to race again in a story by Marty Smith over at ESPN.Because Smith seemingly asked any and all of the necessary questions and did a great job of putting it together, I strongly, strongly encourage you to read the article in full here, and when you're done, come on back and we'll analyze some of the key points that Mayfield made.Jeremy Mayfield on being made an example of: "I feel like that's exactly what they thought I was going to be. Exactly. To a 'T,'" Mayfield said. "Now, all the sudden, Brian's [France, NASCAR's chairman] coming back saying, 'Well, we have positive tests all the time.' Well, if it's a zero-tolerance policy, how in the hell do you have people testing positive all the time? [...]"It's bull----, man, and somebody needs to stand up and see through this. There's experts out everywhere saying the same thing I'm [saying]."Analysis: Mayfield does a bring a valid a point, one that says NASCAR probably assumed that they weren't going to get any resistance from Mayfield's camp on the failed -- or false positive -- test. Quite the contrary, obviously, occured with Mayfield signing up with a prominent Charlotte attorney to fight the charge from NASCAR.As for those experts, Mayfield is referring to the heads of the World Anti-Doping Agency and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, who both have said that NASCAR's drug policy -- and most notably, a lack of a published list of banned substances -- remains suspect.Mayfield on NASCAR's allegation that he tried to evade a Monday drug test: "It was a wild-goose chase and I got pissed off about it," he said. "I was like, 'I'm not doing this for nobody.' Why would I? I know what they're trying to do, [make it] where I can't meet my 18-minute deadline, which I was already late for anyway." Mayfield said he then stopped at an independent lab of his choice to conduct a test, so "they couldn't use that against me." He then drove the rest of the way home where Buric said NASCAR would be waiting to collect a urine sample. "So I drive home, haul ass home after I take my test, get here, nobody's here," Mayfield said. "Waited on them. Waited on them. Waited on them. [...] "I did one [test] for the independent lab before their test, took their test, and did one after their test for another independent lab," Mayfield said. "So I went to two different labs, plus their test on Monday. I want to make that clear. Nobody's running and hiding."Analysis: NASCAR's version of the events said Mayfield was intentionally late to a planned test at a Charlotte-area clinic, and then when their officials arrived at his home, he initially disputed taking the test for over an hour. In fact, the story they told didn't look on Mayfield at all.However, with Mayfield's version of the Monday events, the story gets plenty cloudy -- and if indeed Mayfield is right that they are simply trying to target him and virtually force him to fail at beating the drug allegations, NASCAR doesn't come off well in the possible "wild-goose chase".A fact that does extreme, though, is that NASCAR forced Mayfield to produce his urine simple in view of the medical personnel present, rather than allowing him than privacy of a bathroom stall. Mayfield colned it "humiliating".Mayfield on his future as a "marked man: "Forever," he said. "You know what's kind of sickening? Several, including Dr. [David] Black, who's not a doctor, this is what makes you sick, [them saying] 'Jeremy, if you just go about this quietly you'll be OK. You'll be all right.' Well, bull----. I'm marked. How do you go about this thing quietly? Tell me that."Analysis: If what Mayfield claims Black said is true, it certainly helps to back up his allegations that NASCAR was ultimately trying to use Mayfield as an example for its new drug testing policy. Indeed, being marked as a guy that has taken drugs is a virtual blacklisting of any driver in NASCAR -- meaning if Mayfield was quiet about the issue, he wouldn't be any better off. Mayfield says later in the article that the experience has drained him both emotionally and financially, and that he's only got the truth left. Sure, he's making some good arguments, but would a guy who's out of money to even race a car that he fought NASCAR to be able to do last week be hanging on to something that he's just trying to cover up?Mayfield on why these problems don't exist in other sports: "You don't see these problems going on with Major League Baseball, NFL football. No other sports that we're supposed to be atop of, right? You don't see these problems," Mayfield said. "Guess what they've got? Unions. They've got people that look after them. They've got people that look after the players' association. They don't go through all this [stuff] we're going through right now. None of them. "And they take their stars out. If their stars are taking steroids, or whatever, they're gone. There's nothing to protect them, but them, they know how long they're gone. Here? It's an open-book deal. It's whatever [NASCAR] says, any time they say it." Analysis: A driver's union once had a place in NASCAR for roughly one day until the driver responsible for attempting to organize his fellow wheelmen was banished from the sport by Bill France. But Mayfield does have a point here -- because NASCAR treats its drivers as independent contractors, it leaves no room for an organized effort of drivers to make sure NASCAR's rules are fair, complete and not run with pencil and eraser.Compare Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodges for a moment. The All-Star outfield was banned for 50 games earlier this season for failing a drug test, but he didn't appeal and there was no uproar because the players union in baseball trusts in the drug testing program. He was punished, given a definite timeline, and has now returned.In Mayfield's case? Had the injunction not been lifted earlier this week, he'd have absolutely no idea when he could return to the track. In a sport that requires race-by-race sponsorship, that makes it pretty tough to even stay in business for a guy like Mayfield as an owner-driver.

Mayfield case puts spotlight on NASCAR drug policy

Mayfield case puts spotlight on NASCAR drug policy
By EDDIE PELLS – 16 hours ago
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Although NASCAR contends it has the best anti-doping procedures in sports, some experts see flaws in the policy and question whether drivers are getting a fair shake in the lab or a safe ride on the track.
The debate between outfits that run Olympic-style testing programs and leagues that enforce their own — NASCAR, baseball and the NFL among them — has been going on for a while, but it's taking on new relevance in the wake of Jeremy Mayfield's case against NASCAR.
NASCAR suspended the 40-year-old driver May 9, eight days after failing a random drug test. NASCAR has said Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamine, but he has denied ever using the illegal drug.
Last week, a federal judge issued an injunction and overturned the drug suspension to let Mayfield to compete. NASCAR is appealing the judge's ruling, saying that allowing "a proven methamphetamine user" back on the track could lead to fatal consequences for other competitors and fans.
The Mayfield case "will be used as Exhibit 1 of what can go horribly wrong when you don't have an effective policy in place," said Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which oversees America's Olympic athletes.
"The truly clean drivers, frankly, should be outraged," Tygart said. "Because you either have a drug user who got off on a technicality due to poor policy, or you have a clean athlete who is falsely accused. Either way, I'd be scared to death if I were a driver."
NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston conceded the policy wasn't perfect, and that NASCAR is always looking for places to make improvements.
But nobody, he said, should question the intent. A big difference between NASCAR and other sports is NASCAR must be on the lookout for drugs that enhance performance and those that impair it.
"Our sport is different, and that's why, again, maybe the whole issue is so simple it confuses people," Poston said.
Despite being cleared to race, Mayfield couldn't find a ride for last weekend's race at Daytona, and on Thursday, his attorney said he would not be in Chicago for this weekend's race.
Experts from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Anti-Doping Research lab in Los Angeles joined Tygart in flagging a number of elements in the NASCAR policy that don't conform to standards used by Olympic sports.
Among the flaws, they said, was NASCAR's lack of a published list of banned substances for drivers.
"Unfathomable," said Gary Wadler, who helps design WADA's list of banned substances. "I can't conceive of any athlete who was going to be drug tested and not know what drugs they can take and are not allowed to take. It makes no sense to me. The whole program is a nonstarter without a list."
NASCAR disputes that, saying there is, in fact, a list that was distributed to teams at the beginning of the season when they were required to have their crews drug tested. That list was nowhere as detailed as the list WADA puts out, but NASCAR has a reason for that, as well.
"I wish someone would look up that WADA list and attempt to tell me if it educates them on what they can or cannot take," said David Black, CEO of the Aegis Sciences Corp., which runs NASCAR's program. "Every participant has my cell phone number. Any participant is allowed to call me about any issue related to a supplement, a prescription. I do speak with them. They're all given that opportunity."
Tygart also said testing programs should be transparent, independent from the sport, and should include effective sanctions that are clearly spelled out, along with a fair process for those who are being punished.
NASCAR's 5 1/2-page policy lays out a path to reinstatement for banned drivers but calls only for "indefinite" suspensions, with no specific time frames. Cases run by WADA and USADA call for a two-year ban on a first offense and a lifetime ban on a second, with a clearly defined appeals and arbitration process, along with opportunities for reductions due to unusual circumstances.
Don Catlin, the founder of Anti-Doping Research who used to lead the WADA-accredited lab at UCLA, agrees with NASCAR in saying that WADA standards aren't the only ones that are acceptable. But he said he finds it troubling whenever a sport administers its own drug-testing program.
Aegis, based in Nashville, Tenn., tests samples and advises NASCAR on its policy. Final decisions are made by NASCAR officials in consultation with Black.
"Programs need to involve people who don't have a stake in it, who don't really care and will try to see the facts as they are," Catlin said. "Independence is the word. You go back to the Mitchell Report, with baseball. In there, you find a lot of justification for independence."
Black, however, said he has never seen a conflict of interest between the recommendations he gives NASCAR and the decisions NASCAR makes. Though NASCAR's drug policy became more widely publicized this year when it added random testing, the racing circuit has been testing drivers on reasonable suspicion for two decades, Black said.
"In the 20 years I've consulted with NASCAR, I have never sensed that there is anything other than a sincere desire to put in place the best possible program," Black said. "I've never run into a disagreement with NASCAR with regard to application of the policy, no matter who the person was that was determined to be the drug user."
Now, however, some possible flaws are being exposed as the Mayfield case winds its way through the federal court system.
When athletes sue, judges almost always refuse to take cases involving WADA rules because the clearly defined appeals and arbitration process ends at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Cases decided there are, like any, subject to lawyering, but are normally decided by people with more background on doping issues than most state or federal judges.
"They've opened this Pandora's box, and now they're stuck with it," Catlin said. "They can play it out in whatever court it's going to play out in. There are people who can sort it out for them, but the way the program is structured, I don't see anyone sticking their neck out to get involved."
(This version CORRECTS 5th graf to U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, sted Association.)
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Friday, May 15, 2009

J.J. Yeley takes seat in No. 41

Updated: May 12, 2009, 3:24 PM ET
Yeley takes seat in No. 41
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By David NewtonESPN.comArchive
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- J.J. Yeley will replace suspended Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield in the No. 41 car beginning with this weekend's preliminary to the Sprint All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Yeley said on Tuesday that before an official announcement can be made, Mayfield must dissolve his ownership in the organization. He said the plan is for Mayfield's wife, Shana, to be listed as the official owner.
"I've already been to the shop and have been fitted for a seat. ... I met with the team," said Yeley, who has two top-fives and seven top-10s in 95 Cup races.
Mayfield on Saturday became the first Cup driver to be suspended for violating NASCAR's substance-abuse policy. The indefinite suspension affects him as a driver as well as an owner; he started his team about a month before the start of the season.
[+] Enlarge
Sam Sharpe/US PresswireJ.J. Yeley's first appearance in the No. 41 will be this weekend in Charlotte for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race.
The 39-year-old Mayfield insists he did nothing wrong, that the positive test was the result of combining a prescription drug with an over-the-counter drug for allergies. Dr. David Black, who runs NASCAR's testing program, disputed his claim.
Yeley, who has been out of a Cup ride since losing his job at Hall of Fame Racing last season, had no reservations about stepping into Mayfield's seat.
"I don't," he said. "I know from the dealings I've had with Jeremy he's a super nice guy. I met with all the guys over there. They're the underdog trying to make it in the big world. They've got the equipment. It's just been a big learning curve trying to figure out this car.
"But they have cars more than capable of making these races."
Yeley will have to qualify on speed beginning with next week's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Mayfield made only five of the first 11 races and ranked 45th in points. Only the top 35 in owner points are guaranteed a starting spot.
Yeley doesn't know how long the ride will last, but says there's a chance it could be the rest of the season.
"There's a question about what will happen with Jeremy," he said. "I am not exactly sure of the discussions Jeremy had with NASCAR. What he's telling me is [the positive test] was between medications he takes. Obviously, it's nothing bad. "If he can find a way to get reinstated, he will. I don't know how that's going to work."
But Yeley said Mayfield is determined to keep a car on the track regardless.
"They want to make it in the sport," Yeley said. "Those guys, they show up at 8 in the morning and they were still there at 8 in the evening. They have a lot of heart and soul over there."
Yeley understands he'll be subjected to the same random drug tests Mayfield took once he steps into the car. He is concerned, however, that he does not know what is on the list of banned substances.
"I know in the NFL and some of the other professional sports they make a list of everything that is legal and not legal," he said. "I don't think that's the way NASCAR does it. I don't know what I can take. If I have a migraine I'm scared to death to take something that may or may not trigger something."
David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.