FanHouse Jeremy Mayfield

In his first national one-on-one television interview, suspended NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield continued to deny drug use and accused NASCAR of using him as a "a good pawn who wasn't going to cost them any money at all.''

Mayfield, who was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for testing positive in a pair of drug tests this May, made the assertions on ESPN's Outside the Lines show, which will air Sunday at 9 a.m., hours before the green flag drops for the Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville, Va.

It's been widely reported that the positive test revealed use of methamphetamine, something Mayfield has denied. He claims the tests were a "false positive," the result of his use of Adderall, a prescription drug for attention-hyperactivity disorder, combined with the common allergy medication, Claritin-D.

Just when this Jeremy Mayfield saga seemed to be reaching a lull, a key witness on NASCAR's side decided to ratchet up the coverage again -- and not in a manner that's going to do the sanctioning body any good.

Lisa Mayfield, the stepmother of the driver suspended for allegedly testing positive for methamphetamines in May, was arrested Saturday night outside Jeremy's home on charges of public intoxication, alleged trespassing and simple assault among other charges, according to ESPN and other sources.

The arrest was confirmed by the Catawba County, N.C., police chief and certainly won't help the character part of her witness statements that NASCAR has planned to use extensively in its defense of Jeremy's suspension.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR accused Jeremy Mayfield of lying to a federal court about the chronology of a second random drug test, offering to provide an audio tape of the conversation in which Mayfield was told to submit a sample. The driver says the telephone call went to voicemail.

The accusation came Monday in court filings that ask U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen to lift the July 1 injunction he granted Mayfield so he could return to racing.

NASCAR disputed the sworn testimony Mayfield provided to U.S. District Court last week, including the assertion that a July 6 request for a second drug test went to his voicemail at 1:18 p.m. He said he didn't get the message until about 40 minutes later, making it difficult for him to meet the two-hour deadline to report for testing.

INDIANAPOLIS -- As cars head to the track for opening practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR received word Friday that the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with the sanctioning body and upheld its suspension of Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield.

Mayfield, who has now tested positive for drug use in two separate tests conducted by NASCAR, was originally suspended on May 9. But earlier this month he won an injunction which lifted the suspension and allowed him to race.

He did not enter a race while the suspension was lifted, and failed a second drug test last week.

At-track reporting, live chats with drivers and live updates on the ol' Twitter feed -- that's all on the plate for this weekend's NASCAR festivities in Indianapolis. FH writers Holly Cain and Geoffrey Miller will both be trackside for all your Allstate 400 coverage. Come on back, y'all.

Is it not amazing how bold NASCAR and their spokesman Ramsey Poston have been about the Jeremy Mayfield saga? One would think it would be in their best interest to go into "no comment" mode about the ugly situation, instead of consistently adding meth fuel to the fire.

It started with The Look.

Two weeks ago, while covering the NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway I walked around the garage asking Sprint Cup Series drivers, team owners, crew members, former drivers if perhaps Jeremy Mayfield deserved any "benefit of the doubt."

One by one they shot me The Look: raised eyebrows, incredulous expression.

"What doubt?" they asked.

Only a couple days earlier, a U.S. court had reinstated Mayfield's NASCAR eligibility despite the fact he tested positive for methamphetamine, despite sworn statements from fellow competitors that they were concerned for their safety should Mayfield return to the track.

Jeremy Mayfield tested positive again for methamphetamine, NASCAR said, igniting another round of denials from the driver, who angrily accused the sanctioning body of paying his stepmother to lie about his alleged past drug use.

The positive result from a July 6 random test was included in a U.S. District Court filing Wednesday that asked the federal judge who lifted Mayfield's drug suspension to reinstate the ban. The filing included an affidavit from Mayfield's stepmother, Lisa, who said she witnessed the driver using methamphetamine at least 30 times over seven years.

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.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- An attorney for Jeremy Mayfield says he will not go to Chicago for this weekend's NASCAR race.

John Buric says Mayfield does not have the necessary sponsorship for his car and no owner is willing to give him a ride for Saturday night's race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Buric says Mayfield instead will stay in North Carolina to help his lawyers respond to NASCAR's appeal.

Last week a federal judge issued an injunction that cleared Mayfield to compete. On Wednesday, NASCAR asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen's decision.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR asked a federal judge Monday to reverse the ruling that lifted driver Jeremy Mayfield's indefinite suspension for failing a random drug test.

The motion filed in U.S. District Court asked Judge Graham Mullen to reverse the injunction he issued last Wednesday that cleared Mayfield to return to competition. NASCAR also filed notice of its intent to appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.

Mayfield was suspended May 9 for a positive drug test, and NASCAR has identified the substance as methamphetamine.