Jeremy Mayfield wants to return to racing, and NASCAR CEO Brian France seems open to the idea, provided Mayfield takes the right path and goes through the required process.
Mayfield, who failed a drug test in 2009, is still indefinitely suspended from NASCAR, and he hasn’t been able to stay out of trouble since the suspension was handed down. Mayfield was ordered in May by a Forsyth County (N.C.) Superior Court judge to pay $1 million to a postal carrier who was attacked by the driver’s five dogs, and Mayfield is also facing a number of felony charges, including possession of methamphetamine and stolen goods.
Simply put, Mayfield hasn’t exactly been the model citizen since NASCAR laid the hammer down.
But that apparently hasn’t taken away from Mayfield’s passion for racing, and he called in to Motor Racing Network’s NASCAR Live on Tuesday night to speak with France, who was a guest on the show, to plead his case. Surprisingly, the on-air conversation seemed very constructive.
Below is a look at what transpired.
Mayfield: Hey, thank you. I thought I was going to call in and see how you guys were doing and Brian [France], [host] Eli [Gold]. I haven’t been around much and got to talk to you guys lately and just want to ask Brian if he’s willing to accept the fact that I’d like to come back racing. And if we can sit down and talk about it and figure out what we need to do to make that work.
France: Well, Jeremy, you know the path back for you; it’s the path back for anybody and, you know, I’ve always hoped that you would choose the right path and not litigation and bunch of other things, but that’s up to you. And you have a welcome mat out any time you want and there’s a stated process that, you know, AJ Allmendinger just went through and welcomed him back and it’s terrific. That’s up to you.
Mayfield: OK, well I appreciate that. I didn’t mean to bother you on the show but that was the only way I could get a hold of you and I figured it’d be a great opportunity to do that. And you guys have a good night and I appreciate it [inaudible].
We shall see if Mayfield is serious about getting back to NASCAR. First, he’ll have to deal with his ongoing legal problems, but it sounds like his heart is at least in the right place. Now, it’s a matter of getting his head in the right place to ensure that if he does return, there will be no more problems going forward.
Have a listen to the conversation below.
Photo via Facebook/Jeremy Mayfield
