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June 18, 2009
Problems Mount for Jeremy Mayfield
There are a lot of fans who are still under the impression that NASCAR is out to get Jeremy Mayfield and that the positive drug test is complete fiction. As it turns out what might be fictional is the credentials of the expert whose testimony forms the basis of the lawsuit that Mayfield filed against NASCAR. According to a motion filed this week, NASCAR can't find any record of any of the degrees or certifications that Harvey MacFenerstein claims to have. While Mayfield's lawyer claims that NASCAR's motion will be easy to refute I'm not so sure of that. Just exactly how are they going to refute a sworn affidavit from the registrar at Mid Western State University of Texas where MacFenerstein claims he got a B.S. that no one with that name ever received a degree? Or that officials in Mexico say that there's no record that MacFenderstein ever got a medical doctor degree from CETED University as he claimed?
In some ways it's astonishing that Mayfield's lawyer apparently never checked MacFenerstein's credentials himself, but given that MacFenderstein has apparently testified as an expert in other cases, he probably assumed that at some point someone else had verified his credentials. But apparently no one did since these issues likely would have surfaced well before now. The ramifications are significant, not only for Mayfield's case since MacFenerstein's testimony forms the backbone of his lawsuit, but likely for any other case he testified in. A lot of fans seemed to think that NASCAR had a weak case and no reason to suspend Mayfield, that they would be unable to defend themselves in court and would quickly roll over and settle with him. I knew that was unlikely to happen, not when there's a positive drug test for an illegal substance. NASCAR is playing hardball and likely will through the conclusion of this case.
I have to wonder how much longer Mayfield's suit will continue. Not only is NASCAR poking holes in much of his suit but it seems that at some point Mayfield will probably run out of money. Mayfield Motorsports has stopped showing up for races and now comes word that they're being sued by Triad Racing Technologies and BDR Acquisition for non-payment for parts, pieces and chassis worth more than $86,000. Something tells me that may not be the only company that hasn't been paid by Mayfield Motorsports. I've wondered from the start where they were going to get their money from. Sure, Allsport was on the car as a sponsor and bought into the organization, but Mayfield Motorsports seemed to be a shoe-string operation that didn't have much resources, financially or otherwise. And they certainly weren't bringing in much money from winnings since they were struggling to qualify for races and finish well in those races they made.
Controversy has plagued Mayfield throughout his career but in recent years I've rooted for him because he's an underdog and I always pull for underdogs. But it's really hard to support him now. Between the positive drug test and what may be some big financial problems, he has some pretty serious issues to deal with. Some of his fans seem to think that this is all one big conspiracy against him by NASCAR but I think those people have their heads in the sand about the reality of Mayfield's situation. I hope he's able to get everything straightened out and one day return to NASCAR in some role but right now it appears he has a pretty big hole he needs to climb out of before that happens.
Posted by silverdsl at June 18, 2009 09:24 AM