Mayfield denies he took banned drugs

CHARLOTTE, N.C. " When Jeremy Mayfield failed a drug test, NASCAR immediately suspended him indefinitely, eager to quickly address the situation.

Nine days later, Mayfield's still the talk of the garage " for all the wrong reasons.

It's certainly not because of who he is " a driver at least five years past his prime who had to reach into his own pocket to field a team when no one else would hire him.

And it's not because he's the first driver suspended under NASCAR's toughened new drug policy.

No, it's because so many people, including Mayfield, have so many unanswered questions, prompting a circus-like atmosphere.

Last weekend, Mayfield was the ringmaster.

Despite his suspension, he showed up for Saturday night's All-Star race and watched the preliminary event from the top of the National Guard's hospitality center in the infield of Lowe's Motor Speedway.

It didn't take long for word to spread that Mayfield was on track property " a violation of the terms of his suspension " and reporters had no trouble finding the 39-year-old driver. When he came down from his perch, he was eager to talk and insisted his positive test stemmed from the use of a prescription drug he wouldn't identify and the over-the-counter allergy medication Claritin-D.

He denied ever using an illegal drug and said he had yet to be told exactly what substance was found in his positive test, an assertion the administrator of NASCAR's drug program denied Monday.

But Saturday night, it was all Mayfield, the cars whizzing by on the race track just background noise.

His presence disrupted "The Show," the one thing NASCAR tries to protect above everything else. From the scoring tower above the track, NASCAR's top officials dispatched a security officer to remove Mayfield from the property and seize his admission credentials.

And if not for a thrilling final 10-lap sprint to the finish, the Mayfield sideshow, not the $1 million race, might have become the main event. NASCAR was saved that embarrassment, though, by electrifying racing from its biggest stars.

It has yet to find a remedy for its biggest headache.

Mayfield has indicated he doesn't plan to participate in the rehabilitation process that's necessary for reinstatement, and he's considering legal action to rescind his suspension.

And rumors run rampant through the garage.

Drivers now worry and wonder what they can and can't take under NASCAR's zero-tolerance policy, which doesn't even provide drivers a detailed list of banned substances. Although a baseline exists for crew members, NASCAR did not create one for drivers, because it reserved the right to test for anything it wants.

Nevermind that Dr. David Black, CEO of Aegis Sciences Corp., which runs the testing program, has repeatedly denounced Mayfield's explanation. And France also carefully explained that drivers will not be suspended for the proper use of medications.

"If you should test positive for over-the-counter medications or a prescribed medication that you are on with your doctor, that doesn't result in NASCAR suspending you," France said. "You will ... be asked to explain why you have a certain substance that was identified in a test. That's happened a lot, and it doesn't get you a suspension."

Still, drivers worry that mixing something from the drug store with something they already take might make them the next Mayfield.

Until they learn exactly what Mayfield used any explanation likely will fall on deaf ears.