Attorneys for Jeremy Mayfield on Monday said a federal judge correctly granted an injunction that lifted the drivers’ indefinite suspension for failing a random drug test.
In a motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, N.C., Mayfield’s lawyers contended Judge Graham Mullen properly ruled when he granted a July 1 injunction. The filing is a response to NASCAR’s request that Mullen’s order be put on hold as the decision is appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.
“Defendants are incorrect on each and every point they raise,” the motion said of NASCAR’s reasoning for the suspension being reinstated.
“In what has become an all-too-common pattern in this case, Defendants once again make bold, incendiary statements in pursuit of their goals, only to have their arguments fall flat when the underlying facts are closely scrutinized.”
Mayfield was suspended May 9 for failing a drug test conducted eight days earlier. NASCAR has said he tested positive for methamphetamines, and Mayfield has denied ever using the illegal drug.
NASCAR in a July 6 motion disputed Mullen’s conclusion that the chance of a false positive on Mayfield’s drug test was “quite substantial,” and contended that Mullen relied on facts “outside the record, including the purported existence of reliable hair sample tests and same-day tests for methamphetamine.”
NASCAR said Mullen failed to properly consider the reliability of assessments by Mayfield employees that the driver did not ingest methamphetamine; the sophistication and sensitivity of NASCAR-commissioned Aegis Laboratories drug-testing procedures that prevent false positives; and an affidavit from a Mayfield expert that found the level of methamphetamine in Mayfield’s sample would make him a chronic user.
Mayfield’s attorneys argued in Monday’s filing that Mayfield’s initial positive test was caused by the combined use of Adderall for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Claritin-D for allergies.
Mayfield’s lawyers did not formally responded to NASCAR’s request last week that Mullen reverse his ruling based on a second failed drug test. Their response was instead directed at a motion filed before NASCAR was aware of the results from its July 6 test.
Mayfield has not entered the two races held since the injunction, and he’s indicated he won’t make a return to the track and will instead focus on his fight with NASCAR.
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