Mayfield’s drug test still being analyzed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR was still analyzing Jeremy Mayfield’s latest drug test Friday, four days after demanding the driver submit to a random test.

“The process continues,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said, declining further comment.

Dr. David Black, the program administrator, said Wednesday the test processed by Aegis Sciences Corp. would be completed by Friday at the latest. His Nashville, Tenn.-based lab typically needs four days to analyze a sample.

“I just don’t think there’s anything to report right now. I did not come to work (Friday) expecting we’d get the results,” Mayfield attorney John Buric said. “But then again, I’m a lawyer, and I can wait a year for a ruling. So I am never too surprised when things take time. I wouldn’t read too much into it, honestly.”

NASCAR suspended Mayfield on May 9 after failing a random drug test eight days earlier. NASCAR has said the 40-year-old driver tested positive for methamphetamine, but Mayfield has denied ever using the illegal drug.

A federal judge last week issued an injunction to overturn the suspension and allow Mayfield to return to competition. Mayfield did not enter last week’s race at Daytona or Saturday night’s event at Chicagoland Speedway, although he was eligible to do so under U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen’s ruling.

On Wednesday, NASCAR asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the injunction and uphold Mayfield’s suspension.

If the “A” sample from Monday’s test were to come back positive, Black said NASCAR likely would look to the court for guidance on how to proceed with the backup “B” sample.

Mayfield is challenging the validity of NASCAR’s testing system.

Bill Diehl, an attorney for Mayfield, argued in federal court last week that federal guidelines allow an individual a 72-hour window to have an independent lab analyze a sealed backup sample. He said that when Aegis tested the backup “B” sample two days after the “A” sample came back positive, Mayfield lost any opportunity to challenge the results because the seal had been broken on the second sample.

Because Mullen ruled Mayfield is now eligible to compete, NASCAR required the driver to undergo a random drug test Monday. NASCAR said a sample was collected more than seven hours after it first requested at 1:18 p.m. Monday that he report to a clinic for testing in the next two hours.

Mayfield’s lawyer said the driver didn’t get the message in time, and once he was clear on where to go, he could not make the deadline. Buric said NASCAR found a clinic closer to Mayfield’s location, but he was “given bad directions,” got lost and was unable to report to that lab.

Buric said he told Mayfield to go to an independent lab and submit a sample there to avoid missing a test. Those results were given to Mayfield’s lawyers Thursday, but Buric said a court order prevented him from revealing the results.