Two months after a positive drug test for methamphetamines Jeremy Mayfield is getting ready to return to NASCAR.
U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen on Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C., issued a temporary injunction to allow the driver to get back behind the wheel at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.
“This is huge for us,” Mayfield said. “This means more to me probably than any race I’ve ever won or anything.”
Concluding the “likelihood of a false positive in this case is quite substantial,” Mullen said as he ruled in Mayfield’s favor after about two hours of arguments, including NASCAR’s contention that Mayfield is a danger to the sport after testing positive for high amounts of a dangerous, illegal drug. Los Angeles Times
“The truth came out and now I can go back and say now we’re cleared of all this,” said Mayfield. “I cleared my name and now we can go back racing again. It feels good to get this off our back and now we can move forward.”
It’s not known if NASCAR will appeal the ruling.
The 40-year-old Mayfield became the first driver to be suspended indefinitely since NASCAR’s revised drug policy went into effect earlier this year. MiamiHerald.com
Before the judge’s ruling, NASCAR lawyers said they worried about the safety of other drivers, teams and fans if Mayfield was allowed back on the track.
“If he is allowed to race again while this litigation is pending, it’s possible he’ll end up hurting or killing someone,” said NASCAR lawyer Helen Maher.A NASCAR drug test found that suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield had methamphetamine in his system in May, according to NASCAR.
But Mayfield’s lawyer, Bill Diehl, said in federal court Wednesday that the drug test was botched and that Mayfield now has no way to have his urine sample tested to verify results.
“This driver has absolutely no history of drug abuse,” Diehl told Mullen. “He says he’s never touched the stuff.”
Diehl also said Mayfield exhibited no physical symptoms of drug abuse. He suggested a mistake may have made in the testing or that the urine samples got mixed up at the lab. Boston Herald
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