Jeremy Mayfield News 360 OTC

Mayfield possibly to MWR? Michael Waltrip, who will graduate to team ownership with Toyota next year, says he has offered a job to driver Jeremy Mayfield, who recently has expressed dissatisfaction with his current situation at Evernham Racing. "The ball's in his court," Waltrip told SPEED Channel after his qualifying run Friday at New Hampshire, referring to Mayfield. "Hopefully it will all come together, and as soon as it does we'll let the world know." That, meanwhile, would open the seat in Evernham's No. 19 for Elliott Sadler, who apparently is looking for a way out of his deal with Robert Yates. Other reports say Sadler could take sponsor M&Ms with him to the No. 19, although that could not be confirmed. Robert Yates and Doug Yates were not at the track Friday, although Slugger Labbe, crew chief for Sadler teammate Dale Jarrett and the No. 88, hinted, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." Mayfield would complete the lineup for Waltrip's three-car Toyota stable. Waltrip will drive one of the cars, with NAPA sponsorship. He has hired Jarrett and landed sponsor UPS for the second car, and Mayfield would drive the so-far-vacant third car, to be backed by Domino's and Burger King. Mayfield had no comment on the reports. Sadler denied he had had any negotiations with Evernham, and he has a year left on his contract with Yates. He admitted he had had a long talk with Yates this week at the Indianapolis tests. (Speedtv.com)

Evernham responds to Mayfield frustration: Statement by Ray Evernham from Chicagoland on Sunday morning. "My commitment to building a championship caliber motorsports organization for numerous racing series and multiple teams has never wavered. Neither has my commitment to providing the best people and resources for our race teams. What has changed is my job. I'm running a significant business with operations in the US and the UK. I have tremendous responsibilities to our sponsors and business partners away from the race track. That's been my focus this season. And, that's why I've put smart, talented people such as Sammy Johns, competition director, Mark MArdle, engine program director, and Dr. Eric Warren, engineering director, in charge of day-to-day operations at the track. Jeremy and I talked this weekend, and we're on the same page. We're both unsatisfied with the performance of his team. We know the potential is there and that Jeremy is a talented driver. It's frustrating when you can't quickly find the solution. That doesn't mean we aren't trying. Jeremy and I are going to continue to work on getting this team where it needs to be. There's a lot of racing left this season and I'm confident that we can get this program on track." (Clear!Blue PR)

Mayfield frustrated with Evernham and team: Jeremy Mayfield on Friday expressed frustration with his team's performance this season and called this year "the worst I've ever run in the Nextel Cup Series." Mayfield, who qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup the past two seasons in Evernham Motorsports' No. 19 Dodge, also said he has had few conversations with team owner Ray Evernham of late about his team's problems. "I don't talk to Ray much. He encourages us when he's around, but he hasn't been around much lately," Mayfield said. "At Daytona we ran terrible. We ran the worse than all three of us had ever run. "Kasey (Kahne) sucked every bad as we did. He wasn't there all weekend. ... I didn't see him at Sears Point the week before that. (That'sRacin.com)

UPS to Evernham? It appears UPS is still in play as a major sponsor. In the past two years the winner in the sponsor hunt has been Evernham Motorsports. UPS may add itself to the list of Evernham conquests signing as the primary sponsor of the No. 9 Dodge driven by Kasey Kahne. Then again, it is said the Dodge Dealers aren't willing to vacate their position on Kahne's ride. The dealers might be willing to let loose of the No. 19 driven by Jeremy Mayfield. However, it’s not clear Mayfield would be the driver of choice for UPS. (CircleTrackPlus.com)

Mayfield to stay with Evernham through 2007: Jeremy Mayfield clarified his contract status, pointing out that he has no plans to move on since he is signed with Evernham Motorsports through 2007. Mayfield, dogged by rumors that he's in the mix for several open NASCAR Nextel Cup rides, has repeatedly stated that he's planning to continue building his team this season. But it wasn't until Friday that he outlined the contract that he plans to honor. "Right now I've got a contract with Ray through this year and next year and hopefully two more years after that. That's what my intentions are, to finish this deal out and do the best we can. "I know a lot of stuff is going on right now in the rumors about different drivers, but hopefully we're not one of them." Mayfield said. (SceneDaily.com)

Both Mayfield and Busch docked points, Busch fined 50k: Kyle Busch, driver of the #5 Kellogg's Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports, has been fined, penalized points and placed on probation because of a rule infraction this past Sunday during the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Busch was in violation of Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) of the NASCAR Rule Book. He disobeyed a directive from a NASCAR official, entered the racing surface without authorization and threw an object at another competitor’s car during the event. He has been fined $50,000, penalized 25 Driver Championship points and placed on probation until Dec. 31. The infraction also resulted in car owner Rick Hendrick being penalized 25 Owner Championship points. In addition, the #19 Dodge team was found to be in violation of Section 12-4-A, 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules) and Section 20-12.8.1A (roof height too low in post-race inspection). That infraction resulted in crew chief Chris Andrews being fined $35,000, driver Jeremy Mayfield losing 25 driver points and car owner Ray Evernham losing 25 owner points. Also, Don Richardson, crew member on the #5 Chevrolet team, has been fined $5,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31. He violated 12-4-A, because of improper use of a NASCAR credential. (NASCAR PR)

Mayfield and Ky. Busch penalties expected today: NASCAR typically issues penalties on Tuesday, but today they delayed action on possible sanctions for both Kyle Busch and the Evernham Motorsports No. 19 Dodge driven by Jeremy Mayfield. Busch, who drew NASCAR’s ire earlier this year at Phoenix for ramming Casey Mears’ car during a red flag, threw his HANS device at Mears after the two collided Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600. Mayfield’s car failed the postrace inspection in the same race when it came up one-eighth of an inch too low in the roof height measurement test. “The way we run these cars now, it beats these springs to death and they settle and you never know how much,” said team owner Ray Evernham. “They were low, no doubt about it. … The front springs gave up. It settled too much.” Mayfield finished 15th in the race. (SPEEDTV)

Mayfield to Waltrip Racing? Dodge's Jeremy Mayfield is also in middle of a lot of Toyota talk, perhaps leaving Ray Evernham to take a Toyota ride next season with Bill Davis, perhaps even taking a third Toyota ride with Waltrip, who indicated last week that he had a third major sponsor in the works. (Salem-Journal)

Humpy picks Mayfield's #19 Crew to win Challenge: In the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman Wednesday night, May 17, at the Bobcats Arena in downtown Charlotte, Wheeler predicts the event's unique format will result in true athleticism rising to the top. "If the competition was a normal pit stop, it would be hard to bet against the 17 team," Wheeler said. "However, I think the training regimen that Ray Evernham puts his pit crew guys through will pay off. It was hard to pick from among his three teams, but my sources tell me Jeremy Mayfield's No. 19 team appears to have the edge." (Lowe's PR)

Change in Crew Chief for Mayfield: Statement from Ray Evernham on the Leadership for the #19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger: "We have decided to make a change on the leadership team for the #19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger driven by Jeremy Mayfield. The team, led by Team Director Kenny Francis for the past three years, has shown great promise and potential. We've qualified for the Chase for the Championship for the second year in a row. But, we have high expectations for this team, both for the remainder of the 2005 season and for next year. We still have four races to run this season, all of which are on tracks where we've been successful. We're confident that we can re-energize this team to bring home solid finishes in these last four races and move up in the Chase for the Championship. We are already planning for next year, and we recognize that we need to make several changes to regain the momentum this team had earlier in the year and to ensure we have the right people in the right places to win races and a championship. As part of this change, Richard "Slugger" Labbe will no longer serve as crew chief for the team. Kenny Francis will continue to lead the team as he has the last three years, and Mike Shiplett, currently the car chief for the team, will share Labbe's duties with Francis. Slugger Labbe made good contributions to this team this year, and we wish him well as he pursues other opportunities." (Evernham Motorsports PR)

Slugger Labbe wins Wypall Wipers Award: The cost of gas may be at an all-time high, but for Jeremy Mayfield and the #19 team, fuel is priceless. After running outside the top-10 for the majority of the GFS Marketplace 400, crew chief Slugger Labbe called Mayfield into the pits on lap 148 to top off his fuel cell. The move sent Mayfield to the back of the pack, but when all of the leaders ducked into the pits on the ensuing green flag for a final gas and go, Mayfield inherited the lead and never looked back. The #19 Dodge Dealers Dodge assumed the top spot on lap 195 and held on to take the checkered flag. Labbe's fuel mileage gamble not only brought him a victory, but also won him the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. "History says this place from lap 150 on goes green," said Labbe. "We took a chance on history and we took a chance on what we did at the test. We ran 52 laps here at the test straight and then ran out of gas coming to 53. We knew we had the car to do it and the engine that could do it and the carburetor that could do it, and Jeremy is really good on saving fuel. We were cautiously nervous. We knew we could make it. It was going to be close of course. Jeremy thought he ran out a couple of times. We did a victory lap, did some burnouts and finally ran out of gas. It's a gamble. Maybe I should go to Vegas tomorrow." The panel of voters; including Tony Eury Sr., a Wypall Wipers representative and Maureen Fulton of the Toledo Blade; collectivelyvoted for Labbe as the crew chief who did the best job. Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson, Bob Osborne, Greg Zipadelli and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Jimmy Fennig, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000.Fans can also vote for their choice at www.wypall.com.(SMC 500)

Jeremy Mayfield wins in Michigan: Jeremy Mayfield came out on top of a chaotic race Sunday, running the last 52 laps on a single tank of fuel and winning his first NASCAR Nextel Cup race of the season. Mayfield, whose most recent win came last September in Richmond, was never close to the lead earlier in the race. But one by one, the leaders were forced to pit for fuel — and Mayfield inherited the top spot with six laps to go in the 200-lap event at Michigan International Speedway. "Man, we had a 20th-place car and we robbed the bank," said Mayfield's gleeful crew chief Slugger Labbe. Nearly every team in the 43-car field had problems with cut tires or engines that overheated when windblown garbage collected on grills, cutting off air to radiators. Mayfield's Evernham Motorsports Dodge was no exception. "Our motor was running 270 (degrees) today," Labbe said. "It was cooked, but we made it." "They took a big chance running all the way (to the end) under green, and it's pretty cool winning a race like that," said Mayfield, who earned his fifth career win and solidified his hold on a top 10 spot in the points and a position in the upcoming Chase for the Championship. (MLive.com - Results - Points)

Kahne and Mayfield testing: Mayfield and the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger team are scheduled to test at Carolina Motorsports Park, in Kershaw, S.C., next Thursday, April 16. The team will use the test to prepare for the June 26 roadcourse race at Infineon Raceway. (Evernham Motorsports)

Labbe Back: Crew chief Slugger Labbe plans to return for the Pocono race after missing Sunday's race with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Kenny Francis reunited with driver Jeremy Mayfield at Dover while Labbe dealt with the illness. He attempted to return to work Tuesday but vowed to be back in Mayfield's pit box Sunday. "You'll see a slimmed-down Slugger at Pocono," spokesman Denny Darnell said Tuesday. (USA Today)

Mayfield Signs Extension with Evernham: Jeremy Mayfield signed a multiyear extension with Evernham Motorsports and celebrated by posting the fastest speeds in both Nextel Cup Series practices at Dover International Speedway. Ray Evernham said he is "very, very close" to adding a third full-time car next year. "We're going to have to hang the 'help wanted' sign on the door looking for someone to drive it for us," Evernham said. "Within the next month, either before or around Daytona in July, we'll either say we're going to do it or pull the plug on it." Evernham said Erin Crocker could split time with Kasey Kahne in a Busch car next year. (Times-Dispatch)

Kurt Busch's Team Wins Pit Crew Challenge: Kurt Busch's team won the National Pit Crew Championship, defeating Jeremy Mayfield's crew in the final round with a mistake-free stop Monday night. Busch's crew, which helped him win the Nextel Cup championship last season, didn't make a single mistake during the competition and picked up $100,000 for the win. Mayfield's team earned $25,000 for finishing second. Joe Nemechek's crew was third – missing out on a spot in the finals because of a two-second penalty for a loose lug nut in the semifinals. (AP/SOSD)

Kahne and Mayfield to share duties: Unilever Foods and Evernham Motorsports announced today that Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield will share driving duties of the No. 6 Hungry DriversDodge Charger for the next three events on the NASCAR Busch Series schedule including Texas, Phoenix and Talladega. Mayfield will drive the No. 6 Dodge in Texas while Kahne will take over for Phoenix and Talladega. After evaluating the No. 6 Hungry Drivers team's performance after the first four races of the NASCAR Busch Series season, Ray Evernham, President and CEO of Evernham Motorsports, felt it was necessary to make a driver change in order to bolster the team's performance. "We have made significant gains with our Busch program over the last couple of weeks and we owe a lot of that to Kasey and Jeremy," said Evernham. "Their driving experience and abilities have been instrumental in helping us pinpoint areas that needed to be improved. This is a new team and I feel confident that having them in the seat for a few more races will help get this team to the level of competitiveness that it needs to be performing at each weekend." (Evernham Racing PR)

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