Court reinstates Mayfield’s suspension

INDIANAPOLIS – Jeremy Mayfield is back under suspension for a failed random drug test after an appeals court ruled in NASCAR’s favor Friday, issuing a stay on the injunction that gave the driver the right to return to the race track.

The one-page decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stands until NASCAR’s full appeal can be heard.

“We are pleased with the 4th Circuit Court’s ruling to reinstate NASCAR’s suspension of Jeremy Mayfield,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said in a statement. “This is an important decision for NASCAR to make fair and equitable regulations for the safety of competitors and spectators at the track. We will continue to respectfully make our case for as long as the litigation continues.”

Mayfield was suspended May 9 for failing a random test done eight days earlier, and NASCAR has said he tested positive for methamphetamine.

NASCAR appealed to the Richmond, Va., court after a federal judge on July 1 lifted Mayfield’s suspension based on the argument that the drug testing system was flawed.

U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen still has NASCAR’s request before him to overturn his earlier decision based on its claim that Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamine a second time on July 6.

Mayfield has denied using the illegal drug.

On Tuesday, Mayfield submitted evidence to the court that he’d passed a drug test at an independent lab less than an hour after NASCAR’s July 6 test, and said those results are “consistent with my lifestyle as I have not and do not use or abuse methamphetamines.”