Some NASCAR drivers manage to maintain careers in Nextel Cup without ever winning a race.
That’s what makes Jeremy Mayfield’s demise surprising.
Mayfield was fired from Ray Evernham’s No. 19 Dodge last week and still finds himself unemployed for this weekend’s race, in which he is the defending winner.
Mayfield broke his silence Tuesday on NASCAR.com about being out of work and having to threaten legal measures to get Evernham to work out a contract settlement.
“Ray Evernham was a good friend of mine, and I don’t know what happened. I hated that it happened,” Mayfield said. “He should have called me and said: ‘Hey, we’re going to do something different. How can we work things out?’ That’s not the way things happen. As a matter of fact, I still haven’t talked to Ray myself.”
Mayfield and Evernham reportedly have worked out a contract settlement through their representatives. Initially, Mayfield said Evernham didn’t want to pay him anything, despite having a contract to drive the No. 19 through next season.
Bill Elliott replaced Mayfield on Sunday in New York, and Elliott Sadler is scheduled in the No. 19 at Michigan. Sadler got his requested release from the No. 38 Ford owned by Robert Yates Racing.
Mayfield is jobless for now but on his way to becoming a Toyota driver for Bill Davis Racing next year.
“It’s something that nobody wants do, to sit home while races are going on,” Mayfield said. “I guess Ray felt he had to do that and I have to live with it. It’s part of it. It’s not what I wanted to do, but something I had to do.”
Driving and speaking
Rookie J.J. Yeley of Joe Gibbs Racing said driving talent is almost secondary in Nextel Cup. After reaching NASCAR’s highest level by concentrating on his primary strength – driving a race car – he’s now faced with another challenge: public speaking.
“Racing is only 60 percent of it anymore,” Yeley said in a teleconference. “You spend a lot of time speaking in front of large groups of people, entertaining sponsors …
“You have to be able to present yourself very well because sponsors are paying so much money anymore for the teams to be able to participate that you have to go out there and give them their value.”
Kahne confident
Kasey Kahne won in June at Michigan from the pole. He might need another victory there to climb into the Chase. Despite having four victories, tied for the series most along with points leader Jimmie Johnson, Kahne is 11th in the standings, 54 points shy of gaining a playoff spot with four races to go before the cut is made.
“Michigan has been a good track for the No. 9 team,” Kahne said in a release. “We won there earlier this year and had a couple other finishes in the top five. I like the track because you can move around searching for a faster line.
“Cars will be running two and three wide. With four races left to decide the Chase field, we have time to get back in the top 10. The first chance comes this weekend at Michigan. We must take advantage of the opportunity.”
Footnotes
Twenty-one full-time Cup drivers are scheduled to compete in Saturday’s Busch Series at Michigan. If all 21 qualify for Michigan’s 15th Busch event, it would be a track record. … Cup regulars have won 22 of the 24 Busch Series races this year.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
SPOTLIGHT: RICHARD CHILDRESS
Team starting to click on all cylinders
The three-car team owner who won six championships with the late Dale Earnhardt has his Richard Childress Racing at an elite level again. Current drivers Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton have combined for two victories and three poles this season. In the two previous seasons combined, three Childress drivers had just one win and two poles. Harvick and Burton finished 14th and 18th in the points last season. This year they are third and fourth and in terrific position to become Childress’ first Chase contenders. Rookie Clint Bowyer also has had a good season since replacing Dave Blaney. Bowyer is 17th in the standings but has six top-10 finishes in 22 races and sits second in the rookie-of-the-year race.
ON THE MOVE: TONY STEWART
Defending champ up to seventh
Love him or despise him, the two-time champion likely will contend for his second title in a row. Stewart finished second in Sunday’s road race in New York, gaining two positions to climb to seventh in the standings. He is 68 points ahead of No. 10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 122 ahead of No. 11 Kasey Kahne. The top 10 drivers qualify for the Chase, and that field will be separated in five-point increments.
