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In the latest twist in the Jeremy Mayfield saga, NASCAR filed a motion to urge Judge Graham Mullen to hear their appeal on the temporary injunction he lifted July 1.. That injunction, tabled three weeks later by an Appeals Court once Mayfield failed a second drug test, briefly allowed him to compete while rendering his suspension for violating the sport’s drug policy invalid. |
NASCAR’s effort for a hearing on December 1 is to make sure that Mayfield, and any other competitor, will be barred from competition to protect other competitors. The court date for Mayfield vs. NASCAR is set for September 2010. And that means that this legal contest isn’t going to go away any time soon This report came from StockCarGazette.com.
We also caught ESPN’s Beyond The Lines program last Sunday morning which featured Mayfield in a one-on-one interview with the host. Jeremy didn’t say anything new beyond what’s been in various media outlets. So the “jury is still out” as to who is correct in all of this, NASCAR or Mayfield? But given NASCAR’s group of witnesses, it doesn’t look good for Mayfield.
Going into the Talladega Cup race this Sunday Jimmy Johnson still leads The Chase following a second place behind winner Denny Hamlin at Martinsville last weekend. Mark Martin is 118 points out of first place, Jeff Gordon is -150, Tony Stewart is -192, JP Montoya is -200 and Kurt Busch is -240. If you were going to bet on who’s going to win the Chase To The Nextel Cup Johnson has to be the heavy favorite at this time. And that could account for the problems selling tickets and higher TV ratings.
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup only has four races to go and this weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races on NASCAR’s longest track, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, for 500 miles on Sunday, Nov. 1. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMP Energy 500 airs on ABC beginning with NASCAR Countdown at noon ET. The race’s green flag is at 1:19 p.m.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham in the ESPN pit studio.
NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham, Randy LaJoie and Ricky Craven will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, Nov. 2, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Mike Massaro hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday through Thursday of this week at 5 p.m., and Saturday at 1 a.m. (late Friday night). Massaro will be joined by LaJoie for the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Nov. 1, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Nicole Manske and Marty Smith will report from the speedway for both programs. .
NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues its Countdown to 1 playoffs as the series visits The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. ESPN2 will air qualifying and eliminations action from the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, with qualifying airing Saturday, Oct. 31, at 11 p.m. ET. Eliminations action airs Sunday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m., with a re-air Monday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. on ESPN Classic.
As the next-to-last event that will decide the season’s NHRA Full Throttle world championships, plenty is at stake in Las Vegas. Every run will be important because a slip at this point could be worse than snake eyes at the other Strip’s craps tables. The venue is the same as in the spring, but the weather may be different, making for high drama at an event where previous world champions have been crowned.
Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould, Dave Rieff and John Kernan report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn host NHRA RaceDay on Sunday at 11 a.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.
The Donington Park racing circuit may have to pay Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone a £15 million cancellation fee if its contract to host the British Grand Prix is cancelled.
It was revealed last Thursday that a last-ditch bond issue scheme to raise £135 million had failed. According to UK newspaper the Times, Donington will be liable for a cancellation fee of between £12 million and £15 million. Donington chief executive Simon Gillett has until midday today to provide Ecclestone, the Formula One commercial rights-holder, evidence that it can raise the £50 million it needs to host the race from next year. A Donington statement read: “Information regarding the circuit’s future plans is not yet available; however, the major focus is on providing security for the Leicestershire venue and all related parties, including staff and suppliers.” Ecclestone is faced with the prospect of either cancelling next year’s British Grand Prix or going returning back to Silverstone, the race’s traditional home.
Here’s a good one from the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter-Yes, He Really Said That, Ryan Newman, on copycat racetracks. “We built the copy of Michigan out in California. It’s not the same thing. I guess it’s just like your first kiss. The first one’s always the best.”
Here’s what else we can expect to view on TV this week through the weekend for gear head action, courtesy of RaceFanTV.com. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Speed offers NASCAR Race Hub at 7:30 p.m. The programming picks up momentum on Friday with Speed airing F1 Practice from Abu Dhabi at 9 a.m. then Cup Practice from Talladega at 2 p.m. Cup Final Practice at 4 p.m. and the Camping World Truck Qualifying at 5 p.m.
Saturday gets things off and running at 9 a.m. with F1 Qualifying on TSN/Speed. At Noon speed offers Cup Qualifying at Talladega then the Camping World Trucks at 4 p.m. The Super Dirt Week from Syracuse, NY at 8 p.m. Sunday’s offerings starting at 8 a.m. with Speed/RDS/TSN all airing the GP of Abu Dhabi. NASCAR RaceDay goes off at 10 a.m. with ABC/TSN2 both airing the Cup race from Dega at 1 p.m. The Speed Report on Speed is on at 7 p.m. HD Theatre has the World Rally from Argentina at 9 and again at 11 p.m. Wind Tunnel is set for 9 p.m. on Speed.
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