Recent Years
In 2002, Mayfield signed to Evernham Motorsports, replacing Casey Atwood. In his first year, Mayfield had just four top-tens and finished 26th in points. He rebounded some in 2003, winning the pole at the Aaron's 499 and posting 12 top-tens, finishing nineteenth in points. Finally in 2004, Mayfield returned to victory lane at the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 earning his team the 9th spot in the inaugural Chase for the Cup, and finished tenth in points. For a while, winning a race to get into the Chase was referred by the moniker "pulling a Jeremy Mayfield." In 2005, he won the GFS Marketplace 400, and finished ninth in the standings. In August 2006 he was released from Evernham after his team fell out of the top-35 in owner points, and replaced by Bill Elliott and then Elliott Sadler.
Mayfield signed a contract with Bill Davis Racing for 2007, driving the #36 Toyota Camry with primary sponsorship from 360 OTC. Associate sponsors included World Wrestling Entertainment, the TNT television network, and rock band Kiss. He ran a total of 13 races for Bill Davis Racing in 32 attempts with a best finish of 22nd at Kansas Speedway. In August 2007, it was announced that Mayfield and Davis would part ways at the end of the season. Later in the season, he would take over driving the #66 Best Buy car for Haas CNC Racing starting with Atlanta 2007. Late in 2007, he and teammate Scott Riggs would switch rides with Mayfield ending up in the #70 car for the 2008 season.
Mayfield completed seven races in the #70 with a best finish of sixteenth before he was released from the team. He would complete one additional race at Dover in the #40 Target Dodge, filling in for the injured Dario Franchitti. He would start tenth and finished twenty-fifth.
In January 2009, Mayfield announced that he would attempt the full season in a self-owned Toyota, using the number 41. He raced his way into the Daytona 500. After 10 races in the 2009 season, Mayfield qualified for just 5. He was then embroiled in a substance abuse dispute that, for all intents and purposes, ended his racing career. By July 2009, Mayfield had sold his race team and operations due to lack of sponsorship, and the last remaining member of his crew resigned after all other members of the race team were laid off.
Jeremy Mayfield is featured in the video for "Drowning (Face Down)" by the band Saving Abel.
Mayfield was working as a delivery person in while waiting for word on his appeals. By 2011, tax officials in Catawba County, North Carolina were on the verge of foreclosing on Mayfield's 388-acre spread there because he owed $82,000 in back taxes.
Read more about this topic: Jeremy Mayfield
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