Mayfield plans a return to the track, just unsure when

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jeremy and Shana Mayfield issued a statement to fans, competitors and the media on Saturday and also reconfirmed their resolve to rejoin the Sprint Cup Series with Mayfield Motorsports, possibly as early as next weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.

Mayfield successfully received a temporary injunction this week in federal court in North Carolina immediately releasing him from NASCAR's suspension from his owner and driver's role with his team on May 9 for a positive drug test.

Mayfield speaks out

Jeremy Mayfield describes his fight against suspension: "To say that the last two months have been two of the worst months of my entire life is an understatement."

• Letter from the Mayfields

Mayfield Motorsports' No. 41 Toyota hasn't been on the race track since the May 24 Coca-Cola 600. One week after that race, the Mayfields were forced to lay off their team members, including crew chief Tony Furr. Gaining sponsorship money to revive the team is their primary goal.

"Last Wednesday's ruling by Judge Mullen was a giant step towards clearing my name and getting the 41 car back on the track," Mayfield said in his statement. "Our hope was to bring our team to Daytona this weekend to qualify and race in the Coke Zero 400. For those who know me well, there is nothing in the world that I would rather do than race for you all on the 4th of July.

"Following Judge Mullen's ruling, we had less than [24] hours to prepare the car, assemble a team, get sponsorship and travel to Daytona. Ultimately, we were unable to get this done in time. We decided that our time is best spent back here in North Carolina working around the clock to try and secure the funding needed to get the 41 car to Chicago and beyond."

Furr, who was at Daytona International Speedway this weekend working as a consultant with owner Larry Gunselman's Sprint Cup team -- which was sent home Friday when qualifying was rained out -- said he had a meeting set with Mayfield for Monday and that he saw no problem being ready for Chicagoland or anywhere else.

"I want to figure out what he wants to do, because all the stuff is still there at the shop," Furr said. "We're a day-and-a-half away from having [a car] ready to go to wherever. The full crew worked for a week after the Charlotte 600 -- everyone worked together and left together."

Furr said the shop that Mayfield Motorsports had been using was owned by he and Cecil Tipton and that they'd continued to work there, bringing in Gunselman Motorsports as a tenant to create some income.

"Myself and Cecil have been there ever since it all shut down," Furr said. "And we're trying to make a deal for ourselves, so we can get a paycheck, because our [Mayfield Motorsports] paychecks stopped when everyone else's did, too. Larry had some good guys who were already there and we're just trying to help 'em get to the next level."

Furr said he'd continued to speak to his former Mayfield Motorsports co-workers and that getting them back together wouldn't be difficult.

"I could have a team in place in less than an hour," Furr said. "There are a lot of people out on the street right now and most of the guys that were there to start with will come back -- I've talked to every one of them and been in touch with them since this [judge's] ruling.

"Most of them don't have a job but the ones that do have a job can stay where they're at or whatever they want to do. But they'd all have an opportunity to come back if they wanted to."

Earlier in the weekend, when speculation was rampant about when Mayfield would appear on a track, veteran Mark Martin said he was comfortable with competing with Mayfield, who's raced Martin in the Cup Series since 1993.

"I'm comfortable with being on the race track with Jeremy Mayfield -- 100 percent," Martin said. "I feel that NASCAR needs to have the authority to say whether or not that you drive -- I don't know anything about judges -- I'm just not concerned with being on the race track with Jeremy, none whatsoever. I feel 100 percent confident being on the race track side-by-side with Jeremy."

Ryan Newman, who joined Penske Racing full-time in 2002 after Mayfield split with Roger Penske's organization, on Thursday when virtually every driver was asked to opine on the subject, provided a counterpoint to Martin's opinion.

"The situation that we had when somebody tests positive is something to be seriously considered and there is a lot of responsibility that goes along with that," Newman said. "As a federal judge when you release somebody to go back and [race] without necessarily, in my eyes, clarifying everything -- that's not cool. People make mistakes. I just hope the judge didn't make one.

"I would say that if my car was starting next to [Mayfield's] I would wonder about the first lap. If I was in a position where I was racing him I would potentially question that judgment, but I don't know how to actually do that until that happens. Race car drivers drive by the seat of their pants and you don't think about things [that] may happen, you think about things as they are going to happen, I guess you could say."

NASCAR on Saturday declined to comment further after the Mayfields' statement, deferring to comments made by NASCAR chairman Brian France, who said "Jeremy obviously was reinstated as a result of that [federal court] ruling, and that's where we are today. We are reviewing all of the options, and there are many. And we remain very comfortable and very calm about, despite the ruling, that our policy is thorough, it's accurate and it's fair."

Another hurdle the Mayfields must overcome is a suit filed last month by Triad Racing Technologies, an engine, chassis and parts supplier owned by Marty Gaunt and Mike Held, who sued in North Carolina Superior Court over an unpaid bill reportedly totaling more than $86,000.

"We like Jeremy Mayfield -- Marty and I have both had relationships with Jeremy over the years," Held said on Saturday evening an hour before the Coke Zero 400's green flag. "The issue is, he has a bill to pay. We don't hold anything against him, just pay the bill.

"We spent some time helping Jeremy out and helping him get his team ready for Daytona [Speedweeks 2009] and we just expect him to honor the bill."

Mayfield finally apologized for having an impact on the Daytona weekend outside the race track.

"Honestly, this is the last thing Shana or I want for anybody," Mayfield said. "This weekend shouldn't be about a questionable drug test or a flawed drug testing system. It should be about celebrating our country, the greatest country in the world.

"So, enjoy the weekend with your friends and family, and have a very happy Independence Day. We look forward to seeing you all at the track very soon."