Jeremy Mayfield property to be auctioned

Drug use is blamed for Mayfield going from NASCAR hero to NASCAR zero

Suspended NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield, who faces nine criminal charges in two North Carolina counties, is scheduled to have his property sold at auction April 30.

Mayfield, suspended since May 2009 for what NASCAR says was a failed drug test for methamphetamines, took out a $3.1 million mortgage in July 2006 and has failed to make his payments, according to the foreclosure initially filed in December in North Carolina Superior Court in Newton, N.C.

That has resulted in the lender, Carolina Farm Credit, calling for Mayfield to pay the balance of $2.387 million, plus more than $415,000 in interest and fees, according to the filing.

The clerk of court issued a foreclosure order in February, and the date for auction of the approximately 400 acres has been set for April 30 at the Catawba County (N.C.) courthouse. Mayfield has until 10 days after the auction to pay off the balance.

The foreclosure is only one of Mayfield’s legal issues. He is scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon on one felony count of possession of methamphetamine, three felony counts of possession of stolen goods and one count of obtaining property under false pretenses. He faces a maximum of 14 years in jail on those charges, which stem from a Nov. 1 search of his property.

He also faces four felony larceny charges in neighboring Caldwell County. His first court date on those charges is April 30.

Mayfield also is trying to decide whether to continue his case against NASCAR over the May 2009 drug test that Mayfield says he failed because of a mix of Adderall and Claritin-D.

A three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel last week rejected Mayfield's request to reopen the case, and he has one more week to decide if he will ask for all the judges from the 4th Circuit to hear the case, which typically is the first step before appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mayfield, who had five Cup wins in 433 career starts, also faces judgments of more than $2.1 million for unpaid bills, services and North Carolina state taxes as well as more than $111,000 in county property taxes, according to court documents. Sporting News