NASCAR countersues Mayfield

Stick a fork in Mayfield, he's done

NASCAR filed a countersuit against Jeremy Mayfield on Friday, accusing the suspended Sprint Cup driver of willfully violating the substance abuse policy, breach of contract and defrauding competitors of earnings. The suit stated that Mayfield knowingly participated in sanctioned competition using a combination of drugs in violation of the substance abuse policy that he agreed to follow. "And in doing so violated his contract with NASCAR and the standards of care for other drivers," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said from Pocono Raceway.

"You will see in [the lawsuit] he competed in a number of races that had we known he had been on a medication he was on and certainly known there were illegal substances involved we wouldn't have allowed him to compete," Poston said. According to Poston, drivers are required in their contract with NASCAR to notify Dr. David Black, who runs the drug testing program at AEGIS Lab in Tennessee, of any prescription drugs they are taking.

The suit alleged that Mayfield did not notify anybody with NASCAR that he was on a prescription drug until the May 1 drug test, and that Mayfield already had participated in two races while on the drug. The suit said that Mayfield crashed in three of the five races in which he competed this season, including races in which he was under the influence of the drug he failed to report to NASCAR, a combination of drugs and the illegal drug that was blacked out in the suit. The suit also said Mayfield earned more than $150,000 in those races that would have gone to other competitors. More at ESPN.com