What if Mayfield’s Right?

So, what’s the real truth behind the Jeremy Mayfield and NASCAR, and will we ever know? Mayfield’s been labled as a loose cannon and has no problem vebalizing a hot topic. Anyone remember the Mayfield-Ray Evenham debacle? Mayfield was the first to publicize the sticky Erin Crocker/Ray Evernham ‘issue’. It cost Mayfield his ride, and that bridge is toast, but he was dead-on. Apparently, Mayfield, like a lot of us southern born baby-boomers some-how grew up with the notion that there was a “right” and a “wrong” to life. Truth should stand for something, and somewhere, in all that, a reward would/should result. Boy were we ever NAIVE!. Guess we all watched “Old Yeller” too many times, and cried at the end.NASCAR, in the tradition of all the world’s heavyweights, is bent on destroying anybody and anything threatening their domain. Such mentality is nothing new and perhaps began with Marshall Teague in the early 1950’s……….rock the boat, and that’s IT. Tow the line: NASCAR can survive without YOU.Like most americans, NASCAR isn’t really aware of and don’t fully understand all the forces that resulted in their success. In 1945, the industrialized world, with the exception of the U.S., lay in ruins. The next 50 years were fantastic times to be an american………we supplied the world, with everything. Fortunes were made, and it was relatively ‘easy’ to be an american business. The numbers were on our side, too. The baby-boomers were coming through the system……..the largest block of humanity on record. The future was indeed bright……..BUT there was a REASON………….and it was NOT our sheer intelligence and superior work ethic.NASCAR could and did play hardball……..Marshall Teague, Curtis Turner, Tim Flock………expelled. The numbers were in NASCAR’s corner. Didn’t matter if these guys raced or not. But the 800 pound gorillia mentaltily that NASCAR evlolved over the past 60 yars, maybe be a tad out of synch now, especially in this Mayfield case.Those same numbers that helped america for all these years, are now starting to ebb. The rest of the world is back, and definitely on their manufacturing/marketing feet. They are and have been kicking our butts for decades now. The Fortune 500 companys that underwrote NASCAR to national prominence are sweating lots of bulletts these days. It a’int business as usual.Desparately wanting to emulate all the other big stick and ballers, NASCAR launches a drug program. Presto, the silver bullett. Any carreer or reputation can be instantly terminated, tarred and feathered with a single stroke. If Mayfield is guilty, why is he raising the roof, alleging, among other things, that’s he’s a scape goat, a little fish, designed to warn and set an example for the ‘real’ stars, kowing that his NASCAR days are already over? Why would he hire attorneys, etc. etc. if he’s guilty? Why did a federal judge rule (at least temporarily) in his favor? and if Mayfield’s guilty, why has NASCAR reached to the apparent bottom of the witness barrel, and dredged up Mayfield’s step-mother? Wouldn’t their “tests” have been sufficient? And Mayfield, in his ever-tell-it-all persona, alleges that his step-mother’s a “gold digger……..and it wouldn’t have taken much (money) to get her cooperation…………”Jeremy’s a goner, either way, but what if his allegations are proven true? Where does this leave NASCAR, and THEIR reputation? How will the sponsors react? The TV numbers? Will ticket sales improve, and will NASCAR endear itself to any ‘new’ fans? Timing’s not too good either, the number two “most significant NASCAR event…….the Brickyard 400” is taking center stage, and is sharing it with this drug induced goat rodeo. Has NASCAR won the battle and lost the war? Horse is already outta the barn, for both sides, it’s impossible to simply close the door now………it’s like being between a rock and a hard place.

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