NASCAR All Star Fan Vote 2009
Jeremy Mayfield made his first NASCAR Cup Series start in October 1993 at what is now known as the Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. On May 16, 2009, Jeremy will return to the track for the first time as an independant owner/driver; a distinction that puts Mayfield in very select company. In fact, the last owner driver to win a NASCAR Cup race was Ricky Rudd in the #10 Tide ride. Even recent owner/drivers such as Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon have had a leg up to start, purchasing the stock of an existing NASCAR operation and making it their own. Mayfield, on the other hand, is making things work from scratch, paying the bills off race earnings and personal funds with minimal sponsorship help. Mayfield’s first trip to NASCAR’s home track as an independant team also happens to be the NASCAR All-Star Race. As a former race winner during his glory days with Penske Racing and Evernham Motorsports, Mayfield has been an All-Star before. But to achieve that status in 2009 would be the culmination of an incredible fight against adversity.

After being unfairly dropped from his ride at Evernham Motorsports after qualifying for NASCAR’s version of the playoffs, “The Chase” for the first two years of their existence, Jeremy got stuck in rides where the sponsors never paid what they agreed to pay, and the teams never had the funding that they needed to be competitve. At the end of 2008, many so-called experts considered Jeremy’s NASCAR career an afterthought, expecting him to drop down to lower levels of competition like the Camping World Truck Series. Jeremy wouldn’t go out without a fight, however, and along with help from All Sport’s Gary Smith, started up his own race team.

With just 30 days to prepare for the seasons opening race with nothing more than an entry form at hand, Mayfield Motorsports did the unthinkable and raced their way in to the Daytona 500. The racing part is an important distinction to recall. While Mayfield was able to prove himself on the track, the Daytona 500 is a special race on the circuit where it is the best drivers over 150 miles that are invited to race on Sundays. Every other race uses just 1 lap to determine who gets in the race and who goes home with nothing. Because of this roll-of-the-dice format, Jeremy has only been able to qualify for half of the races so far. And the unfortunate truth behind the situation is that Jeremy is in a difficult situation having to rely on just a single lap around the track to decide whether he can compete each week or not, but he makes the best of the situation when he is invited to race. Despite qualifying for only 5 races, Jeremy has run 1362 laps for an average over 273 laps per race he has run. By comparison, Dave Blaney has qualified for 7 races and run just 329 laps total. Thats an average of just 47 laps per race, or 6 times fewer than the amount Mayfield completes in a race.

Unlike these “Start & Park” teams who quit after the first few laps to collect a quick pay check that the #41 team off the track on sundays, Mayfield shows up to race every lap he can possibly race and compete as competitively as he can possibly compete. But there is one other race in the season like the Daytona 500 that does not allow these “Start & Park” cars an upper hand, and that is the All-Star Race, where drivers have an opportunity to race their way into the All-Star feature, or, if they fall short, to be voted into the race by you, the fans!

As the fan-made website Vote Mayfield.com outlines, there are at least 4 different ways a fan can vote Jeremy Mayfield, or the driver of their choice, into the all-star race. Win or lose on May 16th, one thing is for sure. Jeremy Mayfield and his crew will show up to the track with the intention of not only starting, but finishing the All-Star race as well.
Posted: 5/7/2009 12:49:52 AM
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