Ex-NASCAR driver Mayfield arrested

Associated Press

CATAWBA, N.C.

Former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield, barred from the association since 2009 for a failed drug test, was arrested at his western North Carolina home and charged with possession of methamphetamine, and police said Wednesday he may face more charges.

Mayfield was arrested Tuesday night and charged possessing 1.5 grams of meth, according to records from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. Mayfield, 42, posted $3,000 bond and was scheduled to appear in district court on Wednesday.

Detectives from neighboring Lincoln County said roughly $100,000 worth of items that belonged to businesses in that county also were found at Mayfield’s home, and they plan to charge him with possession of stolen goods.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says Mayfield had heavy equipment parts, welders and welding accessories, truck parts, an engraving machine and other items that they say were reported stolen from two businesses in late 2010 and early 2011.

The phone rang unanswered at Mayfield’s home in the town of Catawba multiple times Wednesday. It wasn’t immediately clear if he has a lawyer representing him in the drug case.

The former Sprint Cup driver was suspended from NASCAR in May 2009 after failing a random drug test. Mayfield denied he was using an illegal drug, but NASCAR said he tested positive for methamphetamines.

In unsuccessful legal challenges to his suspension, Mayfield said his positive test stemmed from a mix of an over-the-counter allergy medication and the prescription drug Adderall.