Jeremy Mayfield's lawyer speaks -- and says Mayfield wants an apology from NASCAR

  
Jeremy Mayfield: "upset and insulted" by NASCAR's charges (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   CONCORD, N.C.
   No, Jeremy Mayfield certainly isn't taking his NASCAR suspension and going quietly into the night….he's hired heavy-duty attorney Bill Diehl to handle negotiations with NASCAR. And Diehl says Mayfield wants an apology from NASCAR for the controversy…and possibly more.
   During a Wednesday interview on Sirius radio, Diehl said the possibility of a lawsuit against NASCAR over the affair "will depend on what happens between Jeremy and NASCAR…which ought to be known in the next couple of days."
   First, Diehl said he and Mayfield want "some type of acknowledgement that what happened was a mistake on the part of somebody in connection with what they did and how they did it….
   "We can't put Humpty Dumpty back together again. They've said it.  They've suspended him…
   "Somebody is going to have to come forward and acknowledge that 'Well, we thought we did what we were supposed to do. Maybe we made a mistake. Let's try it again.'"
   Diehl described Mayfield as "very upset" and "insulted."
   "He's had a 17-year career, had some successes, and he's just getting started with his own team. And this sort of takes you out at the knees -- if you're suddenly accused of being a recreational drug user and you're suspended from doing what you get paid to do….
   "He wants everybody to know that he's not guilty of what he's accused of."
   The specific issue, Diehl says, is "focused on whether or not Jeremy was suspended properly.
   "Is what happened to him legitimate, and should he stay suspended? 
    "Should he have to go through some type of rehabilitation, if you will, that they've asked for? 
    "….Has he been mistreated, and have they improperly deprived him of a way to make a living?
     "There are some side issues. They've said a lot of unpleasant things about him that Jeremy doesn't believe are true. There's a separate remedy for that kind of behavior.
   "…I read a report where Mr. (Brian) France gratuitously announced that the serious recreational drug use by Mr. Mayfield was very difficult, very bad and they weren't going to tolerate it. 
   "Accusing somebody that's driving a race car a couple hundred miles an hour of serious recreational drug use, that's probably not too good thing to say about him. Especially if it's not true."
  Diehl, called by some 'a junkyard dog' of a lawyer for his aggressive tactics and outspoken nature, has been also called the best trial lawyer in North Carolina. He has done work for a number of high-profile NASCAR figures, including Bruton Smith and Rick Hendrick.