Mayfield's Map to ... Michigan

Each week throughout the season, Jeremy Mayfield and his wife, Shana, share their memories of that weekend's racetrack -- and the happenings around it.

This week: The Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway

Michigan is close by Detroit, the "Motor City." How does that proximity and the manufacturers being there, affect you guys while you're at MIS for the races -- or does it?

Jeremy Mayfield: I really don't think it does. The only thing you kind of feel like, is that when go to Michigan, is that's where it's all at -- where all the manufacturers are.

We see a lot of the people that are part of the manufacturers, like Darrell Jackson, the president of Dodge, or the engineers. There are a lot of the people we have to do hospitality with, or meet-and-greets, whatever.

But it does put you close by DaimlerChrysler's Chelsea proving grounds. You got a standing invitation to go over there? You ever been? And what's your best test track story?

	Shana and Jeremy Mayfield
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Shana Mayfield: We have been there (laughing).

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, we have. They don't really allow us on the test track itself. I guess we could, if we wanted to.

Some of our testing is done on there, but I've never actually asked them if I could just take a lap.

I kind of took the new Durango and drove it around one day, not exactly on the proving grounds, but close to it.

Shana Mayfield: Then he took me and his PR girl at the time, Kristine, in one of those souped-up Neons -- the SRT-4. It had been raining and it was, like a road course.

He was like, "Oh, I promise I'll go real slow." And he was slinging us all over the place, and she was about to cry. I was in tears because Jimmy Spencer had spun the Viper out into the grass.

You remember that, Jeremy?

Jeremy Mayfield: Yup.

Shana Mayfield: We just knew we were going to spin out, and Jeremy was not being easy on us, at all. She was so upset and I was, too. After that we got out and we didn't run with him any more.

Jeremy Mayfield: I forgot all about that. I was talking about the proving grounds actually in Detroit right where they manufacture some stuff -- I had forgotten about that track.

That was really cool and we did take all the employees around that day. I had never been in a Neon before and I thought, "Well, man, this is a small car and it's not going to run that fast."

But I got out of that thing and it was fast.

Shana Mayfield: It was.

Jeremy Mayfield: I tell you what -- if you want to out-bluff anyone on the street, you can pull up in one of those Dodge Neons and out-run just about anything they've got out there, because they're fast.

I got to drive one of those at the media day, there, and it was one of the most nervous cars I had ever driven because it was on real skinny tires with a ton of horsepower.

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Jeremy Mayfield: That's right, you were there the day we were there, right? I had forgotten all about that, but we had a lot of fun that day.

I never went off the racetrack, but of course Shana and Kristine were a little bit scared. I couldn't understand why. I was like, "Man, this is nothing."

Shana Mayfield: Because it had been raining, and the whole track was wet, and we were sliding around everywhere.

Jeremy Mayfield: But we weren't going to hit anything -- you'd just slide off into the grass. That might be fun.

Shana Mayfield: I thought we were going to topple over. You're used to that kind of stuff. I just wanted to go for a little joy ride and not really go that fast.

Jeremy Mayfield: But you would think though, knowing that you're getting in a racecar with me, at a test track, you'd know what to expect?

Shana Mayfield: But that's not a racecar, it's a Neon.

Jeremy Mayfield: It's more or less a racecar. I had to try it out, right? It's street racing.

Speaking of that "Irish Hills" countryside, MIS is out there in the country. Does that remind you at all of Kentucky when you're out there?

Jeremy Mayfield: It does, though I'm not saying that all people from Kentucky are from the country, though.

Shana Mayfield: But more or less (laughing).

Jeremy Mayfield: It's pretty wild, because every time I go to Michigan, I always think of that. I see the rolling hills; there are a lot of cornfields and a lot of farming.

You see the old barns and the real green, grass hills and that reminds me a lot of home.

Shana Mayfield: Any bluegrass?

Jeremy Mayfield: It's almost. Not quite "bluegrass," but it's beautiful. It does remind me a lot of Kentucky, and it's probably the only place that we go, that does remind me of Kentucky.

I'm definitely not saying that in a bad way, but you know you're driving a heckuva long way to get anyplace and it's nice and it takes you back and makes you wish life were a little bit slower.

	Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield at Michigan Year Start Finish 2004 8 19   10 11 2003 20 13   40 28 2002 31 36   7 16 2001 9 4   19 13 2000 22 41   6 13 1999 17 17   5 18 1998 15 5   8 7 1997 15 12   12 33 1996 13 30   39 20 1995 9 22   9 12 1994 18 25   39 23 Averages 16.9 19.0 • Starts -- 22 • Win -- 0 • Top 5s -- 2 • Top 10s -- 3 • DNFs -- 2

Shana Mayfield: And they have all those cool little ice cream stands along the side of the road.

Jeremy Mayfield: You always see those and the places are always packed with people. I think it's cool.

And then you pass all these little towns on your way to the racetrack. I forget the names of them, but it's just cool.

You can stop and get an ice cream and you're right -- it does kind of slow things down a little bit.

What is fan interaction like in Michigan? Since you're secluded from the garage area to the motorhome lot -- do you deviate and go out into the infield at all?

Jeremy Mayfield: Not really. I'm not saying that we haven't.

Shana Mayfield: We do if we have the dogs. We take them out and walk them out there.

Jeremy Mayfield: We might get the golf cart and take them out there a little ways. There are times we ride out through there, but we don't really get out into the heart of the infield.

It can get pretty crazy out there. The fans have a great time, enjoying their Miller High Life Light, and all that stuff, and it's just cool. But we try to not do that too often.

But there's just a ton of fans there. It's just amazing the different styles. We came from Pocono last week and you've got a group of fans there that act different ways.

Then you go to Talladega and obviously it's different. But then you go to Michigan and they've got their own style, I guess you'd say, of being a race fan.

How about your, "Turn 1 Rooting Section" from Lowe's Motor Speedway? They still following you around?

Shana Mayfield: Hahahaha.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, they are. My old buddy from Dover was there. And of course, we've got a couple up in Pocono.

Michigan, I'm sure all of our big fans will be there rooting us on and it'll be fun to see 'em.

Shana, do you take any side trips over to Detroit -- though I can hardly imagine why you would? But isn't there a place you try to go to, up there?

Shana Mayfield: There is, but I hate it but I can't remember the name of the mall, but any of the girls out there into shopping would know it.

Jeremy Mayfield: I know the name of it, "Expensive."

Shana Mayfield: No. It's really cool because part of the mall is on one side of the street and part of it is on the other. It has a crossover. It's just a huge mall. I cannot think of the name of it.

But I try to get over there when I can, but it all depends on how Friday goes for qualifying. If he qualifies real well, he's in a good mood and I try to hit it up.

But if we don't have a good day I steer clear of it. I try get over there, but it's not right in Detroit -- it's actually outside of Detroit -- a smaller town.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, it's in that little town, "Expensive, Mich."

Shana Mayfield: No, it's not. It's no more expensive than anywhere else. You've just got different shops and a lot more variety, which is pretty cool for a mall.

Actually, Jeremy's been there and he's not the type to really walk around the mall, but there's so much in that mall that you can find a lot to do. Of course, he finds a couple of hobby shops close by, too.

There's a putt-putt place that I've been dying for him to stop at, but he's probably scared to death to play with me because I've beat him so many times.

Maybe this trip I can get him to play putt-putt.

Michigan's big golf country -- so do you play while you're there? Shana, are you much of a golfer?

Shana Mayfield: I used to take golf lessons when I was young -- 8 or 9 years old. I played a little bit through middle school and some in high school.

My dad and I always used to play Par 3 together. We grew up in Myrtle Beach (S.C.), where that's kind of become the golf capital of the world, and he's a big golfer.

I took it up and kind of got out of it once I went to college. I'd like to take lessons again and get back into it, because I really enjoy it.

But Jeremy's not a big golfer -- it's too slow for him -- so I don't think we could enjoy together it as a couple, but we have played putt-putt before.

It was like a speed putt-putt, because we had to get through it fast and he won because I had to give him a couple Mulligans.

He had to re-putt about 10 times because he was shooting it off the course and over here and in the water and he had to pick it up.

Sounds like an aerodynamic issue?

Jeremy Mayfield: It was.

Shana Mayfield: He couldn't get the concept. So he thinks he won, but now every time we see a putt-putt and I want a rematch he comes up with some BS excuse why he can't do it.

Jeremy Mayfield: Come to find out my ball had a big gash in it and I didn't know it.

Shana Mayfield: No, he's scared -- that's all it is.

Jeremy Mayfield: The thing about Michigan too, is there are a lot of putt-putt places around there. If you're a race fan and it's raining and you don't have anything to do, you can go play putt-putt.

Shana Mayfield: You don't want to play putt-putt in the rain.

Jeremy Mayfield: You've never played rainy putt-putt? You know what I'm saying? If there's nothing going on at the racetrack there are a lot of places around there that you can play, and it's pretty cool.

And the go-kart track is right there, near the racetrack, too. And hobby shops? Man, it's probably the best hobby shops you can go to, in Michigan.

How far do you have to go get there?

Shana Mayfield: Pretty far.

Jeremy Mayfield: No, you can take the back roads -- the short cuts like I know. There are a lot of short cuts around Michigan that you can take.

Shana Mayfield: He doesn't know the short cuts.

Jeremy Mayfield: The good thing about it is, you don't have to hit the Interstate. You can always take the back roads, and I know 'em all.

Shana Mayfield: He does not know 'em, because if you take the way like you know you're supposed to go, you get there in about an hour.

You go Jeremy's way it's a good hour-and-a-half or two hours getting back, even though he thinks it's a short cut (laughing).

With Detroit being a big pro sports town -- with the Pistons being in the NBA Finals -- you ever take advantage of that? In general, do you anywhere on the circuit?

Jeremy Mayfield: Not really. Not like some of the guys do. You hear a lot of people do that -- not that we're not sports fans.

We'd like to, but it's just the schedule for us, is pretty hectic. If I was a race fan, I would. It would be pretty cool if you could to a pro sports game while you're going to a race, you're getting to see it all.

I would recommend that.

Shana Mayfield: The one thing that we like that comes out of Detroit is Kid Rock. If Jeremy and I ever got a chance in Detroit to go to see Kid Rock in a concert, that would be our choice.

Jeremy Mayfield: He's a cool guy. Actually, he comes to Michigan about every year, and brings his coach and most of his guys come and hang out. He comes over and visits.

Shana Mayfield: He gets the guitar out and picks it a little bit.

Jeremy Mayfield: Kid Rock is cool. We listen to his music all the time and look forward to seeing him in Michigan.

With the spread-out nature of things out there, what would make you leave the racetrack? Any restaurants you hit out there by MIS?

Jeremy Mayfield: That's kind of another thing that's lacking a little but out there.

Shana Mayfield: No.

Jeremy Mayfield: A lot of places we go to, you see a lot of good restaurants and stuff.

Shana Mayfield: If you go over near the mall, there are some places to eat.

Jeremy Mayfield: If you go more into the Detroit area, there are some. And Ann Arbor has got some nice places -- and the Ann Arbor Mall is there, that you go to, Shana.

Shana Mayfield: Yeah, it's decent.

Jeremy Mayfield: There are some nice restaurants there.

Michigan is short track racing country. Is that another schedule issue, or do you get to short tracks there -- or anywhere else we travel throughout the season?

Jeremy Mayfield: Not really -- not anywhere close by Michigan.

I always like to go to the Talladega Short Track, when we're there -- or maybe the short track in Las Vegas, which is right outside the racetrack out there. Something like that is fine.

I'd like to do more of it, but after you've been practicing all day or qualifying all day, you usually have a couple commitments that you have to do.

You get to miss all that stuff. We always say every year that we're going to do more stuff at the racetrack than we have in the past, but it doesn't seem like we find the time, or something.

WORD ASSOCIATION: Michigan

• Detroit
Jeremy Mayfield: Rock City. Detroit -- Rock City. You've heard of that song, haven't you?
Shana Mayfield: Kid Rock.

• Fuel Mileage
Jeremy Mayfield: Terrible.
Shana Mayfield: Boring.

• Roger Penske
Jeremy Mayfield: Trump.
Shana Mayfield: Rental Trucks.