| By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
August 25, 2005
01:13 PM EDT (17:13 GMT)
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 Sharpie 500 and Bristol Motor Speedway. Q: I would never knock the boss for having a "no dogs allowed" policy -- Ray wouldn't let the girls fly to Michigan on his plane -- but how devastated were they at missing Victory Lane and not getting to model their outfits? Shana Mayfield: Izzy was pretty hurt (laughing). Jeremy Mayfield: She'll know. Q: Izzy is the sensitive one, I understand. Shana Mayfield: She hasn't talked to Jeremy in a couple days. Zoë, the new miniature Bulldog, she's OK with it because she hasn't been to that many races anyway. And Mattie says she's done this for so many years, and she's been to Jeremy's Victory Lanes a couple times, so she's all right. What do you think Jeremy? I think they're OK -- except for Izzy. She's really hurt. Jeremy Mayfield: They're getting over it. But they know we won, so that's the main thing. They're really happy about that. Q: We had talked about that, how the dogs respond to your moods when you come home after running well -- so I guess it was a pretty good couple days at the Mayfield household, no? Shana Mayfield: They knew daddy was in a good mood; he took them here and gave them treats. Yeah, they can sense that. Jeremy Mayfield: They've been getting all kinds of good stuff. Q: Shana, I'm thinking about your decision to go to Watkins Glen being affected by the fact there's nothing out there, so there's only one thing I have to think about Bristol: "Dog City" -- because there ain't much there, either, is there? Shana Mayfield: Bristol's actually not a good place for dogs. It's because we're in that motorhome lot and you kind of have to go a ways to get to some grass -- to get them to where they can run. And the fans are so close by, so it's not really a good place for us to bring them, unless we bring the little one, because she hasn't gotten the concept of where to potty yet, anyway. So she can go in the motorhome on the puddle pads. But we really don't take them there, because we helicopter out of there and all that. It's one place that we usually don't take them because Buster would really have to drive a ways to let them potty, so Bristol is one place that we refuse to take them. Q: Well, I guess moving mountains does have some drawbacks, then, because I thought there used to be a lot more greenery there. Shana Mayfield: Yeah, but there's not a lot, really, for them -- unless you go a good little ways. And like I say, then you've got to fight the fans because they all hang around the gate and all that stuff. Q: More than a lot of other places, Bristol is really an event for the fans, so does any of that excitement spill over for you guys? Jeremy Mayfield: Umm, we don't really see it that way, you know? I know it's a huge deal for the fans, but still, it's just Bristol -- and we have to look at it as just Bristol. It's just a normal racetrack, or we try to look at it that way, anyway. Q: Are people not more excited, or more boisterous there? Jeremy Mayfield: I'll tell you when you know it, is when it's race day and you go in for driver's introductions and you look around and the place is packed -- that's when you get a true sense of how big it is and how many fans are truly there. To see all those people is just overwhelming, I guess you could say. Q: From a driver's standpoint, Jeremy, does that affect you at all? Jeremy Mayfield: Not really, because we're used to it now. The sport has gotten so big that you kind of expect that any more everywhere we go. Wow, can you hear our dog snoring? Shana Mayfield: That's Max. Jeremy Mayfield: You never met Max. Max Mayfield: (Snoring). Q: That's too much. But seriously, with Bristol being such an event -- the night race especially -- do you have an extra number of friends or family kicking around? Shana Mayfield: We try to discourage that (laughing). Jeremy Mayfield: We used to have everybody wanting to go to Bristol -- they wanted to see Bristol. And then you'd end up with a bunch of family and friends there, which makes it hard on us having to do our jobs.  |  | | The Mayfields celebrate Jeremy's win last weekend at Michigan. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images |
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Not to do our jobs, you know, but we're not there to entertain our family and friends, or whatever -- (we're there to race). Shana Mayfield: Plus, it starts so late, and they come so early to beat the traffic, so you feel like you've got to get up and entertain them, and you've got all day with them. Max Mayfield: (Snoring). Shana Mayfield: Max is talking again. So we try to discourage them (a lot of visitors) -- especially right here getting towards the Chase. We try to let everybody know that maybe after the Chase starts we can start getting some passes again, but right now we trying to keep -- not that Jeremy's not focused -- but we're trying to keep him as relaxed and unbothered as possible. That's at least until these last three races coming down to the cutoff for the Chase are over -- then we can have some people over and party a little bit, hopefully. Q: If the Richmond motorhome lot is a ways away from the infield and you've got some wild transit experiences, what's your wildest Bristol transit story? Shana Mayfield: This was a funny one. Last year, Jeremy and I went to a grocery store in Bristol. And you can't walk through the grocery store without everybody knowing you -- you're in Bristol and everybody's there for the races, so they know Jeremy. And we met this guy, and he was the funniest guy we've ever met. He was talking, like, a hundred miles an hour and he kept calling me "Cheena." He was like, "Cheena, Cheena, I saw you on (NASCAR Drivers) 360, I saw you on 360." No, he said, "I saw you on 24 hours," instead of NASCAR Drivers 360. And he kept calling me Cheena. And then he'd go to Jeremy, "Mayfield, that was an awesome bump on Earnhardt," and "dah-dah-dah, dah-dah-dah." And we laughed so hard. He just said some of the funniest things, and he was so drunk, the poor guy. And his friends were honking the horn for him to leave, and he was saying "Shut the hell up, I got Jeremy Mayfield and Cheena here." We sat in the parking lot and talked to him for like, an hour because we were just so entertained (laughing). And then, he had somebody else's hat on, and Jeremy was ragging his friend and telling his friend that his driver was a wimp. And the guy was like, "Is he really?" And Jeremy was going, "Oh yeah, he is." And the guy was saying, "Gawd, I didn't know that," and he took his hat off. Jeremy Mayfield: He took it off and threw it on the ground. Shana Mayfield: It was just so funny. Jeremy Mayfield: Something about Bristol is that you talk about the motorhome lot being away from the racetrack. When you get done racing there, and you have to walk through that tunnel (to get to the motorhome lot) and walk up that hill. Shana Mayfield: Oh, yeah. Jeremy Mayfield: We have an overpass back up there that goes over to the motorhome lot. And by the time you get to the motorhome, you're wore out. If you weren't wore out after the race, you're definitely wore out after you walk back to the motorhome lot. |  | | The No. 19 Dodge has six top-10 finishes this season. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images |
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Shana Mayfield: There are people hollering at you the whole time that you're walking. Jeremy Mayfield: This is right after the race, and they're saying, "Hey, man, can you sign this?" Shana Mayfield: It depends on how he's running -- then he might sign something. Jeremy Mayfield: But it's hard, after the race, because it is a pretty good walk there. Q: Do you guys ride motorcycles much? Shana Mayfield: Sometimes we do. Jeremy Mayfield: A little bit. I've got a couple Harleys, but we probably don't ride as much as we should -- or what a lot of people probably do. Shana Mayfield: Jeremy rode a little bit last weekend, when Ray (Evernham) had the leukemia/lymphoma charity deal on the way to Michigan. They rode some really pretty bikes that Dave, what's his name? Dave Perewitz (of Cycle Fabrication) -- he's a bike builder over in New Jersey. So we rode last weekend, but we really don't get to ride that often. Q: So you definitely don't do the ride to Bristol that some of the guys do, through the mountains? Jeremy Mayfield: No. Shana Mayfield: Nooooo. Jeremy Mayfield: We used to drive to Bristol, and when we drive it's hard enough. Shana Mayfield: We used to drive a lot, but we drove one time and I got so car-sick with Jeremy, because he was going, like, 80 through the mountains. And I was like, "Can you please slow down?" And he was like, "Why?" It was because I was going to throw up, because I was getting carsick. He was like, "You want me to stop so you can puke?" I said, "No -- I just want you to slow down (laughing)." Because there are just some tight turns up there in the mountains, you know? And he's taking them going about 80. Jeremy Mayfield: I wasn't going 80 -- I was going about 30. Shana Mayfield: Shoot. Whatever. Max! Max Mayfield: (Snoring). Q: Is the tunnel at Bristol one of the best racetrack improvements ever? Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, for sure. That way you can get in and out of there, if something happens. Q: Let's just say somebody ran into you in the first 50 laps and wrecked you -- you don't want to sit there for 450 more laps, just stewing. Jeremy Mayfield: Which is what you used to have to do -- and that was terrible. That's made a huge difference at Bristol. Shana Mayfield: Both that, and the tunnel at Martinsville have been huge. Jeremy Mayfield: All they need, now is to put a roof on the place and a big fan to draw out all the fumes, you know what I mean? If Humpy (Wheeler) and Bruton (Smith) weren't so scared they'd dome that place. They keep talking about it, and I'm waiting for them to do it. |  | | Shana Mayfield shows everyone who she thinks in No. 1. Credit: CIA Stock Photo |
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Q: Shana, with the racetrack being so far from the motorhome lot, and with the nature of that place, where do you spend most of your time during the race? Max Mayfield: (Snoring). Shana Mayfield: I'm sorry, Max is still snoring. Max Mayfield: (Snoring). Shana Mayfield: Can you hear that (laughing)? For the races, I usually watch as much as I can, from down on the pit box, but I get dizzy and lightheaded from the fumes and them going around so fast. So I sometimes go back to motorhome. It just all depends. I get really dizzy down there for some reason. I guess it's because they're going so fast by me and I'm trying to keep up with where Jeremy is at (laughing). And the fumes get pretty bad down in there, so I kind of get a pretty bad headache. Q: How far in advance do you have to book helicopter travel? Is there a clearinghouse to do that -- or who arranges your helicopter flights? Jeremy Mayfield: Dale Cagle does it. He does all our scheduling, and all that. He usually does that at the beginning of the year, because we pretty much know which tracks we're going to helicopter out of, and all that stuff. Shana Mayfield: But Jeff, who runs it, if we need a helicopter at the last minute, he's always accommodating. If we need one, he's always helpful. Max! Max Mayfield: (Snoring). Q: Is it the same company that does it all year, or is it different ones at different places? Jeremy Mayfield: It's the same one. Shana Mayfield: He can get any kind of travel arrangements you want done. WORD ASSOCIATION: Coliseum
Jeremy Mayfield: Indoor arena.
Shana Mayfield: Rome. Helicopters
Jeremy Mayfield: Wild ride.
Shana Mayfield: Convenient. Tunnel
Jeremy Mayfield: A long walk.
Shana Mayfield: A good idea. | 
