Mayfield's Map to ... Richmond

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 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway

Q: Jeremy, when another manufacturer sponsors an event, does that pump you up to put your Dodge Dealers Dodge in Victory Lane?

	Shana and Jeremy Mayfield
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Jeremy Mayfield: Oh yeah -- I think it does. That's not the only thing that pumps you up, but it is a thing you want to do, whether it's a Chevy race, or a Ford race.

It's a race that you want to win for Dodge, you know? And I'm sure they feel the same way.

Q: I know you might not be able to own up to it, but do you get a bonus from your manufacturer for rubbing it in like that?

Jeremy Mayfield: I've already gotten a bonus from them (after winning at Michigan).

Shana Mayfield: And good bragging rights, too.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, good bragging rights -- that's the main thing.

Q: Speaking of the Dodge Dealers, what's the coolest -- or most enjoyable -- Dodge vehicle you've driven this season so far?

Shana Mayfield: I like the new Charger.

Jeremy Mayfield: Oh man. What's the coolest is that we've gotten to drive the Charger and the Magnum -- and Dodge has got so many good vehicles out right now -- and I'm not just saying that because I drive for Dodge.

But they do -- like all the trucks, the Durango and everything else.

Shana Mayfield: And the Chrysler 300.

Jeremy Mayfield: We have one of those -- at least, Shana does. The Charger is awesome.

Q: You get a chance to do many convertibles?

Jeremy Mayfield: Every once in a while we'll get a Sebring, a guess is what it is. Those are really nice.

	Credit: Donald Miralle/Getty Images
	Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield at RIR since joining Evernham Motorsports Race Start Finish May '02 17 5 Sept. '02 21 10 May '03 19 25 Sept. '03 23 2 May '04 11 22 Sept. '04 7 1 May '05 15 13

Shana Mayfield: Jeremy doesn't really like to ride around in a convertible unless I'm with him (laughing).

Jeremy Mayfield: No, I don't think I look right. Every time I take the top down everybody looks at me like something's wrong.

My head usually sticks up above the windshield. I've got to be careful because bugs and stuff will hit me in the forehead.

Q: I don't want to act like I'm jealous, but I bet you usually get the best versions of these rides too, don't you? Like, if I rented a Magnum I'd probably get the puny version.

Jeremy Mayfield: Weeell.

Shana Mayfield: Yeah.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, about everything we get has got a Hemi in it -- or something with 10 cylinders. It's pretty impressive.

Shana Mayfield: It's nice.

Q: You've got to keep up that good, corporate image thought, right?

Jeremy Mayfield: Well, I'll tell you what's funny, is when you pull up at a stoplight -- not all stoplights, but a lot of them -- and someone will be next to you and looking at you.

And they don't realize what this SRT-10 is, you know? So I'll jump them by about 10 car lengths every stoplight and they finally figure it out.

And it's really cool looking, and not just because Dodge makes it, either.

Q: What's the biggest fan statement of manufacturer support you've seen lately -- anything stick out? I know, down in Daytona Beach a guy had his car painted up as a tribute to Jimmy Spencer.

Shana Mayfield: Jimmy Spencer?

Q: I don't know if it was a tribute or an insult -- because it was a pretty junky ride -- but it was painted up like an Ultra Motorsports car.

Shana Mayfield: I've always seen people with Earnhardt paint schemes, but Jimmy Spencer -- that's a cool one, for a change.

Jeremy Mayfield: Oh yeah -- you see the true Dodge fans, with a tattoo of the Ram on their back, or something like that.

Shana Mayfield: That one guy had one on his forehead, remember?

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, he had a Ram. It said something like, "If you can't Dodge it, Ram it."

Q: Have you stocked up on flea collars yet, for the Richmond Fairgrounds?

Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Shana Mayfield: Yeah, we got all our flea spray and all that good stuff. But we haven't quite decided if we're taking the girls or not, because the motorhome lot is paved and there's not a lot of grass around there to walk them.

So we haven't decided yet what we're going to do.

Jeremy Mayfield: You know, Sammy Johns got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever last time we were there, when he got bitten by a tick.

Shana Mayfield: Yeah -- and then Slugger ended up getting it, somehow.

Jeremy Mayfield: Slugger got it from Sammy.

Shana Mayfield: Oh, quit it.

Q: I'm just biting my lip about these rumors. Don't you think that rumors are the bane of racing?

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah.

Shana Mayfield: Rumors are cool as long as you're not in them.

Jeremy Mayfield: Well, sometimes it's good to be in them, you know? If I get disconnected, it's because Izzy is on top of me here, playing.

Shana Mayfield: You shouldn't get disconnected -- you're on a cordless phone.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, but she might knock me down.

Q: Whatever was the outcome of the putt-putt world championship that you had scheduled at Michigan?

Shana Mayfield: Oh, he put it off again and put it off again and put it off again.

Jeremy Mayfield: I begged her -- I said, "Let's go! Let's go!"

Shana Mayfield: He did not. He's such a loser.

Jeremy Mayfield: I couldn't wait because usually I get three to five strokes a hole.

Q: Well, since you failed to get it done at Michigan, what's the next best place for putt-putt, out on the circuit?

Shana Mayfield: Myrtle Beach.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, Myrtle Beach is good.

Shana Mayfield: That's where I learned all my skills.

Jeremy Mayfield: Daytona's good, too.

Q: But then again, we're not going near there any more this season, and Myrtle Beach from Charlotte when we're at Lowe's would be kind of a long trip, no?

Shana Mayfield: Not really, if we go on the plane.

Jeremy Mayfield: I'd like to do some Par 3, which we could play up here.

Shana Mayfield: He's scared, for whatever happens. Anyways, we bought some boxing gloves so we could do some sparring. We'll let you know how that turns out.

Jeremy Mayfield: We're fixing to really start getting into a fitness program, and we figure boxing would be the way to get a total body program going on.

Shana Mayfield: I mean, you look at Ray (Evernham) and he's a lean, mean machine, you know? He's been boxing a lot.

Q: Hey, with Richmond being the cutoff for the Chase and sold out all over again, we might be talking about access problems. You have any plans to leave the racetrack once you get there?

Shana Mayfield: No. We usually don't. At least, I don't think we're going to, are we Jeremy?

Jeremy Mayfield: Naw.

Q: It seems to me that was one of the locations that was a little more, shall we say, restaurant challenged, at least right near the track.

Jeremy Mayfield: There's a Captain D's by the airport.

Shana Mayfield: Oh God, don't start.

	Mayfield celebrates his win at Michigan earlier this year. Credit: Autostock

Jeremy Mayfield: I like that Captain D's by the airport, there.

Shana Mayfield: There's not many good places to eat there -- not to dis Captain D's, but it's not really good eating. About the best thing is, you can go through the drive-thru.

Jeremy Mayfield: I don't have to get the greasy stuff -- I can get something grilled.

Shana Mayfield: Oh, you get the grilled chicken, do you?

Q: Have you ever considered bringing anything to bribe anybody to get somewhere more easily -- and in your case, what might that item be?

Jeremy Mayfield: Well, it might be a hat or two. We sometimes give away hats, and t-shirts.

Shana Mayfield: Jeremy kind of gets an attitude, though, once he gets to the racetrack. He's like, "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have a show. You better let us through this gate," or "If it wasn't for us putting on a show."

Then he'll say, "Me and wife need to get on through here." And then he just drives on through.

If he gets pulled over, he just goes," I'm Jeremy Mayfield," and they're like, "Go right ahead."

Jeremy Mayfield: No, I don't.

Shana Mayfield: He does, too.

Jeremy Mayfield: The thing that really gets me about race traffic, is whether you're going to the infield or the motorhome lot -- you always get stopped five times.

Shana Mayfield: That's true.

Jeremy Mayfield: You know what I mean? If I didn't have the right pass, how would I have gotten as far as them?

And then when you finally get into the motorhome lot you've got at least 15 people walking out that don't have a clue how they even got in there -- and we're like, "Man, we got stopped five times just trying to get here."

That gets pretty aggravating sometimes, but not all the time. It's nothing to get into a fight over.

Q: That's especially true at Richmond, right?

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, right. Richmond's pretty wild, especially after the race.

You talk about trying to get out of there, well; it is packed -- especially with everybody trying to get out the back way.

Q: You know, that's pretty funny, but you've got fans of 43 drivers, and only one guy won, so that means 42 other guys' fans are all pissed off, right?

Shana Mayfield: Yeah -- especially if you wreck, or get into their driver. They'd like to kill you, then.

Jeremy Mayfield: I remember last year, but there wasn't many fans left by the time we went out.

Shana Mayfield: By the time we got done celebrating.

Jeremy Mayfield: But then the next race they let us hear about it when we were riding around the racetrack during driver introductions.

Shana Mayfield: That was the first time I got to ride with you, and that was pretty cool.

Word Association: Richmond

Golf carts
Jeremy: Unthinkable
Shana: Necessity

Defending champions
Jeremy: Us. Evernham Motorsports
Shana: Undisputed

Fleas
Jeremy: Josh Browne
Shana: Annoying