Mayfield's Map to ... New Hampshire

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 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H.

	Jeremy Mayfield has only two top-10 finishes in 19 races at NHIS. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield at Loudon Year Start Finish 2005 11 19 2004 9 35   7 10 2003 10 11   24 34 2002 9 24   14 19 2001 3 39 2000 17 40   16 8 1999 28 36   31 28 1998 6 20   30 30 1997 27 25   22 17 1996 39 36 1995 15 26 1994 37 26 Avg. 18.7 25.4

Q: Guys, I know you would do anything to make the dogs happy, but since we're going back to New Hampshire this week for the beginning of the Chase for the Nextel Cup, have you gotten Izzy a Robby Gordon die-cast as a chew toy?

Shana: (Laughing).

Jeremy: Yeah, we've had one of those for a long time.

Shana: (Laughing).

Jeremy: What it is, we'd like to dress him up like a box, because Izzy just hates boxes, you know what I mean?

She'll really chew a box up.

Shana: Yeah. I think we don't really have to worry about Robby Gordon this year. I think that was just a simple mistake and he learned his lesson the hard way.

Q: Speaking of the girls, are you going to take Zoë by Debbie's Petland and show her off?

Shana: Debbie's Petland has shut down.

Jeremy: It's gone.

Shana: We went there, in July to kind of look around, and when I went in the mall it was closed. I kind of thanked God it was closed because, as you know, I'd have a hard time getting out of there without something.

But yeah, I'd have loved to have shown her off, but they shut 'er down.

Q: Are they gone, or did they maybe just move somewhere else?

Shana: Well, I was looking for a Nordstrom's on that trip because they were having a big anniversary sale. I was disappointed we couldn't find one and I was going to drive to Connecticut, or somewhere.

So I went online and there was a Debbie's Petland at some other mall around in New Hampshire -- but we couldn't make it over there.

So maybe they just moved to another area, or something, you know?

Jeremy: I wouldn't mind having me another addition to the family though, you know?

Shana: No.

Q: Well, I thought that might be the case if you were going there, but I guess you at least have to get Zoë housebroken first, right?

Jeremy: Yeah, we'll do that.

	Shana and Jeremy Mayfield
	JEREMY MAYFIELD •   Driver Page •   2005 Stats •   Superstore: Mayfield gear •   Dodge Fast Track •   Jeremy's official Web site

Shana: Me and Jeremy are taking her to PetSmart at 5 o'clock to her first potty training class.

Jeremy: Yeah, they're going to teach her to pee on the puddle pad.

Shana: She's driving us crazy.

Jeremy: Right now, she goes outside and runs around a little bit, then she comes in and pees.

Shana: She doesn't quite understand.

Jeremy: She doesn't get it. But the lady that keeps our dogs, Madeleine, and her husband are getting a miniature bulldog that looks just like Zoë -- kinda like it was her brother, isn't it, Shana?

Shana: No, they're from different litters -- they just look exactly alike.

Jeremy: He's solid white, it's a male and his name's going to be Dozer.

Shana: Then she'll have a boyfriend.

Q: Since at least some fans are front-runners, has your fan club made any allowances to let maybe Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans -- or anyone else who unexpectedly didn't make the Chase -- get on your bandwagon?

Shana: Man, that would be cool. That's what I need, because we're going into this Chase deal for the second year -- and for some reason we're getting all this underdog and underrated deal.

People say we're flying underneath the radar and all that. And we're really probably the coolest team out there. If people really knew the driver, and the guys on the team around him -- and the owner ...

Shana: And the wives.

	Jeremy Mayfield's lone win this year to date came at Michigan. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield vs. the Chase Driver W T-5 T-10 T. Stewart 5 12 18 G. Biffle 5 10 15 R. Wallace 0 7 14 J. Johnson 2 9 15 Ku. Busch 3 8 14 M. Martin 0 6 12 J. Mayfield 1 4 7 C. Edwards 2 8 10 M. Kenseth 1 6 11 R. Newman 0 5 10

Jeremy: And their wives. There's probably not a cooler race team out there, you know what I mean -- and right now we need all the support we can get.

Shana: You ought to pull for the underdogs. If you look at it and you're a (Jeff) Gordon fan or a Junior fan -- or whoever -- there ought to be enough support to go around.

It would kind of be cool if some of those people would switch their allegiances over -- but of course, I'm being biased.

Jeremy: Right. And I'm not speaking only for myself, but we've got some of the most normal people in the garage area. We're just down-to-earth.

Shana: They're big-hearted -- I can say that. That team's got a big, big heart. They've been dealt a lot of blows, but they've all stuck together.

They've got a cool car owner and a cool sponsor and the best men in the business, so I think it would be kind of cool to pull for somebody that doesn't get all the hype.

Jeremy: We just need all the support we can get and we appreciate everybody standing behind us, here.

Shana: Yeah, we do.

Q: Coming to New England this time of the year is prime time for apples -- so do you plan to send Buster out on a run to get some Cortlands or McIntoshes?

Shana: I like apples but I didn't know it was prime time for apples, there.

Jeremy: Is it?

Shana: Yeah, and I like apples.

Q: That used to be the best time, in the fall when we'd jump the fence into an orchard and grab us a few apples to munch on.

Jeremy and Shana Mayfield like apples. Credit: Autostock

Jeremy: I've done that, too, in Owensboro (Ky.). Anytime you find an orchard somewhere you'd always think of that. It was fun because you'd almost always get caught.

And it was always at night, when you'd get yourselves a couple bags of apples.

Shana: Apples are good -- but I like them when they're cut up. I can't eat them, like a normal apple. You're supposed to cut 'em up.

Q: Jeremy, you could take a couple out for a practice run and if your cheering section was down there in Turn 1 you could exercise that pitching arm, no?

Jeremy: Hey, I didn't think about that. The ol' pitching arm is starting to get sore -- I need to loosen it up.

Q: Shana -- I don't know if the timing is right but even if there aren't many stores up there, you planning on organizing any foliage watching expeditions?

Shana: A what?

Q: You know, to look at the leaves changing color?

Shana: I don't think so. That week I'll be heading back from New York, to Loudon, so I think I'll have my shopping needs fixed, anyways.

Actually, I did pretty well out in California, so I'm doing all right.

Jeremy: I thought he was talking about going to watch the leaves change?

Shana: But he said it was because there was nowhere to shop?

	Jeremy Mayfield Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield career Year No. W T-5 T-10 2005 26 1 4 7 2004 36 1 5 13 2003 36 0 4 12 2002 36 0 2 4 2001 28 0 5 7 2000 32 2 6 12 1999 34 0 5 12 1998 33 1 12 16 1997 32 0 3 8 1996 30 0 2 2 1995 27 0 0 1 1994 20 0 0 0 1993 1 0 0 0 13 years 371 5 48 94

Q: Yeah, there's nowhere to shop because it's nothing but country up there -- so I figured you would organize an expedition to go out and look at some changing leaves?

Jeremy: I think that that's awesome up there, when the leaves are changing.

Shana: No, I don't think so. I think I'll probably just chill out and lay low in the motorhome. Catch up my reading and all that stuff.

Jeremy: It's nice to just go out. There's nothing better than an old afternoon drive up through New Hampshire.

Shana: Oh Jeremy, don't even start. He cannot even sit there and do that.

Jeremy: Yeah -- just sit there and watch the leaves change, right?

Shana: He does not have the attention span for that -- don't let him fool you.

Q: You've got to time it just right, because otherwise you're just riding around in circles for nothing -- and it might be too early to see the leaves change.

Jeremy: Right -- you end up spinning your wheels and not going anywhere.

Shana: He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Q: Jeremy, I know your schedule is always tight, but did you get to swap any stories with Dick Bahre when you were up to New Hampshire in July?

Jeremy: No, but I think I saw him -- or was it him that I saw? I didn't see him and I haven't talked to him lately, but that is pretty cool.

Dick was one of the first guys I worked with in the Carolinas, back when I started driving for the Sadlers. He's a great guy and pretty cool.

Q: Speaking of loose ends, did you ever find the Mini-Sprint shop the last time you were in the Poconos?

Jeremy: No. I didn't. I mean, at least I know where it's at, now, even though I didn't get a chance to get over there.

Apparently there are several of them around that area that make those cars, and RTS is one of them. Terry and the guys over there are the ones I've been buying those cars from lately, and I can't wait to get over there and see their shop.

Q: From your guys' perspective, what's the best part of the Chase for the Nextel Cup?

Jeremy: The hardest part is getting into it, I think. Once you're in it, the hardest part -- step one -- is behind you and you can just concentrate on looking ahead and getting after it.

I think the best part is that you're down to the best 10 drivers and you've still got a shot to win the championship, once you get in it.

	Kenny Francis, left, is still an important part of Jeremy Mayfield's team. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield 2005 Stat Mayfield Races 26 Wins 1 Top-5 4 Top-10 7 Poles 0 Avg. Start 14.0 Avg. Finish 14.3 DNF 1 (crash) Laps Led 147 Points 5020 Rank 7 Behind -30

Shana: I think the best part is the recognition and knowing that your team was better than however many others there are -- better than at least 33 other teams this year -- that you worked hard and were really smart on race days.

I think especially this year, with Slugger Labbe coming on as crew chief and him and Jeremy having to adjust in the beginning.

And I think still having Kenny Francis there -- who was Jeremy's crew chief last year -- helped a lot, because it wasn't a disruption, it was more a case of teamwork, of learning to work together real well and getting along together real fast.

It was neat for all the guys to show that they could continue what they started last year, and that they could still get it done. They haven't done anything real spectacular but they've been finishing consistently.

To consider that you've outsmarted or just outraced most teams for 26 races is a good feeling for any team. I was reading something Ray (Evernham, team owner) said recently -- and it's true that it's almost like two different seasons.

I think Jeremy and his (No.) 19 team are probably going to go into the Chase with a whole different mentality than they probably went into the first 26 races with.

Now it's going to be just no-holds-barred -- because the worst you can finish in the points is 10th. Now, instead of trying to race to get into the Chase, you're going to race for a championship, so you just do the best that you can and not be conservative.

Q: Is all the pressure and all the agony leading up to the cutoff for the Chase worth it, do you think?

Shana: Yes.

Jeremy: Yeah, it's definitely worth it.

Shana: It's definitely worth it, but it is a lot of pressure. I mean we're definitely in a better situation than we were last year.

You kind of -- or I did, at least, which I never should have thought of -- thought that winning the title was a long shot.

Jeremy never did. He told me from the Monday right after California that we were going to win it -- that we were going to be in it.

I was like, "Gosh!" because that was a long shot because you have to win the race and lead the most laps -- but he said, "I don't care, we're going to do it because there is always something impossible like that."

	Will Jeremy Mayfield burnout or flame-out in this year's Chase? Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield 2004 Chase Race Start Finish Rank Loudon 9 35 10 Dover 1 7 10 Talladega 9 38 10 Kansas 3 5 10 Charlotte 13 30 10 Martinsville 11 6 10 Atlanta 11 26 10 Phoenix 24 21 10 Darlington 10 19 10 Homestead 20 35 10

This year we've got a little more cushion, but there is still pressure. You never know what can happen and I think it eats me alive, much more than it does Jeremy.

I sit there and calculate all this stuff (that could happen) -- and he just says, "If it's going to happen, it's going to happen." He has always had a belief in the team and himself -- and I have, too.

But once your mind starts going and your imagination starts going -- especially me as a wife, because my stomach gets in knots because I want it for him so bad.

Jeremy: I don't read all that stuff.

Shana: He doesn't read everything -- and then I start telling him, and he says, "I don't want to hear it -- it doesn't matter."

Q: I'd say, that's what confidence will do for you, no?

Shana: It does. And I know he's confident and the team's great and they'll do fine, but still it's just that little bit of uncertainty, because in this sport, you never know, you know?

Jeremy: Actually, at this time last year, she had written us off.

Shana: I didn't -- it was just ...

Jeremy: She was like, "There's no way you can do that."

Jeremy: Well, I said, "Just stay tuned."

Shana: I didn't say there was no way you could do that (laughing).

Jeremy: I know (laughing) -- but it was a long shot. It was.

Shana: It was a long shot and I just thought that you were going to do something that your team hadn't done all year.

Jeremy: And that's what I told her this year. I told her this year we're going to win the championship. I believe that we can and I believe that we will.

Shana: Right -- and as long as you believe it and everybody around you believes it, then there's no reason why it can't happen.

Word Association: New Hampshire

The Chase

Jeremy: For the Nextel Cup.
Shana: Nerve-wracking.

Pressure

Jeremy: Love it.
Shana: Hate it.

Crisp apples

Jeremy: Love 'em.
Shana: Hurt my teeth.