Mayfield's Map: 'Dega

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 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

Q: Now that the Chase is well and truly under way, how's life on the streets -- people giving you lots of advice?

	Shana and Jeremy Mayfield
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Jeremy Mayfield: Well, I don't know if I'd call it advice, or not.

Shana Mayfield: I give him my share (laughing).

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, she does.

Q: But Shana, you're entitled, right?

Shana Mayfield: Oh yeah. I always give him my share of advice. Whether it means anything or not, I don't know -- but I always do.

I don't know, but I guess they do. Especially this week, we've heard a lot with people calling up to say, "You're only 81 points out of first, man -- you know you can do it."

They can feel like, it's so close that it's within reach. I know it's only two races into it, but I think we're closer. This time last year we were in kind of a rut.

But we've gotten a lot of phone calls this week saying, "Keep it up -- it's only 81 points." I don't know if anybody's been giving Jeremy any advice, regularly, but we've heard a lot of that (encouragement), you know?

Q: You don't find yourself staying at home more, just to keep from getting badgered like that, do you?

Jeremy Mayfield: Ummm, not really. I really don't worry about it a whole lot.

Shana Mayfield: Nobody really badgers us about it. At least not around here, you know what I mean? It's not really a big issue.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah -- it's been pretty cool, really. Of course, you've got to read all the media stuff, you know?

Shana Mayfield: Yeah.

Jeremy Mayfield: Which I don't read, but I hear about. That's the biggest thing that I don't like, how we weren't supposed to be in the Chase, and wasn't going to be and all that stuff and now we are -- you know how all that goes?

Shana Mayfield: Or that we were going to finish 10th.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah.

Q: It seems to me with everything being so close, that people would talk about that versus eliminating people -- I mean, no one's totally out of it, at this point.

Jeremy Mayfield: Right.

Shana Mayfield: I've read a few things and Jeremy always gets mad at me because I get so disappointed about what I read.

Now, it's "Mayfield's hurting" and "Kenseth and Kurt (Busch) are really bad off but Mayfield's hurting" and, I'm like "How is he really bad off when he's only 81 points out -- when we came into Richmond 100-and-something points out of getting into the deal with one race to go?"

We're not even close to hurting, yet -- and going to Talladega, we finished fourth in the first race there, earlier this year.

I get pretty passionate and upset about that because I think that race team (Evernham Motorsports' No. 19 team) is just as strong as anybody out there.

Yeah, they might not have five wins, but there are only two teams that have finished 99.5 percent of all their laps this season -- and Jeremy's is one of them.

Consistency paid off last year because Kurt finished with an average seventh-place finish and I think we can easily do that.

I get more incensed when it's my husband and I read all that, because statistically he's still in it as well as Greg Biffle or Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson, you know?

Q: Going to Talladega Superspeedway, where the racing is wild and wooly, Jeremy what's your thought about that?

Jeremy Mayfield: I love going to Talladega. A lot of people talk about not wanting to go there -- and they hate going to Talladega.

But that's one place that I love to go to. There's nothing better than being here with a bunch of dogs barking at you.

Izzy, Max and Mattie Mayfield: Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.

Jeremy Mayfield: Seriously, there's nothing better than being there and racing like that. NASCAR has done a good job of keeping us all bunched up and I mean, it's fun racing there and I like it.

It's one of my favorite tracks.

Q: And you know, speaking of the fans that's one place where you don't really see that many big gaps in the grandstands so it seems like fans really like that type of racing, right?

Jeremy Mayfield: Right. That's what I mean. They love it, and I love it.

There's nothing better than watch a whole pack of cars running around there all day long, you know what I mean?

Shana Mayfield: I can't tell if you're being serious or not (laughing).

Jeremy Mayfield: I'm real serious. You know how I like that place? I love it.

Shana Mayfield: Well, you got your first top-five there this year, so you probably do like it.

Jeremy Mayfield: Right, right. And to put on a show like we do there, I think it's awesome.

All these guys complain about it and they need to realize what the sport's all about -- and that's putting on a good show, you know?

Q: And it's a sport that has all those different dimensions -- just like road racing's one of them, short tracks, and superspeedways.

Jeremy Mayfield: Exactly, and I used to hate road racing, but I love them know and they are some of my favorite places to go.

There, and Talladega and Martinsville, the short tracks.

Q: And that's why you're in the Chase, because you can get it done anywhere.

Shana Mayfield: It's all mental, honey.

Jeremy Mayfield: But I did want to say that, because a lot of people don't like it -- they always criticize it and it's great racing.

Q: Talladega is even better than Daytona for having a nearby airport. How you like flying into it?

	Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield at Talladega Year Start Finish 1994 24 37   25 32 1995 33 14   21 13 1996 3 32   1 16 1997 40 23   40 26 1998 37 13   24 5 1999 31 15   15 16 2000 1 14   40 42 2001 41 35 2002 31 36   26 20 2003 1 18   22 38 2004 38 21   9 38 2005 22 4

Shana Mayfield: For convenience it's nice, but it's kinda scary (laughing).

Jeremy Mayfield: It's not too bad.

Shana Mayfield: I'm not a good flyer anyway -- so any time I see little airports I get a little more nervous.

Like, I feel real good flying into Dover with the big Air Force base, but the smaller airports get me nervous. But it doesn't bother Jeremy at all.

Q: Now Shana, what is it -- is it coming in over nothing but trees?

Shana Mayfield: Well yeah, it's like "Bam, there you are, there's the airport, you know?" It's not like there's any kind of warning that you're getting there.

I don't know, I guess I just like something that's more cleared-out.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, but worst-case scenario you can just land on the racetrack -- it's big enough.

Shana Mayfield: Yeah, that's a good idea. But I'm just not a good flyer, in general -- so the bigger the airport, the better I feel.

But it's nice and convenient, which I like. It's very convenient.

Q: This might be a touchy question, but with the race fan population between the airport and the motorhome lot being what it is -- you ever think of helicoptering over there anyway?

Shana Mayfield: No.

Jeremy Mayfield: (Laughing) we've got an escape route over to there. I guess the speedway has got a little back entrance that we take over to the airport after the race, that they always keep clear.

That's one of the easiest places that we go, really, to get to the airport.

Q: Really?

Shana Mayfield: Umh-hmmh.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, there's a little gravel road back there that turns into. Like, a road course when we all leave there.

Shana Mayfield: But there are a lot of fans at the airport, which gets kind of crazy. Remember last year, when one of the dogs had to go to the bathroom? Who was that, Jeremy?

Jeremy Mayfield: I think it was Mattie, I think, wasn't it?

Shana Mayfield: She had to go to the bathroom so bad, the poor thing, that she had to go right in front of all the fans and they were laughing at her.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, she pooped right there in front of everybody.

Q: Yeah, but maybe that's because they all wished they could be dogs and they could just do that, you know what I mean?

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, I know it.

Shana Mayfield: It was so sad -- and then Jeremy had to clean it up, of course.

Jeremy Mayfield: Well, I was like, "If they're just gonna sit there and look at her, maybe one of them will step in it." Naw, I'm just joking.

Shana Mayfield: (Laughing).

Q: Shana, when the circuit's in Talladega you're stuck between two Southeastern hotbeds -- Atlanta and Birmingham. Is that much of a choice -- and where do you go?

Shana Mayfield: I'd rather go to Atlanta, but that's a little far, so we go to Birmingham, occasionally. There's a good little mall over there.

But I had this one fan tell me this week I needed to quit talking about shopping so much, so I guess I better not talk about shopping (laughing).

She said she reads Mayfield's Map all the time and all we talk about is shopping. I thought, "Well I didn't talk about it last week?"

But we go to Birmingham sometimes and there is a nice mall there.

Q: But you could be going to Birmingham, or anywhere else, as much for entertainment as to shop, right?

Shana Mayfield: Yeah.

Jeremy Mayfield: That's usually all we go for, is to see people and walk around.

Shana Mayfield: We walk around and it's not that I shop every time that I go. We walk around and look at things.

Jeremy Mayfield: And just to let the fans know, too -- we spend more time shopping at T.J. Maxx and Value City than we do anywhere.

Shana Mayfield: (Laughing) exactly. I'm a bargain hunter, man -- I'm telling you.

I'm not very high maintenance. I like nice things, but I like simple stuff, too.

Jeremy Mayfield: Just to let everyone know -- we're not the Gretchen Wilson's of racing, but we're close, you know what I mean?

Shana Mayfield: Yeah (laughing) -- if you give me 500 dollars, I'm going to come back with 500 things, instead of one purse (laughing).

Q: Hey Jeremy, coming to Alabama, and knowing about the Alabama Gang, you got any good Red Farmer stories?

Jeremy Mayfield: Man, the only stories I've got are that I've known him even since I started racing the ARCA cars, a long time ago.

Him and Tim Steele, or he used to help Tim Steele a little bit and help some other ARCA guys -- and he was racing himself. I just know him and I've known him ever since I've been racing.

He's got a lot of history behind him and has won a ton of races. He's just a great guy, man -- and the thing I like about him is that he'll still get in his dirt car today and go over there and whip their butts at the Talladega Short Track.

Q: Well, that was gonna be my follow-up question -- have you gotten over to the Talladega Short Track, across the street from the big speedway, to watch Red get after it on the dirt?

Jeremy Mayfield: No, we haven't lately, but we have been a couple of times before.

Shana Mayfield: Jeremy loves to go over there.

Jeremy Mayfield: Even if we don't go there, every time we're down at Talladega you still hear about him going over there and winning.

We saw him last year, wasn't it, Shana?

Shana Mayfield: I don't know, but we go and I get dirt in my teeth and my hair and I can't stand it. I'm just not used to that (laughing).

Jeremy gets me right up to the fence because he knows it's going to get all over me and he thinks that's funny.

Mayfield's MapUnlike many drivers, Jeremy likes Talladega in the Chase Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Jeremy Mayfield: Well, that's one thing you don't do at a dirt track though -- you don't smile, you know?

And Shana's over there just smiling away, watching the dirt cars (laughing).

Shana Mayfield: And then, everybody's got these goggles on and I'm like, "Why don't we have goggles?" And he's like, "Awww, you don't need 'em."

And then I notice when they come by, Jeremy will be squinting his eyes and I'm still staring at them, and I'm thinking, "That's not fair."

Jeremy Mayfield: Plus, she's got that red clay all over her -- that red Talladega mud, over there.

Shana Mayfield: So I'm going to get some goggles. But anyway, how old is Red Farmer? Is he pretty old, Jeremy?

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah -- I'm not sure how old he is now, but it seems like he always was old.

Q: Man, the good thing is, he was actually voted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame there at Talladega Superspeedway, last year -- but he's never been one to reveal much about his age. Doesn't slow him down, though.

Shana Mayfield: Wow.

Jeremy Mayfield: And he's still driving his dirt cars.

Shana Mayfield: And does he still win, all the time?

Jeremy Mayfield: Oh yeah.

Shana Mayfield: Well, that's pretty cool.

Jeremy Mayfield: He's good.

Shana Mayfield: That's awesome.

Q: You know, as a race car driver, that's kind of a neat example Jeremy, but in your case I guess you've got a pretty good long-term prognosis of your own for your own racetrack, Curtisville Speedway, right? So you'll always have a place to race.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, I'll always be racing, and especially on Curtisville Speedway.

Shana Mayfield: (Laughing).

	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

Jeremy Mayfield: But we're going to have to move it, now. We're fixing to upgrade our facilities -- we're moving more out towards Statesville and Hickory -- up in the Catawba area.

We're going to have our new Curtisville Speedway out there. We're going to make it a little bit bigger and a little bit nicer. We'd like to invite all the fans out there to see us when we get it done.

We'll have a grand opening there, sometime, but it'll be pretty cool.

Q: What's been going on with your real estate project -- selling your property? Has that been way on the back burner with the Chase, or are you moving ahead?

Shana Mayfield: I'm handling it, since Jeremy is busy racing.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah, she's got it all under control, there. We're still going on, we're just not going to move until after the season, and the Chase and all that stuff is all over.

Shana Mayfield: It's not on the back burner, but it kind of is. We have our attorneys working on it, and some people are looking at our place and they're kind of handling it right now.

So we're not really involved in it. We've got prospects, but we're not dealing with them -- we've got other people doing that so we can keep Jeremy on a one-track mind right now.

Jeremy Mayfield: Focused. Because, yeah -- we've got to defend ourselves on all the bad stuff we're getting thrown at us, and talked about.

Shana Mayfield: We'll defend why you're in it, you know, and why you're deserving of being in it.

That just chaps me -- I'm so mad.

Jeremy Mayfield: But the way I see it, everybody gets points -- you get the same opportunity to get the same amount of points -- we just haven't had enough and that's our problem.

Shana Mayfield: For two years in a row. But you'll get the respect, one day.

Jeremy Mayfield: Yeah. That's why I've got to stay focused, because we're on a mission.

Word Association: Talladega

Restrictor plates
Jeremy Mayfield: Slow.
Shana Mayfield: Crazy. Intense.

Hall of Fame
Jeremy Mayfield: Talladega.
Shana Mayfield: Saving our spot.

Dirt track
Jeremy Mayfield: Red Farmer.
Shana Mayfield: Red clay.