Mayfield's Map to ... Phoenix

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 Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway

This is going to be a tough weekend, with going to Phoenix and the poor dogs, after being home alone all day today, must have picked up on that because they're going wild, aren't they?

Shana: She's growling Jeremy, do you hear her? Sorry.

Shana: You're going to have to move, Jeremy.

Jeremy: Just let 'em bark.

They heard me say they're not going to Phoenix and they're in an uproar.

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

Jeremy: I know, so let's hit it.

Shana: Everybody's raising all kinds of hell, now. There they go.

Jeremy: Let 'em come out here and bark.

You guys have been jumping through some hoops on the travel front -- so how you getting out to Phoenix?

Shana: We're actually flying in a Lear 36, which I didn't even know they made, until last week some time. But it's from a guy who was kind enough to take it out there.

Jeremy: It's Doug Herbert's.

The drag racer?

Jeremy: Yeah, the drag racer. He's pretty cool.

So, is it kind of like a test flight, and you're looking to buy it?

Jeremy: No, it's kind of like a lease deal. He's just helping us out.

Shana: No, it's not with an option to buy. We're not looking to buy it; we're just taking it out there.

All these experiences are piling up at the end of the year. How did you go out to Las Vegas last week for the SEMA show?

Shana: We actually flew in a Lear 31 that was from a charter company out of, where were they from, Jeremy, Statesville?

Jeremy: Yeah, Charlotte, or actually Concord (North Carolina).

Shana: But it will be so much nicer when we finally do get a plane and have our pilots flying us again.

You know how I am about flying. I like to know everything there is to know about the plane and you always feel more comfortable with your own pilots, so it's been kind of hard having different pilots.

But they've been great, and excellent. But all the same we kind of got in our comfort zone with our two pilots and you know how they fly. They know that I don't like bad weather so they do everything they can to avoid it.

So I miss that comfort zone, and of course being able to take the dogs whenever we want to, or can -- so that's kind of been hard. But other than that, it's worked out OK.

You know, it isn't like you're a control freak, or anything, but isn't it kind of nice to be able to say, 'Hey, let's take a side trip to South Dakota?' -- or wherever you want to go?

Shana: Exactly. It is neat, especially in the off-season if Jeremy and I want to go to the islands or if we try to go do something, we can.

We usually try to go to the Bahamas for a couple days right after the season gets over or right before Daytona. And it's nice to be able to go when you want to go, because Jeremy has a hard time being on time.

God forbid if we're late for a regular airline's flight, we're in trouble -- we'll get left behind. But if we're late for our own, our pilots have kind of gotten used to that.

If we tell them we're going to be at the airport at 1, they know that means between 1:30 and 2 if they average in the 30 minutes to an hour delay time for us.

Mayfield's MapJeremy and Shana talk about the sights Phoenix has to offer Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

It's been hard taking a plane now because we have different pilots and you can't really be late, you know? So it's been kind of hard.

So how was SEMA? That's something you've been to for a number of years now, right -- and even though you had appearances, did you have a chance to have some fun in Vegas?

Jeremy: Yeah, I did. I like Las Vegas a lot, and I had a lot of fun.

I went to the SEMA show for Siemens, actually, and for NASCAR. I did some things at the NASCAR booth, so I was there two days, actually, back and forth between the two.

I got to take Shana around for a day before we actually left to go to Texas. And she liked it.

Shana: It was so much fun -- I had a blast. We stayed at the Wynn, which is like the newest hotel out there, and they had, like, the best salon and the best spa.

And it's so convenient, because all you have to do is take an escalator upstairs and then it's got a crosswalk right to the mall. So you couldn't ask for anything better.

And they had good food, and Jeremy said that they had good gambling.

Jeremy: Yeah, they did.

Shana: So it was just perfect, and I had a blast. It was really nice.

As nice as Dallas-Fort Worth is, it must've been tough to leave Vegas to go to Texas, no?

Shana: Yeah, it's always tough to leave Vegas. But even so, you get out there and a few days are about all you can handle.

Jeremy: Yeah.

Shana: Because you are either broke or Jeremy's pissed off because he's lost a lot of money.

Jeremy: Aaw, no. I win.

Shana: Or he's so happy because he's won a lot. It's like; you don't ever know what kind of mood he's going to be in.

Jeremy: I'm not that moody. Don't make everybody think I'm moody.

Shana: Well, you are moody when it comes to that kind of stuff. You're competitive and that's a good quality about you.

You're a sore loser, which you should be.

Jeremy: Right. Yeah, that's right.

Shana: I mean, you don't like to lose, and I mean, who does?

It's just like tonight, when we pulled up in the driveway, there was a box on the porch, and he wanted to try to bet me whose it was.

I was like, 'I bet it's mine.' 'No, it's mine.' 'I bet it's mine.' 'I bet you $100 whose box it was.'

And the result was?

Shana: It was mine.

Jeremy: Yeah, but I bluffed her out of the bet.

Shana: Yeah, because he knew it was here when we left, today.

Jeremy: I knew it wasn't mine.

Shana: He's just trying to get money out of me.

Jeremy: So I was like, 'I'll bet you $200' -- no, I said, 'I'll bet you $100 it is.' So Shana was like, 'All right.' So I said, 'I'll bet you $200.'

'Uhh, no, I'm not betting $200.' So you see, I bluffed her then, because I knew it wasn't mine. And she was convinced, and she called all the bets off because she knew she was gonna lose.

And she really would have won.

Shana: No, it was because I figured you out. I knew it was probably there before you left (laughing).

Jeremy: Yeah, but you didn't bet.

Shana: No, because I knew I was going to lose.

Well, there won't be much familiar when you get out to Phoenix, so what's the most striking thing about the ride from Phoenix out to PIR?

Jeremy: What strikes me about going out to Phoenix, is that I am totally impressed with the way the world's built, you know what I mean, the United States.

To see all that stuff, like the Grand Canyon, and how big it really is out there, going across the country like that. When you get closer to like, Las Vegas and Phoenix you start seeing just the huge canyons and that amazes me.

Shana: He was talking about the ride from the airport to the racetrack.

Jeremy: Well, that's the same thing.

Shana: I'm impressed with how the roads are all, like a parallel grid. Like, Jeremy has a really bad sense of direction.

And Phoenix is the one place we go to that we don't get lost, because everything crosses over just perfect. You know, the roads are all perpendicular or parallel -- whatever.

Jeremy: Now let me see, I'm moody as hell, my directions are terrible and don't ever expect me to be on time.

Shana: You're not moody as hell (laughing)!

Now, I'll tell you what, I have gotten way lost a couple times in Phoenix, but you can usually pull yourself out of it.

Jeremy: I have, too.

Shana: You have not, Jeremy. That's one place you have not gotten lost.

Jeremy: I do -- you just don't know I'm lost because I'll just keep going until I find where Camelback is, and I start over.

Shana: That's pretty easy. I think the roads there are easy to navigate.

Jeremy: Hey, the thing I'm impressed with the most after I land is the big weird-looking mountains. What are they called, those big rock-looking deals?

You know what I'm talking about, they're like huge mountains, but they're all round rocks, but real tall. What do you call those? They're big, round, orange looking deals.

You know what I'm talking about -- it's in Phoenix, at Camelback, you see all those weird mountains. Everybody who lives in Phoenix knows what I'm talking about, but y'all don't.

It's on every postcard you see of Phoenix, on their maps, and everything.

Shana: They're just like little mountains, or something.

Jeremy: No, they're big rocks -- huge. This is cool and it's only in Phoenix where you see 'em.

I can't believe you haven't seen them, but I know all the race fans know what I'm talking about.

Well anyways, if you're good at navigating around Phoenix, you must've been to T-Bones, that steakhouse that's up on the side of the mountain?

Jeremy: Yeah, we did. A couple of years ago we rode Harleys up there, actually.

Shana: And it was so far, too, on the bike, remember?

Jeremy: It was cold, I remember that.

Shana: And Jeremy was like, 'I think it's right here.' And it was like miles and miles before we got there, but it was worth it.

Jeremy: I could see it forever, and I was like, 'It's just over there.' We rode our butts off and finally got there.

That is one thing about out there -- you can see a long way. But did you have any concern about hitting any coyotes or any other wildlife driving the bike at night, all the way from the racetrack?

Jeremy: No, that's what I look for, out in the desert, man. When I go out there every morning -- every day I'm out there I'm looking for coyotes because I know there are coyotes out there.

Shana: I'm surprised we don't take all our coyote calls and try to call them.

Jeremy: I'll tell you; I'd love to do that at the racetrack and call a bunch of coyotes in to the racetrack. That would be cool.

You could probably hike up over the hill behind the track with a rifle and get away with that.

Jeremy: You know what the sad thing about that restaurant is? It's an awesome restaurant, once you get in there to eat. It's great, and everything's good.

But on the way in the front door there's a live cow meeting you out there at the front door.

Shana: A live one?

Jeremy: Yeah, it was there in a pen, just sitting there.

You know what that sounds like? Sounds like the lobsters in the tanks at The Weathervane or Makris' in New Hampshire.

Jeremy: It is, and I feel sorry for it every time we go in there. I'm like, 'Man, I'm either going to have to leave or I'm going to have to take this cow with me,' you know what I mean?

Shana: You aren't taking any cow with us (laughing).

Jeremy: I feel sorry for it.

Shana: And then we'll go see Pistol Packin' Paula.

Jeremy: Oh yeah, that's another place out there that's cool, is the Rawhide Western Town in Scottsdale.

Shana: It's like a ghost town, kind of.

Jeremy: It's like the country western stagecoach. It's awesome, and they put on shows.

Shana: They run through this old Western town and fake gunfights and stuff like that. It's so cool.

Jeremy: They've got a saloon, and it's like you're walking back into the old West of a long time ago.

You go in this one place to eat, I forget the name of it but I think it's the Stagecoach -- but everyone sits at the same table and they bring just a bunch of food out.

Shana: And they just pass it around.

Jeremy: And they put on shows -- they'll have singers and all kind of stuff. It's a cool place, and last year, that's when we were telling you about Pistol Packin' Paula and her pregnant sister Patty.

Shana: No -- but it was a girl who twirled pistols, and she'd throw them.

Jeremy: That's what she did for her shows.

Shana: And then there was Brittany "The Kid" Hodges.

Jeremy: Yeah, she was going to be the next. . .

Shana: LeAnn Rimes, she thought.

Jeremy: No, I think she's going to be the next Gretchen Wilson.

Shana: No.

Jeremy: She had a little bit of that redneck look to her, you know -- a little bit.

But Pistol Packin' Paula and her pregnant sister Patty -- that was a good show, man.

What night are you thinking about going there, this weekend?

Jeremy: We'd like to go there for sure, probably -- really, I'd advise anybody to go there, because it's a really cool thing to see.

Shana: And they have a petting zoo that had the cutest little pigs in it. It's a little far from the racetrack, though.

Jeremy: But it's like an old Western town, with a dirt road going into it. I mean, you park your car and get your ticket and walk in, and when you walk in it's like a town with an old saloon and stores, where you can buy Western stuff.

That's where I bought my possum hat. I've got a hat that's got a possum skin and a tail on it, and I wear it and all that stuff.

Cool. The dogs must really love that?

Jeremy: They do, man.

Shana: They think it's an animal.

Jeremy: Especially when I come up out of the pool with it on. When I stick my head up out of the pool they think it's an opossum.

Shana: God, you're funny.

With two races left in the season, how comforting is it not to be too terribly involved in all this Silly Season mess that's going on -- at least not in the driver end of it?

Jeremy: Well, I kinda have been here, recently, now that Slugger's made his big debut into the rumor mill. Well, not the rumor mill, I guess, but the fact mill, now.

So I have been involved, a little bit, but not really about losing my job or anything, so that's definitely a good feeling not to be in it as far as that goes.

It wasn't even that bad of a feeling being in it with the crew chief change.

Shana: Well, you're not in it, at all.

Jeremy: With the crew chief change and all that, I was.

Shana: Well, that's different. But job security is a good feeling and Ray (Evernham) has been real positive with trying to make things better.

He's been real good with Jeremy in that and has always tried to listen to him. Like he always says, it's one big team and he knows that Jeremy and Kasey (Kahne) are a big part of that team.

I think that he has faith that he's got the drivers to get it done and now they're just trying to work all the kinks out. Ray's real good about being straightforward and honest with you.

Jeremy: Right.

Shana: He's been real supportive of everybody, I think, and that's the good thing about Evernham Motorsports and Jeremy would say that. If he doesn't want you there or you don't want to be there, he's going to let you know and show you where the door is.

He wants you to be there -- not just for the 19 team, but also for the 19 and the 9 and for everybody there -- as a total team effort.

I think that's where Jeremy and Kasey have been good team players, with the whole thing with Slugger and Bill (Elliott) -- and if Slugger doesn't want to be there good luck to him wherever he goes.

Jeremy: Yeah.

Shana: Things are going to go on, but it is a good feeling because a couple of years ago we were sitting here wondering what was going to happen -- after Penske's deal when things didn't quite go right with Ray.

But they stuck it out and it's a good feeling to know that when you put all your hard work out and that you remain loyal to people -- you see where that gets you.

Jeremy: Right.

Shana: I could go on and on, because I think it's a big issue, to have loyalty to people who really help you out and get you to where you've gotten.

Jeremy: It really is.

Shana: You sacrifice a lot for them, too -- and I think that means a lot in this sport.

Jeremy: And something I've got to say about this, too -- is that you see that loyalty so little. There's not a lot of that in our sport, and that's something Ray has been with me, through thick and thin.

We've been through the good times and the bad times -- the mediocre times and everything else -- but we stuck it out.

Shana: Exactly.

Jeremy: You've got to be loyal somewhere in your career -- in your life and stuff -- and that's something that kind of worries me about Slugger's deal -- where he said he wants to win and run in the top five every week.

Shana: But you can't jump ship when things get just a little bad. You've got to stick it out.

Jeremy: Well, not jump ship, but that's going to be hard to find and I'm worried about him because I don't believe he's going to be able to find that -- to be in the top five every single week and to be in contention to win races every week.

Shana: It's so competitive.

Jeremy: So he might need to look for a different profession if he's going to try to do that every week, because there are not a lot of teams out there doing that, is there?

As a crew chief, to want to go somewhere and run on the top five every week -- I understand that -- but I wish him well.

Shana: But there has been a lot of craziness, though, going on.

Jeremy: But other than that, the rumor mill has been good and Silly Season has been not too bad.

Shana: But back to the loyalty thing. I understand that Bobby Labonte's thing is completely different, I think, than McMurray's and all that -- jumping ship or whatever.

I think Bobby's put in what, 11 or 12 good years at Joe Gibbs Racing and maybe he feels like he needs a change.

Jeremy: Sometimes you need a change.

Shana: But I don't think you need to change just to change. I think he stuck it out there, long enough to see if it would work but I don't think you can give up after two or three years -- or come off a championship and go somewhere else.

I think that's not a good thing. But that's just my opinion and it probably doesn't mean a lot to anybody.

But I just think loyalty counts for something, and like Jeremy said, if it's in your life or anywhere, it's a characteristic that you admire in people, and that you want to have.

Word Association: Phoenix

Cactus

Jeremy: Jack.

Shana: Prickly.

Rattlesnakes

Jeremy: Gawd. Shotgun.

Shana: They give me the chills.

T-Bones

Jeremy: Waffle House. Awesome food.

Shana: Sad cow.