The Mayfields: Sonoma

This week the Mayfields stagger out to the West Coast, or at least Shana is reeling in the aftermath of a stunning upset victory by Jeremy in the International Putt-Putt Challenge in Michigan.

But in the midst of preparing for this weekend's road-course madness at Infineon Raceway, in his great largesse Jeremy arranged a designated driver for his wife -- in case she goes wine tasting, again.

This week: Way out yonder in the Napa Valley

	Jeremy and Shana Mayfield Credit: Autostock
	JEREMY MAYFIELD •   Driver Page •   2006 Stats •   Superstore: Mayfield gear •   Dodge Fast Track •   Jeremy's official Web site

Q: So, how's that whole putt-putt fiasco going to affect the trip out to California -- because that's a pretty long flight, isn't it?

Shana: I'm already over it. I'm sure he's not going to let me be over it -- but I am.

Jeremy: If I had lost today, I'm sure she darn sure wouldn't be over it -- she'd be on here going whoop, whoop, yippee. You know, all that stuff.

But she did play a good game, though -- but she just choked.

Shana: I did. He was up by about two or three strokes and I came back and we tied. But the stupid people behind us -- I hate if they read this and I hate that I have to call you stupid.

But I tried to explain to them the importance of the game, and they just didn't get it.

Jeremy: They didn't realize the whole world was going to end.

Shana: The sign said 'no alcoholic beverages' and they were drunk. So what do you do? And it wasn't my kind of a course. It wasn't any fun.

Jeremy: You just take it as it comes, is what you do. And it fell right into my hands.

Shana: It didn't have any windmills or anything cool like that.

Jeremy: It was just good, trick golf.

Shana: No, it wasn't trick. It was flat and boring.

Jeremy: Like I said, just good, trick golf.

Q: So what do you do to make up -- play cards on the airplane, or Scrabble or something?

Jeremy: No, because I have to let her win everything. If I don't let her win, she just stays mad.

Jeremy Mayfield ranks 32nd in the points heading to Sonoma. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield's 2006 results Race Start Finish Status Daytona 26 36 running California 21 22 running Las Vegas 24 25 running Atlanta 20 41 running Bristol 10 16 running Martinsville 23 26 engine Texas 34 31 running Phoenix 28 26 running Talladega 36 13 running Richmond 38 32 running Darlington 30 38 running Charlotte 2 15 running Dover 2 18 running Pocono 26 23 running Michigan 18 36 running Average 22.5 26.5

Shana: He's so full of it.

Jeremy: She gets so mad because I don't let her win.

Shana: We'll go play again. But now that he's won for real he won't ever want to play again.

Jeremy: She'll go play me in Ski-ball and beat my butt in Ski-ball and just continue to wear me out over it for how long? And that's what we play out in California, Ski-ball.

Shana: Yeah.

Jeremy: And I'll hear about that, because she wears me out in Ski-ball. But when it comes to putt-putt, that's another thing altogether.

Shana: Putt-putt in L.A., baby.

Jeremy: We play Ski-ball at whatever you call those places, Don & Jerry's, or whatever it is.

Shana: Dave & Buster's, you mean. Don & Jerry's, puh-leeze.

Jeremy: Oh yeah -- Dave & Buster's -- but that's in L.A. though, so I'm sorry about that. It's all just California to me.

Q: You got a nation-wide membership in Dave & Buster's?

Jeremy: No, but I got a bunch of tickets I've got to cash in.

Q: I didn't know they had a casino there? Are you talking about tickets, like from the slot machines at Dover?

Jeremy: No -- Ski-ball tickets. We probably got about 6,000 tickets and the only thing we could get was one of those peez-azz things -- that you can flip up and get candy out of.

Shana: You mean a Pez dispenser.

Jeremy: I thought for 6,000 tickets I ought to be able to get a damn dog bone, or something, anyway. And I didn't get anything.

Shana: They didn't have anything to get, so we just figured we'd keep them until we saved up enough to get something good.

Q: What, until you become a majority stockholder?

Jeremy: You know, I'm going to show up there one day and say, I've got 160 million tickets and I'll be, like, now I can get what I want.

I'll go in there and get that guitar they got hangin' up -- that guitar signed by Elvis.

Shana: They don't have one of those, do they?

Jeremy: It's something like that. Somebody -- a Dirty Harry, or somebody or other that's special, signed it I think.

Q: After seeing what David Gilliland did at Kentucky, you ought to put a Busch team together.

Jeremy: I tell you what. I wouldn't mind doing that. I really would like to do that someday -- have my own Truck team or Busch team or something like that.

Q: For the "little guy," what did that win mean?

Jeremy: It says a lot.

Shana: It gives people hope.

Jeremy: It does, and really knowing the racing industry is like it is, anybody can go buy the parts to do it, so obviously they've got a good team and a good group of guys that believe in each other.

To do it with nothing [sponsorship], they obviously are working for one goal, and that's hoping to get a sponsor or something. So to me that says a lot about how strong their team is and about the people in the organization.

And that ought to tell all the big race teams out there that have sponsors and good people that you can have all the good people you want, but unless you're working together for the same goal it isn't ever going to happen.

And that's what they showed [Saturday night].

Shana: That's right. And it doesn't matter if you have millions and billions of dollars -- it's all about having the heart and the desire, and wanting it badly enough.

Jeremy: It's about the chemistry.

Shana: Having people believing in you and that chemistry is what makes it work, because if you don't have the chemistry and if you don't have a group of guys to stick with you through thick and thin, then you don't have anything.

GILLILAND HEADLINES •   Gilliland shocks Cup drivers to win Kentucky Busch race •   Unknown Gilliland liking new life in NASCAR's Busch league •   Q&A: David Gilliland attributes hard work ethic to father

And these guys have probably stuck with him through not making races, and they haven't given up on each other. And I think that speaks a lot about the fact that you've all got to be on the same page.

If one person's giving 110 percent, and another person's not -- you're not going to get anywhere. And I think that was probably the coolest upset I've ever seen.

I love to pull for the underdog anyway and I think that that showed a lot to the rest of the racing world, and especially to guys coming up, that it doesn't matter -- you can still make it.

I think that was a really inspirational race to watch.

Jeremy: It was, especially for a lot of the young drivers out there, coming up. It shows them that it is possible.

Shana: One night has changed his whole life, at least for the time being -- and hopefully forever.

Jeremy: And we hope it's for the good.

Q: He's a West Coast guy, so since we're going out there, do you notice much difference with West Coast people, whether it's racers or race fans?

Shana: I don't, really.

Jeremy: I don't, either. I mean, [Kevin] Harvick's a little weird, but other than that, they're not.

Shana: He is not.

Kevin Harvick is from Bakersfield, Calif. Credit: Autostock

Jeremy: There are a lot of guys from the West Coast that are pretty cool, you know what I mean? So I don't really notice any difference. I notice their accent is a little different than ours is.

Shana: Yeah, but our accent is different from theirs, too -- so what does that prove?

Jeremy: So that's about it. It seems like there are a lot of good people from the West Coast.

Shana: NASCAR's always been the Southern sport, but now we're going so mainstream, you've got people from the West Coast and now you've got Auggie Vidovich, or whatever.

He sounds like he's from I-don't-know-where.

Jeremy: Who? Barney Bitabitch?

Shana: It's like, going international now. You've got all kinds of accents out here.

Jeremy: Is he a cousin of Izzy Bitabitch?

Shana: You've got all kinds of people from all different areas, so everybody is kind of meshing into one mob, but they all have the same dream and desire, so it's kind of cool.

Jeremy: The whole Bitabitch family is like that.

Shana: I never heard of Auggie Vidovich until [this week], so I don't know where he's from.

Jeremy: He's from Australia -- the Truck guy, right? Barney Bitabitch?

Q: He's from California.

Shana: Vidovich is? Well, he's got to have family that is from overseas.

Jeremy: How do we know him?

Shana: He was just on the TV.

Jeremy: He was?

Shana: You didn't hear them talking about him? They took a Kentucky boy, Mark Green, out of that car and put Auggie Vidovich in there.

Jeremy: Oh -- I thought you were talking about the Truck driver today that had Australia on his truck.

Shana: Oh, Lord.

Jeremy: Anyway, back to the golf game.

Shana: No, that's enough about the golf game.

Word Association: Sonoma, Calif.

Time Zones
Jeremy: I saved three hours.
Shana: Jet lag.

Alcatraz
Jeremy: Sharks. Scary currents.
Shana: Eerie.

West Coast
Jeremy: Josh leads the parade.
Shana: I love L.A.