Ray Evernham and Jeremy Mayfield have reached an agreement on their dispute. Credit: Autostock

Dispute resolved, but Mayfield still fired

Attorneys for Evernham, Mayfield reach agreement late Friday

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- All in the space of a day, owner Ray Evernham declared driver Jeremy Mayfield had been terminated, Mayfield sought a preliminary injunction against his firing, and the parties apparently reached a resolution.

RELEASED Jeremy Mayfield has been released from Evernham Motorsports, team owner Ray Evernham said Friday morning at Watkins Glen International.  •   Complete story,  click here •   Yates: No. 38 car could be Gilliland's next week

At a brief meeting with the press before Nextel Cup practice Friday morning, Ray Evernham confirmed that Mayfield, driver of the No. 19 Evernham Motorsports Dodge, had been released.

"Jeremy Mayfield has been terminated," Evernham said.

But Mayfield refused to go quietly. Within hours of Evernham's announcement, Mayfield's attorneys were in Iredell County Superior Court in Statesville, N.C., seeking the preliminary injunction.

Superior Court judge Kimberly Taylor heard the petition, but the results of the hearing were not released, pending the signing of the order by the judge. Attorneys for the parties met with the judge late Friday afternoon and apparently agreed to settle the case.

"The matter has been resolved," said Theresa Hayden, Judge Taylor's clerk, indicating that the case would be settled out of court.

The settlement does not mean Mayfield will return to the car.

Evernham had announced Monday that Bill Elliott would replace Mayfield in the AMD at The Glen this weekend, after the No. 19 had slipped to 36th in owner points -- the danger zone for drivers -- as only the top 35 in owner points are guaranteed a starting spot in Cup races.

Jeremy Mayfield has been driving the No. 19 Dodge since 2002.

Inside the Numbers Jeremy Mayfield's 2006 stats 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 Sonoma 32 22 running Daytona 42 36 running Chicago 16 24 running Loudon 37 29 running Pocono 22 37 running Indy 15 41 suspension Average 23.9 27.9

As a past series champion, Elliott normally would have a provisional starting spot for any race he participates in. Elliott made the provisional talk a moot point, as he qualified 31st for Sunday's race.

Mayfield, who had one year and two option years left on his contract with Evernham, was not available for comment. Mayfield told NASCAR.COM through his wife, Shana, that he could not talk about the situation at this time because of legal reasons.

Evernham declined comment on the legal proceedings until the attorneys worked out precise language of the settlement.

Earlier in the day, Evernham cited performance issues as the reason for Mayfield's firing.

"It really wasn't between me and Jeremy -- it was about the performance of the racecar," Evernham said. "The 19 car hasn't been performing like it should be. It's pretty far off of where other cars are, and we've tried everything we could try to get the performance up.

"We've tried lots of different things, and it's out of the top 35 in points, so we brought in Bill to help us get the car in the show and help us figure out what we've got to do to get the performance up."

Elliott has two races left on a five-race commitment to drive the No. 00 Chevrolet owned by Michael Waltrip, which prevents Elliott from taking over the No. 19 ride for the remainder of this season's races.

"We're going to play it week by week and find out where Bill's at," Evernham said. "It's just great to have Bill come back and help us out.

"Again, everything else will be determined on a week-by-week basis, determining what Bill's commitments are with other people and where we're going to go. Right now we're worried about Sunday."

Mayfield's termination is likely to be the first domino to fall in a succession of changes that could bring Elliott Sadler to the No. 19 and Busch Series driver David Gilliland to Robert Yates' No. 38 Ford, which Sadler is vacating at season's end, if not before.

Evernham would not confirm Sadler as Mayfield's replacement, but indicated that his 2007 plans for the No. 19 are in place. Ideally, Evernham would like to finish the year with the driver who will take over the No. 19 next season.

"That would be the perfect scenario, but that's not up to us," Evernham said. "So we're not going to plan on that. We're going to plan on the options that I can control, obviously with Bill and some other drivers. If the 2007 driver were available, that would be the best option, but I've not been told that's available to me."

Sam Spencer contributed to this report.