Mayfield sells race team to Cup Series owner Carter

Georgia-based team owner John Carter confirmed Friday he has acquired the assets of Jeremy Mayfield's Sprint Cup operation in what he called "a package deal."

Suspended again

Jeremy Mayfield is back under suspension for a failed random drug test after an appeals court ruled in NASCAR's favor Friday, issuing a stay on the injunction that gave the driver the right to return to the race track.

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Carter's operation recently announced plans to have Terry Labonte and Boris Said to drive the No. 08 for the rest of the season, beginning with this weekend's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Tony Furr was brought in to oversee the team, and he suggested to Carter to reach out to Mayfield, embroiled in litigation with NASCAR over a pair of failed drug tests.

"We needed some good equipment and Jeremy needed to sell because of his problems with NASCAR," Carter said in a brief phone conversation while on his way to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. "It was a package deal. We got cars, haulers and equipment."

An unconfirmed report said Carter was receiving a total of two cars from Mayfield. Carter said the cars and equipment remain in place at Mayfield's shop, even though Carter's team has its headquarters in Toccoa, Ga., where he runs a recycling business.

Carter entered Said in the season-opening Daytona 500, but Said failed to get into the race on either speed or through his qualifying race. However, a trip to California's Infineon Raceway proved more fruitful, as Said qualified ninth and finished 24th.

Two-time Cup champion Labonte hasn't been in a car since the season opener, when he started 43rd and finished 24th in Phil Parsons' No. 66 Toyota.