Did a 'close relationship' lead to Mayfield's departure?

	Jeremy Mayfield thought Ray Evernham (left) focused too much attention on Erin Crocker's racing career. US Presswire

Jeremy Mayfield is out at Evernham Motorsports. He wanted it that way. Maybe not now, with a third of the season remaining, but Mayfield never had any intention of returning next year for the final year of his contract.

Why would Mayfield want to stay? He has been miserable this year, running at the back most of the time. Mayfield has only two top 15s and four top 20s. He made the Chase the past two years, winning at Richmond in the stretch run of 2004 to make the playoff-style race for the Cup championship. It was a clutch performance by the No. 19 team.

What happened this season? You can point to owner Ray Evernham's shifting personnel after last season, moving crew chief Kenny Francis to Kasey Kahne; ramping up a third full-time team and bringing in Scott Riggs; and leaving Mayfield with crew chief Chris Andrews and a new group that needed to find itself. It never did.

Mayfield's biggest concern undoubtedly was that he didn't think it was going to get any better the rest of this year or next year. He lost faith in Evernham.

Evernham was one of the best crew chiefs in the business when he teamed with Jeff Gordon for three Cup championships in the '90s. Dodge hired Evernham for that reason when it entered Cup in 2001.

Mayfield could have reasonably expected that when his team started off this season poorly -- the No. 19 was 34th in owner points after five races -- Evernham would have increased his involvement to turn the team around. Evernham could have dived in, put on that old crew-chief hat and figured out what was missing.

Instead, Evernham has preferred spending virtually all of his time with development driver Erin Crocker. She's driving the full NASCAR Craftsman Truck schedule, and Evernham has been a fixture in her pit, forcing him to miss most of the practice and qualifying days this season.