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Starting over Mayfield excited about joining Evernham stablePosted: Tuesday February 12, 2002 1:35 PM
By Denise N. Maloof, CNNSI.com DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jeremy Mayfield can identify with the fresh plantings surrounding Daytona International Speedway's new media center. Located just outside the Winston Cup garage, the center's entrance is framed by clumps of palms and flowering shrub. Having traded the dark blue of Penske Racing for the bright red of Evernham Motorsports, Mayfield hopes he'll thrive in his new environment, just like the transplanted palms. "It's just fun again," he says of driving the No. 19 Dodge. And he doesn't mean the accumulation of laps. Mayfield's 2001 season ended when Penske Racing released him from contractual obligations Oct. 2. The pink slip not only cut short his year, it severed his sometimes successful, sometimes uneasy tenure with the No. 12 team. Mayfield had driven for Penske since 1998, and had won three races in 127 starts. His last win came at Pocono in 2000.
But even with five top-five, and seven top-10 finishes in 2001, something wasn't clicking for driver or team. Mayfield ended his Penske career with consecutive finishes of 29th, 42nd and 36th, respectively. "Racing's my life and I've always loved it and I've always been happy doing it," says Mayfield. "And I feel like there was a time and point last year I wasn't happy doing it, and when you get like that, I know something was wrong. And now I've got that spirit back and got that drive and the confidence and I guess you could say the morale built back up in myself." Mayfield's advent into the job market last fall caused some unanticipated shuffling at Evernham Motorsports. In the end, Bill Elliott kept his trademark No. 9, but second-year driver Casey Atwood -- who vacated the No. 19 for Mayfield -- now pilots the No. 7 Dodge. "He's right smack in the middle of their age groups," owner Ray Evernham points out of Mayfield. "So he's close enough to both of them, he can add a whole different viewpoint on technology, and I think the three of them complement each other well." "We've got a young team with the 19 car and Jeremy's got a lot of experience and knowledge about the race car," says crew chief Sammy Johns. "And I think between that and me and him working together, we got a pretty good package." Experience isn't Mayfield's only history. At age 32, he's been criticized for underachieving, and he wants his race results to speak for him. "I got a lot that I want to accomplish for myself," he says. "I don't know if you'd call it proving, but I want to win championships and win races and that's where I want to be." "I'm confident that he can do his job driving the race car and that's all he's got to do for me," says Evernham. Being in a car -- and the 44th Daytona 500 -- is all Mayfield asks these days. His January test sessions were his first experiences with a Dodge, and Saturday's qualifying effort of 183.651 mph was good enough for 16th place on the overall speed chart. He'll start eighth in Thursday's second 125-mile qualifying race. "You can just feel when everything's going to work out for you," says Mayfield. "I've just got a great feeling about it. I think all the guys do and I'm just excited about getting the season on its way. I still feel the excitement probably more right now today than I ever have. And that's a good feeling."
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