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Family<br />
MATTERS<br />
Just before he climbs in his No. 19 Dodge Dealers/<strong>UAW</strong><br />
Dodge Charger for the start of another thrilling NASCAR<br />
Nextel Cup race, Jeremy Mayfield performs two rituals.<br />
“I always give Shana a kiss before I put my helmet on,”<br />
says the veteran driver for Evernham Motorsports, referring<br />
to his wife, “and the last thing we do is say a little<br />
prayer. Then I get into the car and go.”<br />
That type of support helps a lot of<br />
drivers go. NASCAR prides itself on<br />
being a family sport, certainly for fans,<br />
but also for the heroes they cheer. Generations<br />
of dads and moms, wives and<br />
husbands, kids and kinfolk have<br />
flocked to the racetracks and gathered<br />
round the TV together. In the same<br />
way, family support has encouraged<br />
the speed demons behind the wheel, be<br />
it a spouse’s traditional good-luck kiss<br />
or a parent’s permission to be<strong>com</strong>e a<br />
racecar driver in the first place.<br />
So as much as Mayfield relies on his<br />
race team to keep his Dodge Charger,<br />
co-sponsored by the <strong>UAW</strong>-Daimler-<br />
<strong>Chrysler</strong> National Training Center,<br />
running in tip-top shape week in and<br />
week out, he needs Shana too. “She’s<br />
‘‘<br />
the one who deals<br />
with me when we<br />
have bad days,”<br />
says Mayfield, who<br />
joined the Cup circuit<br />
in 1993 and<br />
<strong>com</strong>peted in the<br />
Top 10 in the Chase<br />
for the Nextel Cup<br />
the past two seasons.<br />
“She helps me<br />
stay balanced.”<br />
The couple met<br />
I MAY NOT BE<br />
PHYSICALLY<br />
DRIVING<br />
A RACECAR…<br />
BUT EMOTIONALLY<br />
I’M ENTRENCHED<br />
IN THIS AND<br />
‘‘<br />
I GET UP AND<br />
DOWN TOO.<br />
SHANA MAYFIELD<br />
in the garage area at<br />
Darlington Raceway<br />
in 1999 and were married in<br />
2003. Shana is trackside every weekend<br />
and readily accepts her balancing<br />
role. “I may not be physically driving<br />
a racecar for four hours, but emotionally<br />
I’m entrenched in this, and I get up<br />
and down too,” she says. “If it’s a great<br />
day, we celebrate it together. But if it’s<br />
a bad day, I remind him of how blessed<br />
we are to at least be in this, and that<br />
things can only get better.”<br />
NASCAR’s family friendliness plays<br />
out beyond the matrimonial<br />
stage, starring<br />
parents, siblings<br />
and relatives. For<br />
Kasey Kahne, pilot<br />
of the No. 9 Charger,<br />
“my cousin Kole<br />
is my spotter every<br />
weekend,” he says.<br />
“My brother Kale<br />
drives the motor<br />
coach and does all<br />
the practice spot-<br />
CONTINUED ON PAGE 26<br />
24 www.uawdcx.<strong>com</strong>
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