2005 Racing Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com
2005 Racing Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com 2005 Racing Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com
COMEBACK KID: JEREMY MAYFIELD JEREMY MAYFIELD’S FANS TRY NOT to blink. With Mayfield behind the wheel, things can change fast. Even during the dips of the roller-coaster 2004 season, Mayfield kept his edge — and his flair for the dramatic. Take the September 11 race in Richmond, the one that would decide who gets in the Top 10 Chase. Mayfield and his team were in 14th place, 55 points down. Put a fork in the season? Um, not exactly. Mayfield and his team gave Richmond their grittiest, gutsiest best and ended up in Victory Lane — a win that leapfrogged them into the Chase for the championship. In the end, it was typical of his year — facing adversity and overcoming it with nothing but sheer determination. “We had our ups and downs all season,” says Mayfield. “But our team always knew how to turn a negative into a positive. That’s how I knew we could handle this kind of season.” One key: Sticking with — and believing in — a winning plan. Even if the plan wasn’t winning much at the time. “A lot of other teams don’t run that way,” Mayfield says. “They run into trouble and they want to change a bunch of things — shift people over here and there. We stuck together. That’s how we ended up like we did.” It helped that Mayfield kept the same Dew Crew. “We got more comfortable, knowing how we all thought about running a car,” he says. “That made a difference.” Ultimately, it was in Richmond where the No. 19 team made its breakthrough. “Our position going in was, ‘Fine, let everybody talk about us being out of Top 10 contention,’” Mayfield says. “Then, we were going to just show what we could do. But I have to admit, after we won at Richmond, there wasn’t any feeling in the world like it.” notice. “It proved to everybody what we already knew about Jeremy and his team,” says No. 19 owner Ray Evernham, president and CEO of Evernham Motorsports. “It proved they could go out there with all the pressure in the world. And believe me, there wasn’t anybody on that track who had more pressure on him than Jeremy.” Richmond was the peak moment in a lifetime devoted to racing. Mayfield, who turns 36 this season, actually wore out a ground oval track with his toy motorcycle in his grandmother’s backyard when he was only 4. The Owensboro, Ky., native graduated to go-karts and then the Street Stock division at the Kentucky Motor Speedway. By age 19, he had moved The racing community took to Nashville to work for Sadler “WE STUCK TOGETHER. THAT’S HOW WE ENDED UP LIKE WE DID.” LEFT: In the pit with Jeremy Mayfield’s crew. —JEREMY MAYFIELD 14 www.uawdcx.com
LEFT CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: GETTY (2), BOB MAHONEY; THIS PAGE: BOB MAHONEY Racing as a fabricator, and he pretty much worked every job he could find around the race shop, waiting to prove his skills behind the wheel. He got his chance. By 1987, he was tearing up the ARCA Series, earning Rookie of the Year from the Kentucky speedway. He made his debut in the Winston Cup Series in 1993 at Charlotte Motor Speedway; went full-time in 1995; and, in 2001, joined Ray Evernham to drive his No. 19 Dodge co-sponsored by the UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center. As for this season? “We’re coming in with a ton of confidence,” Mayfield says. “We know what we’re capable of doing, and we’re going to do it that much better.” And this season, the No. 19 has a new crew chief in Richard “Slugger” Labbe, who took over from Kenny Francis. That the No. 19 team is pursuing the Cup in a Charger just makes it all the sweeter. “This is really a great car,” Mayfield says. “What I really appreciate about being with Dodge is that they spend so much time and resources making sure that the job is done right. They support our team in every way possible. They’re going to be with us, every step of the way, to make sure we all share in the success.” And he’ll be pulling some moonlight duty as well this season, as Mayfield drives the classic No. 64 Miller High Life Dodge for team owner Rusty Wallace in the Busch Series. “It’s just going to be so much fun driving it,” Mayfield says. “The Miller Lite car is a classic, and Rusty Kasey Kahne’s pit crew in action. Wallace is a legend.” ■ TOMORROW SPECIAL RACING 2005 15
- Page 2 and 3: Side by Side On the Fast Track WHEN
- Page 4 and 5: Start Engines YOUR BURN RUBBER,BABY
- Page 6 and 7: UAW-DC 400 Pulling Off the Perfect
- Page 8 and 9: Our Fans Toy Time It was love at fi
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- Page 18 and 19: A DRIVER’S RACE WEEKEND THURSDAY
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- Page 28: 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Highl
COMEBACK KID:<br />
JEREMY MAYFIELD<br />
JEREMY MAYFIELD’S FANS TRY NOT<br />
to blink. With Mayfield behind the<br />
wheel, things can change fast. Even<br />
during the dips of the roller-coaster<br />
2004 season, Mayfield kept his edge —<br />
and his flair for the dramatic. Take the<br />
September 11 race in Richmond, the<br />
one that would decide who gets in the<br />
Top 10 Chase. Mayfield and his team<br />
were in 14th place, 55 points down. Put<br />
a fork in the season? Um, not exactly.<br />
Mayfield and his team gave<br />
Richmond their grittiest, gutsiest<br />
best and ended up in Victory Lane —<br />
a win that leapfrogged them into the<br />
Chase for the championship.<br />
In the end, it was typical of his year<br />
— facing adversity and over<strong>com</strong>ing<br />
it with nothing but sheer determination.<br />
“We had our<br />
ups and downs<br />
all season,” says<br />
Mayfield. “But our<br />
team always knew<br />
how to turn a negative<br />
into a positive.<br />
That’s how I knew<br />
we could handle this<br />
kind of season.”<br />
One key: Sticking<br />
with — and believing<br />
in — a winning<br />
plan. Even if the<br />
plan wasn’t winning<br />
much at the time.<br />
“A lot of other<br />
teams don’t run that<br />
way,” Mayfield says. “They run into<br />
trouble and they want to change a<br />
bunch of things — shift people over<br />
here and there. We stuck together.<br />
That’s how we ended up like we did.”<br />
It helped that Mayfield kept the<br />
same Dew Crew. “We got more <strong>com</strong>fortable,<br />
knowing how we all thought<br />
about running a car,” he says. “That<br />
made a difference.”<br />
Ultimately, it was in Richmond<br />
where the No. 19 team made its<br />
breakthrough. “Our position going<br />
in was, ‘Fine, let everybody talk<br />
about us being out of Top 10 contention,’”<br />
Mayfield says. “Then, we<br />
were going to just show what we<br />
could do. But I have to admit, after<br />
we won at Richmond, there wasn’t<br />
any feeling in the world like it.”<br />
notice. “It proved to everybody what<br />
we already knew about Jeremy and<br />
his team,” says No. 19 owner Ray<br />
Evernham, president and CEO of<br />
Evernham Motorsports. “It proved<br />
they could go out there with all the<br />
pressure in the world. And believe<br />
me, there wasn’t anybody on that<br />
track who had more pressure on him<br />
than Jeremy.”<br />
Richmond was the peak moment<br />
in a lifetime devoted to racing.<br />
Mayfield, who turns 36 this season,<br />
actually wore out a ground oval track<br />
with his toy motorcycle in his grandmother’s<br />
backyard when he was only<br />
4. The Owensboro, Ky., native graduated<br />
to go-karts and then the Street<br />
Stock division at the Kentucky Motor<br />
Speedway. By age 19, he had moved<br />
The racing <strong>com</strong>munity took to Nashville to work for Sadler<br />
“WE STUCK<br />
TOGETHER.<br />
THAT’S HOW WE ENDED UP<br />
LIKE WE DID.”<br />
LEFT: In the pit with<br />
Jeremy Mayfield’s crew.<br />
—JEREMY MAYFIELD<br />
14 www.uawdcx.<strong>com</strong>
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