The NASCAR off-season drama continues to escalate, thanks to Steve Phelps’ and other leadership’s leaked chats. While this has been quite a discussion for fans, Jeremy Mayfield has also found himself vindicated, as he wrote on social media.

Even after 16 years of his ban from the sport, owing to a positive drug test, Mayfield continues to defend himself, stating that his test was a false positive. He has also hinted that the NASCAR authorities weren’t happy with him because of his outspokenness, and hence, the decision was made. And now, with the leaked messages, Mayfield says how everyone can finally see “why they did what they did.”

Jeremy Mayfield suggests a vindicating call after NASCAR’s chat leak

23XI’s antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR took a turn after several of Steve Phelps’ messages were made public. These revealed insulting remarks directed at veteran team owner Richard Childress and some of the sport’s most loyal fans.

It is no secret that Childress has openly criticized the sport’s authorities in the past, and with the insults targeted towards him, Mayfield felt that this revealed a pattern of behavior from NASCAR whenever someone does not confine to their decisions. Referring to his positive drug test in 2009, he wrote a vindicating message on X.

“Yeah, I feel vindicated,” Mayfield wrote. “This proves what I’ve said 4 years ,they don’t need a reason. Not fitting their mold is enough.I wasn’t their vanilla driver. I came n rough, hardnosed, made mistakes, & spoke my mind. Racing was my whole life. Now you’re seeing why they did what they did.”

He initially tested positive for a drug test in 2009; however, the results were reversed in a follow-up test later. However, NASCAR took the first test as evidence, and Jeremy Mayfield was banned indefinitely from the sport. He kept arguing that it was a false positive, coming from a medication that he was taking at the time. He eventually sued NASCAR but lost the lawsuit. But now, after all this time, he helps the fans finally see the truth.

Fans side with Jeremy Mayfield

“Same thing they did to Tim Richmond”

A fan wrote, as they drew similarities between Mayfield and Richmond, the legendary NASCAR driver who had a controversial downfall. He was the first driver to be tested for substances, and the result came back positive. He was subsequently banned from racing. This situation was very similar to Jeremy Mayfield’s case.

Fans also saw the humor in this, using a picture of Napoleon Bonaparte returning from Elba to relate it to Mayfield’s post. “Jeremy Mayfield returning from Elba to tell NASCAR “I told you so”.’

Mayfield was one of the most consistent drivers in NASCAR during the early 2000s. He grew a large fanbase that still continues to support him. While he has been out of the sport for a long time now, many continue to believe that his drug test was a false positive.

“I never doubted you cuz! Now the world sees the truth!#owensborostrong.”

Many believe that there were small buildups leading to Mayfield’s indefinite ban from racing. One such thing was his criticism of Ray Evernham back in 2006. This criticism eventually took the turn to a lawsuit, and was speculated to be a major reason for his dismissal from the sport.

“100% Jeremy. I have been watching closely all along. I’m pretty sure you would still be racing in Nascar as long as you wanted, had you not publicly stated the everingham thing… Small letter, for a small person,” a fan expressed.

But the chatter around NASCAR never seems to stop. Even after his indefinite ban, there could have been things said about him, never to be revealed. However, this wasn’t the case this time around in the antitrust lawsuit.

“If you could go back that far and get records I bet you would see some crazy stuff they said about you,” wrote a fan.

Although there is seemingly no clue of Mayfield’s return to the sport anytime in the future, his criticism against the NASCAR authorities seems to continue. It would be interesting to see what comments he makes in the future as the tough lawsuit between 23XI Racing and NASCAR steps up.