Mayfield holds auction

Jeremy Mayfield sat in the back of his large barn Friday morning about 800 miles from where NASCAR's season-ending weekend was kicking off. Several hundred people surrounded him, listening intently as a fast-speaking auctioneer sold dozens of items. Banned from driving by NASCAR after testing positive for methamphetamines, Mayfield has become an auction fanatic. Only this time, he was selling his own stuff, ranging from a second home, land, cars, dirt bikes and bulldozers to weed-whackers, humidifiers and sunglasses. If it was all sold by the end of the day it would be worth about $5 million, money needed to help his ongoing court fight to be reinstated to the sport. "Obviously, this will help financially," Mayfield said. "But it's also what I like to do." And besides a few old pieces of sheet metal for sale and the racing hats worn by some of the visitors, there were few signs of NASCAR on the premises. Mayfield walked around his land with a smile, but also determined to prove that he's not a drug user. His wife, selling clothes and shoes in another section of the facility, took a harder stand against how others in the sport have treated them. "It's hurtful when you've been with people who you thought were your family for 17 years and then you're kind of left out here," Shana Mayfield said, referring to other drivers and their wives. "You kind of feel like you're out in the middle of a field and the vultures are after you. Nobody is standing up for you or trying to help you. That's a hard feeling, and it hurts. And everyone will know the truth before it's over with." The legal fight has cost Mayfield his race team and has put him into debt, although he disputed claims that he owes his former attorney money. "I've paid Bill Diehl a lot of money," he said. "We'll get it worked out." Associated Press