PITPASS: Danica not ruling out NASCAR

MADISON, IL - JULY 18: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 New Balance Toyota, leads the field during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway on July 18, 2009 in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

Danica Patrick is mum when discussing her future behind the wheel of a stockcar with the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

But at least one thing is for sure — Patrick won’t be leaving her IndyCar team for a spot on the Formula One series.

According to a Los Angeles Times story published this week, Patrick won’t rule out a possible switch from her current ride on the IndyCar circuit to NASCAR once her contract with Andretti Green Racing ends at the end of this season, but it’s a big, fat “no” to any possibility of a switch to F1.

Patrick, 27, was interviewed prior to the start of ESPN’s annual Espys event in Los Angeles, and she fielded a number of questions about her future, as well as a few more about her recent trip to visit Tony Stewart’s NASCAR shop.

“It was interesting,” she said about Stewart’s facility. “Tony, I actually ran with him at the 24 Hours of Daytona a couple of years ago. He’s a really cool guy. I saw him this past Phoenix (race) and talked to him a little bit. A guy like Tony has done it, he went from IndyCar to NASCAR, and he’s been the most successful one.”

According to the story, Patrick also answered a number of her critics who believe that a 3,400-pound stockcar may be a little more than she can handle.

“Of course I reject that, because I believe in my ability. Any time I’ve been tested and put in a car, in something I’ve never driven before … I’ve always done really well,” Patrick said. “It’s going to take some getting used to. But I can’t make everyone think I’m a good driver. I used to be more intimidated by the length of the (Sprint Cup) season, but I spend so very little time at home and I am always on the road. I’m much less intimidated by that.”

According to the story, Patrick, who admits that she has not been closely involved in her contract discussions, wouldn’t have a problem starting out on a secondary series with NASCAR and has no plans to visit any other NASCAR facilities this season.

WHEN WILL IT END?

Attorneys for driver Jeremy Mayfield filed more briefs in North Carolina federal court on Monday in the embattled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran’s ongoing lawsuit with NASCAR over his suspension for alleged methamphetamine use.

According to the brief, which was filed in response to NASCAR’s motion to stay the injunction Mayfield was granted temporarily lifting his suspension after the driver tested positive for methamphetamines a second time, Mayfield believes that NASCAR officials “are incorrect on each and every point they raise.

“In what has become an all-too-common pattern in this case, Defendants once again make bold, incendiary statements in pursuit of their goals, only to have their arguments fall flat when the underlying facts act closely scrutinized,” he says.

The circuit court appeal is still pending.

According to published reports this week, Mayfield contends that he is the victim of some fraudulent effort to keep him off the track by NASCAR because he took a second test on the same day with an independent laboratory, LabCorp., which came back negative for methamphetamines and amphetamines.

According to the reports, NASCAR officials have sought to quash the validity of the independent test because no evidence regarding the validity of the sample provided to it by Mayfield is available, and no evidence that proper procedure was filed exists.

Mayfield was suspended after testing positive for methamphetamines during a random drug test prior to the Sprint Cup race at Richmond on May 9. A federal judge granted Mayfield an injunction, lifting the suspension prior to the July 4 race at Daytona.

But the second positive test has resulted in NASCAR’s renewed efforts to reinstate the suspension.

NASCAR’s motion, though, never discusses the results of the second test.

Mayfield has routinely denied using any illegal drugs, and has argued that his combined use of over-the-counter allergy medicine Claritin-D and prescription drug Aderall-XR, which is used to treat ADHD is what has resulted in the false positive.

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2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Standings

Rank…Driver … Points … Behind

1. … Tony Stewart … 2884 … ---

2. … Jeff Gordon … 2709 … 175

3. … Jimmie Johnson … 2672 … 212

4. … Kurt Busch … 2526 … 358

5. … Denny Hamlin … 2457 … 427

6. … Carl Edwards … 2438 … 446

7. … Ryan Newman … 2385 … 499

8. … Kasey Kahne … 2336 … 548

9. … Juan Pablo Montoya … 2321 … 563

10. … Kyle Busch … 2298 … 586

11. … Mark Martin … 2296 … 588

12. … Matt Kenseth … 2295 … 589