More than a year of preparation came together over the weekend of October 17 & 18th at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, NC for J2Mayfield Racing at King of the Carolinas. Finally, it was time to debut the ultra-secretive paint scheme and mascot that #TeamJ2 had assembled, and hopefully, defy the odds and bring home a victory.
The debut went as expected – awesome! The fan reaction for so many, was the highlight of the evening. One man had a Mobil 1 jacket that he hadn’t worn since Jeremy won the Pocono race over Dale Earnhardt. After all these years, he finally got Jeremy to sign the jacket. He was so proud. Another woman said she snuck a kiss on his cheek at Darlington one year. She said she didn’t wash her face for a week after that. There were stories like that all weekend long.
Fanfare aside, it was time to hit the track to get in some practice laps then qualify. Mayfield reminded the team before strapping in, “We know it looks good off the track, let’s see how it looks on the track.” And with that, it was time to get the J2 “TAKE IT BACK” car dirty and start a new chapter with Mayfield & crew.
At Thursday’s practice, it was clear that something with the car wasn’t quite right. Jeremy had only been able to turn three laps in the car prior to Thursday, due to being rained out the previous trip to the track. Although he got better throughout the evening, he ended up in the wall and the team had to spend the night and all day Friday addressing the damage. Unfortunately there was no time to find the root cause of the problem, as that would have to wait until after the race.
But the debut was only part of the story. The other part of the story, perhaps the biggest part, is the fact that only hours before arriving on the track, Mayfield & the entire team were thrashing away back at the shop – their new shop. On top of preparing his dirt late model car, and his asphalt modified car for his race the following Saturday in Rougemont, NC for “The Fall Brawl,” the team was moving out of their shop in Mooresville, NC to their new shop in Denver, NC.
“Yeah, I guess you could say we were lucky to even make the race now that I think about what all we’ve had to do in the past month, but I’m not complaining.” stated Mayfield. “Only a cancelled race would have stopped us from coming out here tonight.”
The team qualified 10th in a very strong field, despite experiencing the same control issues as Thursday night in practice. The attitude of the car was visibly off from the start of the race, and it ended up in the wall on lap three. By lap 10 the team had repaired the car enough for Mayfield to get back on track, but without knowing the problem that caused the wreck, the team decided to call it a night.
“Everything felt great through the turns, but on the straightaways it was pulling me into the wall, so I knew I was in trouble,” said a visibly frustrated Mayfield. “I hit the wall hard enough to call a caution and keep us from moving on, that’s all I know for now.”
Head Engineer, John Ehrenreich, put things into perspective following Mayfield’s first return to dirt racing, “Jeremy looked & felt great out there, the car, the hauler & the new TAKE IT BACK apparel looked incredible. You can’t expect to win every race, or even get the kind of finish you want. Sometimes just showing up is enough to make a statement, and we definitely did that tonight. It was so good to see Jeremy & Shana out here spending time with fans, laughing about the good old days while planning their futures in dirt racing & making new friends. Who could ask for anything more?”
So what was wrong with the car? As it turns out, the bird cage was completely locked up after the car sat idle for an entire season until the race. Jeremy and the team are incredibly optimistic for our next race, the 6th Annual Race for the Kids, on November 13-15 at County Line Raceway in Elm City, NC. Visit their website for ticket pricing, and join us for a fun-filled weekend of dirt racing!
In other words, this is only the beginning of a whole new chapter for Jeremy, J2Mayfield Racing, & the TAKE IT BACK movement.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
- NHRA announces eight-race schedule for 2024 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series - January 17, 2024
- Forgeline and Pratt Miller Motorsports Announce New Multi-Year Partnership - January 17, 2024
- TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein converts narrow pole to commanding win in the Season 10 opener of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at the 2024 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix - January 16, 2024