Nascar and Racing Nascar Police Blotter

It's been an emotional past month for Denny Hamlin. About a month ago, he was celebrating a victory in the Pennsylvania 500, which ended a 50-race winless streak. Now his 2008 Lexus LS has been stolen, a car valued at $50,000.

Police have released surveillance footage from a security camera in hopes it will lend clues about the theft.

Just when this Jeremy Mayfield saga seemed to be reaching a lull, a key witness on NASCAR's side decided to ratchet up the coverage again -- and not in a manner that's going to do the sanctioning body any good.

Lisa Mayfield, the stepmother of the driver suspended for allegedly testing positive for methamphetamines in May, was arrested Saturday night outside Jeremy's home on charges of public intoxication, alleged trespassing and simple assault among other charges, according to ESPN and other sources.

The arrest was confirmed by the Catawba County, N.C., police chief and certainly won't help the character part of her witness statements that NASCAR has planned to use extensively in its defense of Jeremy's suspension.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR accused Jeremy Mayfield of lying to a federal court about the chronology of a second random drug test, offering to provide an audio tape of the conversation in which Mayfield was told to submit a sample. The driver says the telephone call went to voicemail.

The accusation came Monday in court filings that ask U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen to lift the July 1 injunction he granted Mayfield so he could return to racing.

NASCAR disputed the sworn testimony Mayfield provided to U.S. District Court last week, including the assertion that a July 6 request for a second drug test went to his voicemail at 1:18 p.m. He said he didn't get the message until about 40 minutes later, making it difficult for him to meet the two-hour deadline to report for testing.

It's not exactly a major story, but we wouldn't be doing NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owner Billy Ballew justice without at least giving mention to the fact that a DUI charged against him has been dropped.

As you'll probably remember, Ballew was nabbed inside Atlanta Motor Speedway's infield -- come to think of it, it wasn't a good weekend in that infield -- after an 'irate' off-duty police officer working track security stopped his vehicle after seeing a cocktail.

This week, the Henry County Sheriff's Office gave notice that the charge was 'dismissed administratively'.

Billy Ballew -- the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team owner who Sprint Cup star Kyle Busch often drives for -- was arrested Wednesday evening at Hampton, Ga.'s, Atlanta Motor Speedway on a charge of driving under the influence.

The story, first picked up by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said Ballew was arrested by a sargeant in the Henry County Sherriff's office after Ballew was flagged down while transporting a sponsor from his at-track condominium to a motorhome in the infield.

Ballew confirmed the story to the paper, but claimed that he was simply carrying a mixed drink and "was not drunk" at the time of arrest.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ironically, in the week one of America's great Olympic champions is embroiled in a drug controversy, another of its favorite pasttimes is conducting its first large scale drug testing.

NASCAR finished its first round of mandatory drug tests and will continue to conduct random tests throughout the season. It's a big step for the series, which has only tested with probable suspicion for the previous 59 years of its history.

But in this sport, being under the influence of a drug could mean death for you or another – there's no gray area at 200 mph.

In case you missed it, suspended Craftsman Truck Series driver Aaron Fike dropped a compelling interview on the pages of ESPN the Magazine this week talking about his heroin bust dating back to last summer.

For a quick refresher, Fike, who had just finished 5th at Nashville in a race, was caught outside Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati, Oh. last summer with his bride-to-be with heroin and drug-related items. He was later suspended indefinitely from NASCAR competition.

In his interview, Fike talked at some length about his growing habit, then dropped this bombshell on the racing world:

"It was pretty obvious what we were doing," Fike admitted. "So when they tapped on the window I tried to get the hell out of there. Now I know that being arrested saved both of our lives."

Only seven days earlier Fike had posted a career-best fifth-place finish in the O'Reilly 200 at the .75-mile Memphis Motorsports Park. The run boosted the rookie of the year favorite to eighth in the NCTS championship standings. He said he used heroin earlier that day.

Yes, that's right. Fike had heroin in his system while racing in a NASCAR-sanctioned event.

Say all you want about the driver, but he's the one changing his life and helping others after making a mistake that ultimately has ruined his racing career for the time being.

But what has NASCAR done? Changed their policies? Learned a lesson?

Not even close.

If you're a weirdo looking for Ashley Judd inside her own home, make sure there isn't a Scottish guy sitting at her table in his boxers.

And make sure his name isn't Dario Franchitti.

The 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner-turned-NASCAR-driver apparently isn't a fan of random people walking into the home that he and wifey Judd share in Nashville, Tennessee. So much so that he will jump into his car with nothing but those boxers and a white t-shirt on and chase people until the police find them.

That's at least how Dario told the story Monday night to reporters over a dinner after NASCAR testing at Daytona International Speedway. From ESPN's Terry Blount:

"I was just sitting in the kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal in my boxer shorts," Franchitti said. "I looked up and some guy is standing in front of me. He just walked in the house.

"I really don't think I was the one he was looking for, but the guy quickly turned around and ran out of the house. He got in his car and sped off. So what did I do? I got in my car and chased him."

But Franchitti forgot one important thing in his quest to catch the intruder.

Tuesday, word came out about legal troubles involving Sprint Cup Series Driver Kasey Kahne. The Gillette-Evernham driver has a misdemeanor charge of battery against him as well as a civil suit from his actions stemming from an altercation with a security guard at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, which you can read more about here.

The lawsuit has been officially filed, seeking $15,000 in damages for Archibald Hutchison, the security guard at HMS that Kahne allegedly knocked to the ground -- while wearing his Busch Series driving suit, nonetheless -- for this oh-so-short list of reasons:

bodily injury; pain and suffering; disability; physical impairment; disfigurement; mental anguish; inconvenience; loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life; aggravation of an existing disease or physical defect; activation of a latent disease or physical defect; expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care, and treatment in the past; expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care, and treatment to be so obtained in the future; earnings lost in the past; and loss of ability to earn money in the future.

To be honest, I'm a little surprised that the suit is only requesting 15 grand. That's got to be one of the more legitimate financial claims to come across a court room for a major public figure in a long time.

Regardless, the fact that Hutchison was treated for "bruises and abrasions" at the Speedway makes an accusation of "loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life" or "loss of ability to earn money in the future" seem a little outlandish for me. Now, I realize I wasn't there and didn't witness it, but really, did Kahne really shove the dude that hard?

Kasey's bro Kale sure doesn't think so:

Kasey Kahne will head to court next month for his role in an incident in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series' season-finale weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kahne was apparently involved in an altercation with a HMS security guard while trying to access the driver motor home lot. According to the police report:

Kahne was attempting to access a restricted recreational vehicle parking lot on a golf cart after he finished driving his racecar when Hutchison stopped him and asked him for credentials. Kahne stated that he was a driver and didn't need any, then got out of the golf cart and tried to walk through the gate, the report stated. When Hutchison blocked the entrance and asked Kahne for credentials again, Kahne pushed Hutchison to the ground [...]

For that incident, Kahne will now face a misdemeanor charge of battery in a January 8 court appearance in south Florida.

Kasey Kahne must be a really hard pusher (or trying to fit the role of a Budweiser driver better) as the security guard, Archibald Hutchison, still hasn't returned to work -- according to a lawsuit to-be-filed against Kahne.

To me, it looks like a man trying to make a buck or million off of a very small incident. But I'll let you decide: