(CN) - Racecar driver Jeremy Mayfield claims NASCAR unfairly suspended and defamed him by telling media he had tested positive for a "recreational drug," though he had told NASCAR he was taking Claritin for allergies and Adderall for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Mayfield says NASCAR disqualified him from its Sprint Cup series on May 9, after a series of bogus complaints about his prescribed drugs.
Mayfield also sued David Black, a forensic toxicologist who is president of Aegis Sciences Corp., which administers NASCAR's drug-testing program.
Mayfield claims "Black expressed doubt that someone of Mayfield's age and experience legitimately needed to take Adderall."
In his complaint in Mecklenburg County Court, Charlotte, Mayfield also claims there were numerous irregularities in the way his drug tests were handled.
He also sued NASCAR chairman Brian France, and Dr. Douglas Aukerman. He says Aukerman told him on May 7 "that his urine sample 'tested positive' for amphetamines."
Mayfield says that in a May 15 press conference, France told reporters "that Mayfield was suspended because he took a 'performance-enhancing' or 'recreational' drug," and that his prescription drugs "'were not the cause, and could not be the cause, or his result.'"
Mayfield claims that statement was malicious, reckless and false. He demands an injunction and punitive damages. He is represented by William Diehl with James, McElroy & Diehl.
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