PERSONAL PROFILE
	Hometown: Owensboro, KY Birthdate: May 27, 1969 Hobbies: Golf, Playing with his two cats

Jeremy Mayfield may ultimately figure his decision to remain with the Penske Racing organization was one of the best of his career.

Driving the No. 12 Mobil 1 Ford, Mayfield suffered through an injury and inconsistency plagued 2000 season to finish 24th in the point standings. But his decision to remain with Penske as a teammate to Rusty Wallace and up-and-coming driver Ryan Newman in 2001 may have put his mind at ease for the future.

Mayfield and crew chief Peter Sospenzo became a feared combination in 2000. Mayfield ended the season fourth on the lap leader chart, pacing the field 57 times in 17 races. Only four drivers, including first time champion Bobby Labonte and his teammate Wallace, led more races than Mayfield.

The Owensboro, Ky., native endured a rollercoaster eighth season in Winston Cup that included two wins and four poles, but an ominous 11 DNFs. Mayfield came into his own in 2000 to persevere through rules controversies surrounding his win in the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at California in April, preceded by a fuel infraction at Talladega the race before.

He scored a stunning last lap victory over Dale Earnhardt in the Pocono 500 in June, but suffered a closed head injury in practice for the Brickyard 400 little more than a month later, missing two races due to his injury. That cost him the possibility of continuing his strong points runs to seventh and 11th the previous two years.

That also appeared to cost the team a certain amount of focus. In the 13 races following Mayfield's return, he contended for the win often, but usually broke in the process, with nine finishes of 29th or worse to go with three seconds. He ended up with six top-5s and 12 top-10s for the season.

Mayfield began racing in 1982 in karts, then moved up through the weekly tracks of central Tennessee. He raced Street Stocks, Sportsman and Late Model Stock Cars, where he was 1987 Kentucky Motor Speedway Rookie of the Year. He raced on the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 1993, with eight top-5 and 10 top-10 finishes, good enough to earn that series' rookie of the year award and a lot of notice from NASCAR team owners.