Former NASCAR driver’s property auctioned off, he’s a no-show | Crime

NEWTON, NC  (WBTV) – Former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield's home and more than 400 acres went up on the auction block Monday in Newton in a foreclosure sale that was ordered in February.

Mayfield was more than $300,000 behind in payments to the mortgage holder, Carolina Farm Credit. That included penalties and interest. That was the total when court papers for foreclosure were first filed in September. With interest accruing at a rate of $392 a day, that figure continues to grow.

On the steps of the Catawba County Courthouse, only a few people gathered for the auction. Jeremy Mayfield has stated a month ago that he believed he would retain the property. "Yeah there's a pretty good chance of that, we will see what happens," was what he said as he went into the courthouse on a hearing involving his criminal charges. Despite what he said then, he was not at the courthouse Monday. 

Only one bidder spoke up when the auctioneer asked for bids and that was Carolina Farm Credit. The mortgage holder bid $1,725,000.  Under auction rules, an upset bid can be filed within ten days. That bid has to be 5% or in this case, about $86,000 higher than the first bid. If that happens, then there will be another ten day period where an upset bid could be filed. Clerk of Court Al Jean Bogle said in theory that could go on forever but in reality upset bids are not common in properties where millions of dollars are at stake.

With more than $3,000,000 owed on the property, Carolina Farm Credit will likely try to sell the property, if the bid holds up, and could seek whatever difference there might be from Jeremy Mayfield. Officials say papers would have to be filed in court along with a lawsuit. No timetable for that was set.

In addition to the civil troubles, Mayfield still faces criminal charges in Caldwell, Catawba, Lincoln and Iredell counties involving alleged stolen property recovered from Mayfield's home last November.

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