Mayfield faced seven felony charges — one charge of possession of methamphetamine, five charges for possession of stolen goods and one charge of obtaining property under false pretense, all stemming from a Nov. 1, 2011 search of his home. The charges carried more than 20 years in prison.

He pleaded guilty Monday in North Carolina Superior Court to three misdemeanors, two for possession of stolen goods and one for possession of drug paraphernalia. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, which will be suspended as long as he doesn't violate an 18-month probation. He also must pay a total of $88,124.41 in restitution to the victims as well as $1,100 in fines and court costs. The guilty plea he entered is known as an Alford plea, one where the defendant admits there is enough evidence to convict although not necessarily admitting to the acts themselves.

"It's been tough," Mayfield said Monday after an appearance in front of Judge Yvonne Mims Evans in Catawba County. "It's been something that has been held over us and we weren't able to move forward and move on with our lives, and that is something that was very important for us to do — keep going and get it behind us. ... I'm looking to start over with a fresh start."

In April, Mayfield unsuccessfully attempted to have the charges thrown out on the basis that confidential informant John K. Franklin — whose information led to the search warrant — died in a motorcycle accident following a police chase in 2012 and had a lengthy criminal record, according to court testimony last year.

Some of the items found in the search of Mayfield's former 400-acre property were from burglaries reported by Red Bull Racing and Fitz Motorsports. Other items were furniture from DEA Ventures as well as items from Lincar Investments and from B.R. Lee Industrial Properties, according to indictments.

Less than a year after the search warrant was executed, Franklin died following a high-speed police chase, according to the hearing testimony. Police found methamphetamines and scales in a compartment in Franklin's motorcycle. A passenger on Franklin's motorcycle also was killed.

Prosecutors indicated the death of Franklin resulted in the plea agreement.

"The convictions ... were based on a number of factors, including conversations with the victims and law enforcement in this case, the unavailability of the state's key witness due to his death and the likely result should these cases have been presented to a jury without the witness," Catawba County District Attorney James C. Gaither Jr. said in a statement.

The 44-year-old Mayfield, who has won five Sprint Cup races in 433 career starts and made the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2004-05, still needs to apply for reinstatement to NASCAR. He was trying to run his own team before being suspended in 2009 for what NASCAR said was a positive drug test for methamphetamine. Mayfield argued that the test was a false positive for a mixture of allergy medication and the prescription drug Adderall.

He unsuccessfully sued NASCAR to get reinstated and later alleged that NASCAR worked with authorities on the cases that resulted in his criminal charges.

He has since talked about going through NASCAR's recovery program if that could help him become eligible to race again. He said Monday that he would consider going through the recovery program and did not believe his pleading guilty to misdemeanor drug paraphernalia possession would impact his ability to go through the recovery program.

"I'm not sure what we're going to do now," Mayfield said. "We're going to wake up tomorrow morning and figure that out. ... I'm not sure what I want to do yet. In some way (I want to race). I'm not sure what way yet.


ELLIOTT TO DRIVE FOR EARNHARDT


Two of the most popular names in racing will join forces this season as Chase Elliott — the son of former Cup champion Bill Elliott — will drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports.

Earnhardt has won NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award the past 11 seasons. Prior to that, Bill Elliott won the award 16 times.

Chase Elliott, who just turned 18 on Nov. 28, will run the full Nationwide Series schedule for Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports. The team will be sponsored by NAPA, which will return to the Nationwide Series after pulling its Sprint Cup support from Michael Waltrip Racing. NAPA, which has more than 6,000 auto parts stores, is based in Atlanta, near Elliott’s hometown of Dawsonville, Ga.

Chase Elliott, who signed a development deal with Hendrick Motorsports — a JRM partner — in 2011, will make his Nationwide debut with JRM. Elliott’s car will carry the No. 9 — the number his father raced for most of his NASCAR career. Bill Elliott won 44 Cup races and the 1988 Cup championship.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Chase Elliott said in a statement released by JRM. “My family and I are still trying to believe it all. I couldn’t ask to be partnered with anyone better than Dale Jr., Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) and Mr. Hendrick, along with all of the people at their organizations who have put in countless hours to pull this together.”

With Hendrick support, Chase Elliott already has made a big splash in the short-track ranks and in NASCAR. He won the prestigious All-American 400 at Nashville Fairgrounds last year, becoming the first driver to win all four super late model majors. He scored his first NASCAR K&N Series win at Iowa Speedway on May 2012, and became the youngest superspeedway winner in ARCA history at Pocono Raceway last year. He also became the youngest winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the time when he won at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on Sept. 1, 2013.

“Chase is the genuine article,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “It’s been fun to see him grow. … He’s a real talent, and his next steps will be exciting to watch.”

“Chase has been extremely successful, and I think the Nationwide Series is only a short step for him,” Earnhardt Jr. said.

Elliott will join Regan Smith to give JRM two full-time Nationwide teams. It also will field part-time teams for Kevin Harvick and Earnhardt Jr


GIBBS SIGNS HORNISH


Sam Hornish Jr. does not have a full-time ride for 2014, despite finishing second in the 2013 Nationwide Series standings.

But he might have the next-best thing. Hornish will get to drive one of the fastest cars on the track for seven races.

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Monday that it has signed Hornish to share its No. 54 Nationwide car with Kyle Busch. Busch, who won 12 Nationwide races for JGR last year, will run 26 races in the No. 54 car, while Hornish will run the other seven.

"I'm excited about driving the No. 54 Monster Energy car this year. It's a great opportunity for me," Hornish said in a statement released by the team. "It's the best possible situation for me to jump into great equipment and have the opportunity to go right out and win.”

Hornish has spent his whole NASCAR career with Penske Racing, starting in the Sprint Cup Series and then moving to Nationwide for the past two seasons. He had one win, 16 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes last year to finish second in points to Austin Dillon. He has two career Nationwide wins.


PROSECUTOR INVESTIGATING SCHUMACHER ACCIDENT


A French state prosecutor said Sunday he wants to obtain an alleged mobile-phone video of the skiing accident that critically injured Formula One legend Michael Schumacher. 	Schumacher's fall at the Meribel ski resort in the French Alps eight days ago, in which he hit his head on a rock, has left the 45-year-old in a medically-induced coma for a severe brain trauma. Schumacher remains in critical but stable condition and is being constantly monitored.

Questions have emerged about the circumstances of the accident, and Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, announced Saturday that his family has given French authorities a camera affixed to his helmet to help elucidate the case.

Albertville prosecutor Patrick Quincy told The Associated Press by phone that French investigators are also taking steps to obtain a copy of a smartphone video cited in a report by German news magazine Der Spiegel. Quincy declined to comment further before he holds a planned news conference sometime in mid-week.

Spiegel reported late Saturday that an unnamed 35-year-old man had contacted the magazine claiming to have captured the accident on video while filming his girlfriend on his smartphone just a few meters (yards) away. The unnamed witness, described only as a 35-year-old flight attendant from the western German city of Essen, claimed Schumacher had been skiing gently between two ski pistes at no more than 20 kilometers per hour (12 mph) before his fall.

Contributors: Bob Pockrass, Jeff Owens, The Associated Press