Jeremy Mayfield's ride in NASCAR has been a combination of highs and lows. This season, his career is once again involved in what can only be called a bittersweet combination of perseverance and desperation.
The rock group Saving Abel has just released a new music video with Mayfield as the centerpiece. TDP told you about this concept, now the finished video is done and can be viewed on You Tube by clicking here.
The video for the song "Drowning Face Down" depicts Mayfield as a struggling local racer trying to make the big time. It includes footage from Bristol Motor Speedway and Mayfield's own shop. Also included are cameo appearances from Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr.
“It was awesome,” said Mayfield. “Just being a part of that was just cool for me. Those guys are great and I’m glad to see them coming up. I didn’t really know them that well until we did the video and they have a lot of fun. It’s funny how our story kind of fit their song and worked perfect for their video.”
Saving Abel frontman Jared Weeks said the band is all big NASCAR fans and they were excited to work with Mayfield and the other drivers. This is the third video from the band's self-titled album that recently went gold.
It should be interesting to see what music television networks choose to play this video. The song is good, the band is popular and the video is easy to watch. Mayfield may just find that this investment of his time might pay off in an exposure of his NASCAR efforts and his dedication to a brand new audience.
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Saw it linked at Jayski today. It's a great video, and most important, a great song and a great story. I hope Jeremy gets something from this, publicity, sponsors, whatever. Thank you to Saving Abel for making it happen.
ReplyDeleteThis video brought a tear to my eye, because it's actually Jeremy's own story. The guy is struggling so hard to get back past glory...or glory that was nearly in his grasp a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteWhat a well-story story it is.
Pretty cool deal for Mayfield, IMO. Any publicity is good publicity, and I hope people see this video and follow him a little more closely, or root for him more than before. He deserves his due after putting together a team so quickly in January. He's done a great job (as has Joe Nemechek).
ReplyDeleteVery kewl! I liked it!
ReplyDeleteGermy (as the LIB calls him) really has made my heart happy! Just to see him doing his thing and being focused on not only making the race, but when he does to be there in the end and prove he still belongs.
Is that Octane 93 you're wearing? :p
Hope it turns out for him. He keeps getting relegated into the S&P brand but each time he makes a race he goes as long as the car can. Good luck to him.
ReplyDeleteWhats the storyline?
ReplyDeleteI don't get a sense of a payoff?
Anon 7:28--the story line is pretty obvious. The payoff is a bit trickier. But--people have often thought of racing as a 'country' sport (even though a lot of its fans are fans of other music). I think it's possible you could get interest from a younger, more hip crowd from something like this. Perhaps not a lot, but that wasn't its intention; it sounds like the band just found a story they wanted to tell, and that in itself is a good thing. It's not just Jeremy, but every other person out there struggling by his/herself to make a go of it. That's kinda what we're about...
ReplyDeleteThis is a great video and I liked it a lot. Nothing would make me happier than for Jeremy to have a top 15 finish soon. Also, with his good looks he might have a movie career ahead of him (along with Carl Edwards!). Good column JD.
ReplyDeleteJD said:
ReplyDeleteIt should be interesting to see what music television networks choose to play this video.I would have to say that CMT is out. It is too "hard" for VH1. MTV hardly shows videos anymore. Maybe they would show it late at night or in the AM. MTV2 is getting away from videos too, but they do show more.
Great song…GREAT VIDEO!
ReplyDeleteIf you are a new fan to the sport, Jeremy has a real interesting story. He truly has been on both the top and the bottom of the NASCAR world. He has made some amazing mistakes, yet also received a couple of bad deals.
He did a great job of portraying the struggle to try to come back on top.
We do not know the “payoff”… it will unfold before our eyes.
Looking at it from a storyteller's pov (point of view), the video works. The payoff in the video is the young boy's face after JM, walking alone, gives him an autograph. The message is one of hope with a new generation, new fans.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this band. Therefore, their goal has been accomplished. I now know who they are and am impressed with their creativity.
Great video! Great story too! Great driver also wish there were more people like Mayfield willing to hang it all out and make a go at it. Hang in there J.M. you'll make it back to the top!
ReplyDeleteThey did an interview with Jeremy at Richmond before the race and talked about the band and the video and then showed it on the big screen. While I'm not a Mayfield fan, I thought that it was a good song and was well done. I have to agree that MTV no longer plays videos -- LOL -- can't tell you when I last looked at that channel. Hopefully the youtube.connection will help and if the song gets airplay on the radio, people may look for the video.
ReplyDeleteWay to think outside the box, great song and the video tells a story. Payoff, perhaps the fact that he's still up in the air should be enough. No nice little bow for this one. I hope he gets some sponsorship dollars it would be well deserved.
ReplyDeleteKind of a teary video when you know the history of Mayfield. I just hope this turns into something good for him. The most heartfelt part for me was the visual of Truex getting interviewed while Jeremy is standing alone with no one near him.
ReplyDeleteI wish Jeremy Mayfield the best of luck in his fight against NASCAR...Saving Able's song is awesome and depicts Jeremy's life at this point perfectly...Jeremy should be racing amd monitored closely to satisfy Nascar..
ReplyDelete