Mayfield says he'll counter-sue

Jeremy Mayfield is firing back at his stepmother for the first time since she filed a lawsuit claiming he slandered her.

This is just the latest drama in a legal battle that began after Jeremy Mayfield allegedly tested positive for methamphetamines in a random drug test performed by NASCAR.

NewsChannel 36’s cameras were the only ones there as he left his attorneys office finalizing the details on a wrongful death suit he plans to file against her in the case of his father.

Mayfield and wife Shayna spent an hour meeting with a Salisbury attorney about the wrongful death suit the NASCAR driver plans to file against his stepmother.

We asked "How far along is that case?”

Mayfield responded as he was leaving the lawyers office Friday, “I think it's further along than we ever expected. We'll see. That's what they're working on. They're getting' all the I's dotted and T's crossed."

Mayfield has said for months Lisa Mayfield played a part in his father’s death, though police reports back in 2007 called it a suicide.

"It's definitely one that's personal to me. Just gotta find out the truth and I'm not gonna stop until I do," Mayfield says.

In fact the NASCAR driver says he's been working on the case since his father’s death, but has been so public in his accusations against Lisa Mayfield in recent weeks -- even calling her a whore.

She filed a slander suit against him and now for the first time he's defending himself against her accusations.

"I wouldn't sit here and slander or lie about anything. If I tell you something, if I said it, it will be the truth," says Mayfield.

He made the accusations after she gave a statement to NASCAR claiming she'd seen her stepson repeatedly using meth. He denies those claims.

But NASCAR is using her statements against him in their case.

"I think her statement comes from knowing this was coming her way," says Mayfield

By "this" he means the wrongful death suit he spent Friday working out with his lawyers, in hopes he says of getting justice for his father.

"That's all it's about. I want to figure out what actually happened and the truth about it and once we find that out, I'll be a happy man," says Mayfield.