Firefighters burn former Mayfield mansion Thursday night

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — Firefighters went ahead with a scheduled burn of Jeremy Mayfield's former mansion.

Neighbors tell us the house went up very quickly, much of it gone in less than an hour. Smoke was still rising from the home Thursday night that was once owned by former NASCAR driver Mayfield.

Mayfield sent a Tweet Thursday saying, "If I would've known about a "Burn a house down tax break" I would've burned them all down, #updateyourtaxbreak."

Mayfield confirmed the Tweet and told Channel 9 reporter Dave Faherty the same thing on the phone Thursday.

The mansion was scheduled to be burned to the ground Dec. 14 by the Catawba Fire Department as a training exercise. The original training exercise was canceled due to inclement weather.

BEFORE IMAGES:  Jeremy Mayfield's former $1.3M mansion

BURNING IMAGES: Jeremy Mayfield's mansion burned

Cora Shook showed Eyewitness News cellphone video she and her family took shortly after 6 p.m.

Viewers sent photographs at the height of the fire in what the fire chief described as a training exercise after the new owner decided to burn it.

At one time, the home had a tax value of $1.8 million when it was owned by Mayfield.

Mayfield called Channel 9 last week and told me he never actually lived in the home but another house on the property as he tried to remodel the seven-bedroom, 10-bath house.

Neighbors said they were surprised by the fire.

The new property owner said he wants to farm the land where the house sat.

WSOC