It's been a long and storied career for one former crew chief and car owner.
Ray Evernham first worked on the Pontiac of a young Jeff Gordon in the then Busch Series before moving to the Winston Cup to crew chief for future champion Alan Kulwicki. After only six weeks together, and several clashes, Evernham left the team before Daytona 1992, and hoped to return to work with Gordon.
"From the first day we ever worked together, boom! We hit it off. We had fun, we did good, he was what I wanted, and I was what he wanted." Evernham said.
Bill Davis, Gordon's owner at the time, didn't want to hire the crew chief his young driver wanted. Ford wouldn't have it and sent him to the Busch Series.
Evernham would stay with Gordon until 1999. Together, the pair had 47 wins, three championships, and a win at the inaugural Brickyard 400. The pair even formed Gordon/Evernham Motorsports, and even though the team was short lived, they had success and fun with the project.
The famed crew chief left the team in 1999 and formed Evernham Motorsports. It was the revitalization of Dodge in the Winston Cup Series, and was successful it's first full year with drivers Bill Elliot and Casey Atwood. The first year saw the team win two races, six top fives and twelve top tens.
In total, Evernham Motorsports has 15 wins, 67 top fives and 135 top tens with drivers Elliot, Atwood, Jeremy Mayfield, Elliot Sadler, Kasey Kahne and Patrick Carpentier.
His career as a team owner, however, wasn't without controversy. In August 2006 Mayfield was fired by the team, and replaced by Bill Elliot. Mayfield allegedly found out about his termination when he got onto NASCAR.com.
"It really wasn't between me and Jeremy—it was about the performance of the racecar," Evernham said. "The 19 car hasn't been performing like it should be. It's pretty far off of where other cars are, and we've tried everything we could try to get the performance up.
"We've tried lots of different things, and it's out of the top 35 in points, so we brought in Bill to help us get the car in the show and help us figure out what we've got to do to get the performance up."
Mayfield told the press that Evernham and his developmental driver Erin Crocker had a “close personal relationship” and “claimed Evernham was spending too much time with driver Erin Crocker and not enough on his Nextel Cup teams.”
Evernham admitted the relationship hurt Crocker's career, and she no longer works for the team. In July 2007, the team owner told ESPN he still has a relationship with his former driver.
"I don't think it's any secret that because of the personal relationship between Erin and I it hurt her career. The proper thing to do, and something her and I would like to do, is move her to another race team. I think the girl has a lot of talent. But if I sit here and say to somebody, 'Look, she's got a lot of talent, you should sponsor her,' my credibility is not good because of the personal relationship.''
Two years after the controversy, and a year after selling eighty percent in the company he formed nearly ten years ago, Evernham has announced he'll be leaving NASCAR to own East Lincoln Speedway. The former crew chief says it'll be an effort to "get back into grassroots racing."
We wish Evernham success in his track owner future, but with his record, success is sure to come.
Thanks to Jayski, the Hartford Courant, NASCAR.com, Jayski and ESPN for the quotes in this article and to Racing Reference for the stats used.
10 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Mary Jo Buchanan 7 months ago
Jen, Ray Evernham has been such a part of this sport, nurturing so many drivers incluidng Jeff Gordon and many others.....am sad to see him go, but more power to him if that's the direction he wants his life to take.
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Jen Preston 7 months ago
You're right, MJ. I think it's great that he wants to get into dirt racin'... it may bring more attention to the sport and get some more support for up and coming drivers.
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ron elliott 6 months ago
what a bunch of crap, everham is an old man who got hooked up with a 20 something year old girl and everyone tries to make him look like a saint...he is the opposite of that, he put together a team,.....
bill elliott won him some races and then dumps him, then he hires some wantabee champions in kayne and mayfield and they do nothing. why, because he is too busy with his little lolitta in the truck series, where she did nothing. why do people say she has potential? she has always had superior equipment in all the series she drove in and did little, except arca which she drove basically kasey kaynes nascar against weekend warriors.
i just love nascar fans and i have followed nascar since the 70's, they ignore scumbags like evernham's activities and make him out to be a saint...spare me folks...nascar is a soap opera these days and if it doesnt change it will go back to where it was in the 50's. the car of tomorrow is a joke, it, every manufacturer looks the same except for the decals, they truly need a wake up call and get there crap together...too bad it used to be awesome!!
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Christopher Leone 7 months ago
It's about time that Ray leaves NASCAR - it's evolving into a sport that has no place for somebody like him. With NASCAR in control of just about everything on the new car, an innovator like Evernham can't really do much to build the ultimate car, a la Gordon's Jurassic Park car in '97. It's too bad, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
Kudos to Ray for recognizing the right time to leave this level of the sport. He'll be successful wherever he goes.
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Jen Preston 7 months ago
It's a shame that the sport doesn't have room for an owner that actually wants to get in there and work on cars. You're right, there's simply no room for "creativity" or really any room to try and improve the car.
Thanks for the comment, I definitely agree.
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C Wilson 7 months ago
In August 2006 Jeremy was replaced by Elliott Sadler, not Bill Elliott.
I'm sorry to see Ray go. I had gotten the impression that things weren't perfect in his relationship with the majority owners. I can't help wondering if we'll see him on ESPN.
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Jen Preston 7 months ago
Evernham had announced Monday that Bill Elliott would replace Mayfield in the AMD at The Glen this weekend, after the No. 19 had slipped to 36th in owner points -- the danger zone for drivers -- as only the top 35 in owner points are guaranteed a starting spot in Cup races. (NASCAR.com)
He was ultimately replaced by Mayfield, but Bill Elliot is the one that was in the car the week he found out he was fired.
I would imagine he'd be on ESPN, but it hasn't been confirmed.
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Christopher Leone 7 months ago
Yeah, Bill Elliott drove the No. 19 at Watkins Glen, and Sadler took over the car in Michigan. Sadler was replaced in the No. 38 by David Gilliland, who turned down a full-time Busch Series ride with Richard Childress Racing to accept the seat.
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S M Napier 7 months ago
Great scoop, Jen. Doesn't surprise me, knew he wanted to pursue the broadcasting and hoped to renew the deal with ESPN. But with the silly season, we just had, hm could he be rejoining Gordon at HMS? While that's not necessarily true, but it possible after the way this years silly season gone.
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Patti Rodisch 7 months ago
you knew this was coming his involvement at GEM was little and even he had no idea what was happening at the company, so it was only a matter of when...
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