Ray Evernham

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Ray Evernham
Evernham at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016
Born
Raymond Donald Evernham Jr.

(1957-08-26) August 26, 1957 (age 66)
Hazlet, New Jersey, U.S.
OccupationConsultant
Known for
SpouseErin Crocker
Children2
WebsiteRay Evernham Enterprises

Raymond Donald Evernham Jr. (born August 26, 1957) is an American consultant for

Winston Cup Series Champion with driver Jeff Gordon, in 1999, Evernham won the NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated "Person of the Year". Evernham was inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Class of 2018
.

Evernham is the co-founder of the racing series Superstar Racing Experience (SRX).

Racer

Evernham was a

modified racer. When he was 26 years old, he was hired by the International Race of Champions (IROC) as a chassis specialist. Drivers were impressed that he could translate what they were saying about the car's handling into technological adjustments.[1]

He crashed at Flemington Speedway in the middle of the 1991 season.[1] He damaged his brain stem, which left depth perception impairment.[1] He said, "When you wreck that bad, you don't remember anything about it."[1] As a driver, he added, "I couldn't meet my own expectations, and that frustrated the hell out of me." His accident prompted officials to put foam blocks in the corners to lessen impacts.[1]

Crew chief

Evernham started working for NASCAR driver

Busch Series team. "Bill Davis didn't want me," Evernham later recalled. "But Ford paid my salary to go and work for Bill Davis, because Jeff wanted me there so bad."[1]

Evernham remained the crew chief for Gordon after he moved up into the

Winston Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports from the final race of the 1992 season
to 1999. Gordon and Evernham won 47 Cup races, 3 Cup championships (1995, 1997, and 1998) and were the dominant team in NASCAR Cup competition at the time.

For his work as a crew chief, Evernham was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame's Class of 2018.[2]

Pit stops

The DuPont "Rainbow Warriors" crew in 1997.

As the head of the "Rainbow Warriors" pit crew (referring to the rainbow paint schemes used on the car) Evernham is considered one of the innovators in improving the duration and efficiency of pit stops, the period where a driver receives new tires, fuel, repairs, and adjustments to the handling of the car. Instead of using the team's mechanics as the pit crew, Evernham created a group of specialists (often former athletes) who would train to perfect their assigned task (tire changing, tire carrying, jacking up the car, etc...). Much like professional sports teams Evernham incorporated choreography, put his crew members through strength and agility training, and analyzed pit stops on film between races to point out spots where his crew excelled or could improve. These methods led to the car spending less time in the pits, gaining spots on the race track. Evernham is credited with changing the expected duration of a 4-tire pit stop from over 20 seconds to less than 15.[3]

Car owner

Main article: Richard Petty Motorsports

Evernham left

Dodge Weekly Racing Series. Drivers for the team included Elliott, Atwood, Jeremy Mayfield, Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Erin Crocker, Patrick Carpentier, and Chase Miller. Bill Elliott gave the team its first win in 2001 at Homestead Miami Speedway
.

On August 6, 2007, it was announced that George N. Gillett Jr. had purchased a majority share in the team, and that the name had been changed to Gillett Evernham Motorsports.[6] On January 9, 2009, GEM then completed a merger with Petty Enterprises and brought the team's famous No. 43 car into the fold, changing the name once again to Richard Petty Motorsports.[7] Late in the 2009 season, RPM announced that it was to merge with Yates Racing, leaving Dodge to run Ford Fusions.[8] In late 2010, the team was bought out by Richard Petty and several investment groups,[9] and Evernham sold his remaining share in the operation.

In May 2011 Evernham sued Gillett Jr., alleging that Gillett did not fulfill his responsibilities as co-owner, Gillett's management problems led to the demise of the team and that in the process, he lost $19 million. In 2012 the suit was settled under undisclosed terms.

Television career

Evernham has dipped into television several times as an analyst. He has worked three separate stints for ESPN/ABC: in 2000, 2008–2010, and 2012–2013. He has worked both race coverage and studio coverage at various points.

Evernham is host of the show AmeriCARna on

Velocity
since 2013.

Evernham works on NBCSN since 2015 as a color analyst and is paired up with Ralph Sheheen on broadcasts of the Whelen Modified Tour and Whelen Southern Modified Tour.

Superstar Racing Experience

Main article: Superstar Racing Experience

In July 2020, Evernham and former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart formed the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), a stock car series that began in summer 2021.[10]

Controversies

During the 2006 season, former Evernham driver Jeremy Mayfield was fired from the No. 19 car for 'lack of performance,' as stated by the Evernham team. Court documents reveal that Mayfield blames Evernham's personal life, included a claim that a "close personal relationship" had developed between the then-married Evernham and development driver Erin Crocker, and "sub-par" equipment as the reasons he had not won a race in 2006.[11] Evernham admitted that he had an ongoing relationship with Crocker. Furthermore, he said about Crocker, "The proper thing to do and something her and I would like to do is move her to another race team."[12] Evernham and Crocker eventually were married at a private ceremony in Las Vegas on August 26, 2009.[13]

Evernham is also known for a 1995 penalty which was then the largest fine in

suspension
parts on Jeff Gordon's car in a May 1995 race.

Further reading

  • Houston, Rick (October 2, 2012). "The hardest working man in racing". NASCAR.

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780446611787
    .
  2. ^ Jensen, Tom (May 24, 2017). "Five inductees for NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018 announced". Fox Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  3. ^ "Pit Crew Revolution". YouTube, UPS, NASCAR. September 5, 2012. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2014 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ Myers, Bob (February 1, 2000). "RAY EVERNHAM CREW CHIEF – NOTHING IS FOREVER – STOCK REPORT". fourwheeler.com/. Fourwheeler Network. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  5. ^ Dodge Motorsports (November 17, 2001). "Dodge Then & Now 11–14–01". motorsport.com. Hampton, Georgia. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  6. ^ Gillett Evernham Motorsports. "Evernham, Gillett partnership announced". motorsport.com. Statesville, North Carolina. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  7. ^ David Newton (January 9, 2009). "Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports merge – ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  8. Sporting News
    . Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  9. ^ Sandomir, Richard (November 30, 2010). "Richard Petty Is a Buyer in the Sale of Petty Motorsports". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  10. ^ Ourand, John (July 13, 2020). "Off To The Races: Powerful group launching new auto racing circuit to debut next year on CBS". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  11. ^ "NASCAR – Sporting News". Scenedaily.com. September 2, 2012. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  12. ^ David Newton (July 2, 2007). "Evernham admits relationship hurt driver's career – Racing – ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  13. ^ "Ray Evernham and Erin Crocker Evernham live happily ever after – ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved September 30, 2012.

External links

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