Gillett Evernham Motorsports News
Kasey Kahne, Patrick Carpentier, Elliott Sadler News
#9 |
Kasey Kahne - Driver of Budweiser Dodge |
#10 |
Patrick Carpentier - Driver of the Valvoline Dodge |
#19 |
Elliott Sadler - Driver of Best Buy/McDonalds/Stanley Tools Dodge |
June 17, 2007
Evernham Gillett partnership hopefully signed by August; Evernham fourth team? George Gillett Jr., president of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, could play a key role in Evernham's quest to sign Busch for that potential fourth team. Evernham has been courting Gillett to become a minority investor in the organization, much like Boston Red Sox owner John Henry recently joined ranks with Jack Roush. Evernham said a partnership with Gillett is getting closer, perhaps two months away from being completed. Evernham said he'd love to announce a deal in Montreal in early August for NASCAR's first-ever Busch Series race there. "That'd be awesome," he said. "That would be good incentive for the attorneys to hurry up and get it done." (Yahoo! Sports)
June 16, 2007
Evernham looking to resign Riggs: Car owner Ray Evernham says he's in talks with Scott Riggs to keep him there. Riggs is in the last year of his contract. ... Evernham also says his deal to add George Gillette as a partner is about a month away from completion. (News-Record)
July 18, 2006
E. Sadler to Evernham Motorsports: Though he denies any contact with Ray Evernham, Elliott Sadler will drive the No. 19 Evernham Motorsports Dodge in 2007, multiple sources close to Robert Yates Racing have confirmed. Contrary to recent speculation, M&Ms, Sadler's current primary sponsor at Yates, will not accompany him to Evernham, those same sources say. (NASCAR.com)
July 14, 2006
Mayfield possibly to MWR? Michael Waltrip, who will graduate to team ownership with Toyota next year, says he has offered a job to driver Jeremy Mayfield, who recently has expressed dissatisfaction with his current situation at Evernham Racing. "The ball's in his court," Waltrip told SPEED Channel after his qualifying run Friday at New Hampshire, referring to Mayfield. "Hopefully it will all come together, and as soon as it does we'll let the world know." That, meanwhile, would open the seat in Evernham's No. 19 for Elliott Sadler, who apparently is looking for a way out of his deal with Robert Yates. Other reports say Sadler could take sponsor M&Ms with him to the No. 19, although that could not be confirmed. Robert Yates and Doug Yates were not at the track Friday, although Slugger Labbe, crew chief for Sadler teammate Dale Jarrett and the No. 88, hinted, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." Mayfield would complete the lineup for Waltrip's three-car Toyota stable. Waltrip will drive one of the cars, with NAPA sponsorship. He has hired Jarrett and landed sponsor UPS for the second car, and Mayfield would drive the so-far-vacant third car, to be backed by Domino's and Burger King. Mayfield had no comment on the reports. Sadler denied he had had any negotiations with Evernham, and he has a year left on his contract with Yates. He admitted he had had a long talk with Yates this week at the Indianapolis tests. (Speedtv.com)
July 10, 2006
Evernham responds to Mayfield frustration: Statement by Ray Evernham from Chicagoland on Sunday morning. "My commitment to building a championship caliber motorsports organization for numerous racing series and multiple teams has never wavered. Neither has my commitment to providing the best people and resources for our race teams. What has changed is my job. I'm running a significant business with operations in the US and the UK. I have tremendous responsibilities to our sponsors and business partners away from the race track. That's been my focus this season. And, that's why I've put smart, talented people such as Sammy Johns, competition director, Mark MArdle, engine program director, and Dr. Eric Warren, engineering director, in charge of day-to-day operations at the track. Jeremy and I talked this weekend, and we're on the same page. We're both unsatisfied with the performance of his team. We know the potential is there and that Jeremy is a talented driver. It's frustrating when you can't quickly find the solution. That doesn't mean we aren't trying. Jeremy and I are going to continue to work on getting this team where it needs to be. There's a lot of racing left this season and I'm confident that we can get this program on track." (Clear!Blue PR)
July 7, 2006
Mayfield frustrated with Evernham and team: Jeremy Mayfield on Friday expressed frustration with his team's performance this season and called this year "the worst I've ever run in the Nextel Cup Series." Mayfield, who qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup the past two seasons in Evernham Motorsports' No. 19 Dodge, also said he has had few conversations with team owner Ray Evernham of late about his team's problems. "I don't talk to Ray much. He encourages us when he's around, but he hasn't been around much lately," Mayfield said. "At Daytona we ran terrible. We ran the worse than all three of us had ever run. "Kasey (Kahne) sucked every bad as we did. He wasn't there all weekend. ... I didn't see him at Sears Point the week before that. (That'sRacin.com)
July 4, 2006
Dodge F1 and NASCAR programs to partner: Given Formula One's ability to develop cars and NASCAR's ability to sell them, DaimlerChrysler is counting on a union of German technology and good, old American know-how to improve both programs. DaimlerChrysler CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche attended Saturday night's Nextel Cup race at Daytona Beach, Fla., where his likeness appeared on the hoods of the Dodges driven by Evernham Motorsports' Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield. Then Zetsche flew to Indianapolis to be with McLaren-Mercedes for what turned out to be a short day for the team in Sunday's U.S. Grand Prix. At a news conference Sunday morning at the convention center, where he was joined by McLaren team principal Ron Dennis and NASCAR team owner Ray Evernham, among others, Zetsche said a joint NASCAR/F-1 program isn't as farfetched as it might seem. "The technology is very different, but the principles are the same," he said. "There is much to share. NASCAR has something to tell as far as the show is concerned. I saw Daytona and it's quite something." Zetsche said DaimlerChrysler is committed long term to both programs. "It's our history and will be our future as well," he said. "NASCAR is as American as it can get. We are there to stay." (Indianapolis Star)
July 1, 2006
Dodge Chairman committed to NASCAR: The chairman of DaimlerChrysler denied a widespread rumor that Dodge is pulling out of NASCAR, and pledged his commitment to America's top racing series. Dr. Dieter Zetsche, attending his first race of the season Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, said NASCAR is a successful platform for DaimlerChrysler and he has no plans to pull Dodge out. "I don't know who is creating those rumors, we have no reason whatsoever (to leave),'' he said before the start of the Pepsi 400. "We are very happy with NASCAR, it is a great platform, and Dodge is the right brand to race NASCAR.'' (MSNBC.com)
June 22, 2006:
Riggs injured, B. Elliott on standby Sunday: Monday, while on vacation with his family in Myrtle Beach [SC, #10-Scott Riggs injured both feet while unloading his jet ski in an oyster bed. The wounds required 12 stitches in the ball of left foot and eight stitches in the right big toe. The injury to Riggs has caused Valvoline Evernham Racing to make back-up plans for this weekend’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race in Sonoma. Ray Evernham and Valvoline Designated Team Owner Jim Rocco have retained former NASCAR champion Bill Elliott to stand by this weekend should Riggs not be able to practice, qualify or race the Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge Charger. As things stand today, Riggs will be racing Sunday, according to the team. “Jim and I huddled today with Scott, Bill Elliott, Team Director Rodney Childers and Competition Director Sammy Johns and we are going to Sonoma with the intention of Scott running the full weekend,” Evernham said. “But Bill will be ready for any scenario.” “I’m going to Sonoma to race,” Riggs said Wednesday. “It was a freak incident at Myrtle Beach. There was no warning about an oyster bed where we unloaded. We’ll see what happens when I get in the race car. I’m going to do what’s best for the team this weekend.” Valvoline Evernham Racing will have updates at Infineon Raceway for the media. (Evernham Motorsports/Clear!Blue PR)
June 19, 2006:
Francis Wins WYPALL® Wipers Race Award
June 18, 2006:
Kahne wins rain-shortened race
June 14, 2006:
Boris Said test Evernham cars: Said spent Tuesday testing with all three Evernham Cup series drivers on the road course at VIR {Virginia International Raceway} in preparation for the upcoming NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway. (Evernham Motorsports)
June 12, 2006:
UPS to Evernham? It appears UPS is still in play as a major sponsor. In the past two years the winner in the sponsor hunt has been Evernham Motorsports. UPS may add itself to the list of Evernham conquests signing as the primary sponsor of the No. 9 Dodge driven by Kasey Kahne. Then again, it is said the Dodge Dealers aren't willing to vacate their position on Kahne's ride. The dealers might be willing to let loose of the No. 19 driven by Jeremy Mayfield. However, it’s not clear Mayfield would be the driver of choice for UPS. (CircleTrackPlus.com)
June 10, 2006:
UPS to Roush or Evernham: On the sponsor front, sources in the garage indicate that UPS will be moving from Robert Yates Racing to one of two teams in 2007, either the No. 9 Evernham Motorsports Dodge Charger driven by Kasey Kahne or the No. 16 Roush Racing Ford Fusion driven by Greg Biffle. RYR will replace UPS with CitiFinancial, its current Busch Series sponsor, sources said. (Speedtv)
Mayfield to stay with Evernham through 2007
May 25, 2006:
Evernham teammates on front-row of Coca-Cola 600: Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield made it an all-Evernham Motorsports front row Thursday by taking the top two qualifying spots for the Coca-Cola 600. Riggs, who went out midway through qualifying, put himself on the pole with a lap of 187.865 mph. He then had to wait out the competition, which included Jimmie Johnson, winner of seven of the last 10 races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Johnson just missed bumping him off the pole, then Riggs only had his teammate to worry about. Mayfield was the final driver to qualify, and his first lap of 187.292 was good enough for second place. (USA Today - Starting Line-Up)
May 9, 2006:
Evernham Motorsports names May 27, fan appreciation day: On May 27, Evernham Motorsports will hold its fifth annual Fan Appreciation Day featuring team owner Ray Evernham and drivers Jeremy Mayfield, Kasey Kahne, Scott Riggs, Boris Said and AJ Foyt IV. The event is held to thank fans for their support of the team and provide them an opportunity to meet the stars of the Evernham Motorsports organization in person. The event will be from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET at the Evernham Motorsports facilities in Statesville, N.C. Throughout the event, fans will have the opportunity to view areas of the race facility and see how a race shop runs. Evernham Motorsports partners will have displays and giveaways. Interactive exhibits will be provided by Valvoline, Stanley and vitaminwater. The main features will consist of autograph sessions with Evernham, Kasey and Foyt at 9:30 a.m. and Mayfield, Riggs and Said at 11:30 a.m. Due to the expected crowd, fans will be limited to one autographed item per person and a wristband is required to participate in the autograph session. In order to give more fans the opportunity to get an autograph, this year's sessions will have a separate line for each personality -- meaning more tickets will be given, but one for each line. Fans may pick up wristbands at the Evernham Motorsports facility beginning at 7:00 a.m. the day of the event whiles supplies last. A total of 300 wristbands will be given for each line. (Evernham Motorsports PR)
April 10, 2006:
Francis Wins Wypall Crew Chief of the Race
Said helping Evernham on Road Courses: Evernham Motorsports owner Ray Evernham has an ace in the hole to get red-hot Kasey Kahne ready for the upcoming NASCAR Nextel Cup road course races: Boris Said. Said, a veteran road racer and occasional NASCAR Cup competitor, is working as a consultant to help Evernham's drivers - Kahne, Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs - get ready for those winding tracks that can be tough on younger drivers. (NASCAR Scene Daily)
April 1, 2006:
Evernham named All-time Best Crew Chief by the media: Ray Evernham, who won three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championships in the 1990s as crew chief for Jeff Gordon, has been selected as NASCAR’s top all-time crew chief in a vote by a national motorsports media contingent. Evernham’s selection was announced Friday at Martinsville (Virginia) Speedway, in conjunction with the announcement of the new NASCAR DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race contingency award for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. The $5,600 per-race award will go into effect with Sunday’s running of the DIRECTV 500 at Martinsville. It will be presented weekly to the crew chief whose team has the lowest combined start/finish numbers. A year-end award of $102,400 will also be presented to the crew chief with the most victories. (Eligibility is based on a team’s participation in the DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race contingency program.) Evernham, heading a first-rate pit crew that became known as the “Rainbow Warriors” because of their brightly-colored uniforms that represented the team’s sponsor, DuPont, guided Gordon to NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championships in 1995, ’97 and ’98. Evernham left the team late in the 1999 season to head Dodge’s 2001 return to the series. He continues in that role, via his Evernham Motorsports operation with drivers Kasey Kahne, Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs. “I’m blown away,” Evernham said. “I’ve never thought of myself as anyone special. All I did was have a great team, a great driver and did my job the best I could. I thank the media for their recognition.” Evernham was one of 10 crew chiefs nominated for the all-time award. Over several days of voting on NASCARMEDIA.com, Evernham amassed a total of 1,187 points to edge eight-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion crew chief Dale Inman by only 24 (1,163) points. Leonard Wood, who is credited with helping to revolutionize the approach to pit stops in the 1960s, finished third with 1,079 points. Media participating in the voting ranked the 10 nominated crew chiefs. A first-place ranking was worth 10 points, a second-place ranking nine points, etc. Evernham received 46 first-place votes, while Inman had 47 and Wood 19. Rounding out the results: In fourth place was Harry Hyde with 1,051 points, followed by Bud Moore (937); Kirk Shelmerdine (908); Ray Fox (748); Lee Petty (737); Gary Nelson (643); and Herb Nab (512). “To me it’s an honor to be mentioned with those other people,” Evernham said. “Those guys are the heroes that I’ve looked up to. If you were a baseball player, it’s like winning an award above Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth, great people like that.” (NASCAR PR)
March 13, 2006:
Evernham not moving team to Indy: Team owner Ray Evernham said Sunday morning that there was absolutely no truth to the rumors that he was considering relocating his team from Statesville, N.C., to the Indianapolis area. The state of Indiana has been trying to lure teams to the Hoosier state, but Evernham said he wouldn’t even consider leaving his current location, which abuts an airport and houses the rapidly growing Evernham Motorsports operation. “I have not talked to anybody at Indy,” Evernham said Sunday morning. “We have no intention of moving Evernham Motorsports. We’re more than happy where we’re at. And actually, it’s been distracting to the team because I had a lot of people coming up and asking me about it. I have no idea where that even came from.” (SPEEDTV)
Dec. 31, 2005:
Kahne appointed by Pres. Bush
Nov. 21, 2005:
Former Evernham Crew Chiefs Labbe and Baldwin now crew chiefs for Yates: Look for some organizational changes at Robert Yates Racing. Slugger Labbe will take over as crew chief of the #88, which is driven by Dale Jarrett, and Tommy Baldwin will lead the #38 crew and Elliott Sadler. Yates ended rumors that he will start a third team; he says he first wants to make the 88 and 38 teams stronger. But there still are plans for additional buildings on Yates' property in Mooresville, N.C. (Sporting News)
Nov. 16, 2005:
Evernham team swap, Baldwin to start own team: As the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season winds down, planning for 2006 is already well underway at Evernham Motorsports. For President and CEO Ray Evernham, it is anything but business as usual. Evernham is developing a new architecture for team success, one designed to foster better collective thinking, decision making and intellectual innovation. In 2006, Evernham will do away with the crew chief position on all of his race teams, instead installing a leadership team similar to many corporate structures. Each of the Evernham Motorsports Nextel Cup teams will have a Team Director, a Car Director and an Engineer. Evernham designed the new team structure with an eye toward the future and the continued evolution of the sport.
#19: For 2006, the leadership and team members of Evernham Motorsports will shift their alignment to better share the knowledge and thought-processes throughout the organization. The team that comprises the #91 Evernham Dodge Charger today will move to the #19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger, driven by Jeremy Mayfield. It will be led by Chris Andrews as Team Director. Kirk Almquist will be the Car Director and Tim Malinovsky will be the Engineer.
#9: The #19 team will shift to the #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger, which Kasey Kahne will continue to drive. Kenny Francis will be the Team Director for the #9 team, Mike Shiplett will be the Car Director and Keith Rodden will be the Engineer.
#10: The #9 team will support the new No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge Charger and driver Scott Riggs. Rodney Childers is the acting Team Director, and the leadership team will be announced at a later date.
The new team structure will be in effect for the final race of the 2005 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 20, 2005. Tommy Baldwin, Team Director of the #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger, will serve as a team consultant at Miami before moving on to pursue his dreams of running his own team. "Tommy will be leaving Evernham Motorsports to hopefully start his own operation," added Evernham. "He's very interested in being a team owner, and I want to help him get started just like Rick Hendrick helped me get started. I've known Tommy since he was 10 or 11 years old, and wish him the very best in the future."
"I appreciate the opportunity to work with Ray for several years," said Baldwin. "I've learned an awful lot from him. I also appreciate him letting me move on and helping me accomplish what I want to accomplish in the future. I came to Ray some time ago and told him this is what I've wanted to do. He didn't have any problems with that. He was in the same position with Rick (Hendrick) when he wanted to move on. Ray has helped me through all this and helped my decision making. I'm thankful for his friendship. Kasey and I have talked about this," he added. "He's going to win plenty of races with me or without me. He just has a God-given talent. I'm not worried about that. I'm glad I've become really good friends with him, and hopefully we can carry that into the future." The remaining positions within the new team structure at Evernham Motorsports are expected to be named in the next few weeks. (Clear!Blue/Evernham Motorsports PR)
Nov. 15, 2005:
Evernham cars in new 2006 schemes: When the green flag falls at the 2006 Daytona 500 next February, the Dodge Chargers of Jeremy Mayfield and Kasey Kahne will be sporting bold new paint schemes reflective of the bold design of the popular Dodge Charger production vehicle. The new 2006 Dodge Dealers paint scheme provides Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield distinctive yet familiar team identities. The new scheme maintains the Dodge trademark red color and provides greater on-track visibility for Dodge Dealers. "For the first five years of competition in Dodge's modern era of NASCAR competition, our two Dodges have carried similar paint schemes," said Linda Mahoney, motorsports marketing manager for Dodge. "Now, we want to give each driver a unique look and identity on the track."The No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger of Jeremy Mayfield will still feature the bright red hood with the signature Dodge Ram's head and branding for the Dodge Dealers. But, the Dodge Charger will carry black doors and fenders with red numbers on the side and white numbers on the roof. Mayfield drove a black car in several races in 2005, and made a special request for a cool black Dodge Charger for 2006. Kasey Kahne's No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger also will have a new look for 2006. His Charger will carry the same bright red hood and Dodge Ram logo as the No. 19, but will have white doors and fenders. The numbers on the side of the car will be black and the top of the car will be white. (Evernham Motorsports)
Nov. 11, 2005:
Kahne new Crew Chief? #9-Kasey Kahne could have a new crew chief next season, with Chris Andrews taking over for Tommy Baldwin, according to team sources. Where Baldwin might wind up is unclear. At the moment Andrews said he expects to be working with Scott Riggs, the newest addition to Ray Evernham's lineup. (Salem Journal)
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