Evernham dishes on ownership, future in NASCAR

Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

The sound of hammer against nail fills the hallways at the new Mooresville, N.C., office of Ray Evernham Enterprises. The man in the corner office has been a championship-winning crew chief for Jeff Gordon, a team owner and now a TV analyst as well as owner of a grassroots racetrack. When IMG’s George Pyne has a concept for a new racing series in India, he calls Evernham. When NHRA driver/owner Doug Herbert wants advice, he calls Evernham. Ingersoll Rand, Wix, Valvoline, 3M, Best Buy, Siemens and Rustoleum still have personal-services agreements with Evernham. Few have seen motorsports from as many angles, which is why he remains one of its most respected figures.

Recently, from his new corner office, Evernham shared his thoughts on ownership, the future of NASCAR and his next move with Michael Smith of SportsBusiness Journal.

Question: After building Evernham Motorsports from scratch and selling it to George Gillett, just about everything has changed, from the name to the manufacturer. How do you feel about that?

Evernham: That’s a difficult thing. You hate to see that happen. Quite honestly, I have to be careful of what I say because I’m in some legal issues with them right now. But seeing a lot of people lose their jobs from something you built, the name changes, and how it has become a completely different operation, there’s some sadness there.

But I knew when I signed those papers to give up majority interest, it was George Gillett’s decision to take that company in the direction he saw fit.

I believe that the team was going in the right direction, and I felt like I couldn’t take it any further. It’s survival. The timing was right to take on a partner, but it didn’t work out for George or myself. ... Right now, we’re negotiating a separation so that George can go in his direction and I can go in mine. (Evernham is negotiating his way out of a minority interest in the team).

Question: Is it harder or easier to be a team owner now than eight to 10 years ago?

Evernham: Economically, it’s harder on everybody, no matter if you’re Rick Hendrick or Tommy Baldwin. Even Rick has had to squeeze his people and watch his headcount and watch his spending.

Question: Will we see more team consolidation in the future?

Evernham: The business model of multiple teams works if you have sponsorship. The problem is that you’ve got these teams trying to run multiple cars and they’ve only got one car sponsored. The other cars just drain the one that has sponsorship. Over the years, teams have taken on a lot of overhead, they’ve built their own cars and engines. The shops went from 30,000 or 40,000 square feet to over 100,000 square feet. Drivers’ salaries skyrocketed, crew salaries skyrocketed. That overhead is tough to maintain. Now there are a lot of empty buildings and a lot of people who were making six figures walking the streets. ... If it wasn’t for (owners) Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, Jack Roush and Richard Childress, the sport could be in real trouble. They’re winning a majority of the races, and they’re holding it together.

Question: The predicted influx of private equity ownership in NASCAR never took hold. Why?

Evernham: Private equities look at quarterly returns on paper. In racing, you’ve got to invest, and you don’t always have the greatest return. These private equities look at it short term—they’ve got it three or four years and flip it. That formula just doesn’t work in racing. The people that make this work are the people that really have a passion for it. For the private equities, for the George Gilletts, things obviously haven’t worked out. And if you talked to John Henry (co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing), I bet he’d say it hasn’t worked out like he thought it would.

Question: Who is in that next generation of owners?

Evernham: That’s a good question. Unfortunately, I see the teams in the future being owned by multiple partners. To start something these days, you’ve got to be like the guy from Red Bull and have a gazillion bucks. ... NASCAR’s got a lot of work to do to say, “What is the sport going to look like 10 years from now?” They’ve got to keep the costs down, keep a strong hand on the way things are run, and not be too greedy.

Question: NASCAR, greedy? Really?

Evernham: Some might say that NASCAR has been a little greedy. But to be fair to NASCAR, the sport lost not only Bill France Jr., but also Bruce Kennedy (Lesa France’s husband), who played a huge role in keeping things stable there. Brian (France) is smart enough to do the job, but does he really want to do it? That’s what a lot of people question. (NASCAR president) Mike Helton can do it, but he wears a lot of hats already. He has a lot on him. NASCAR is going through a little bit of an identity crisis at the top at the same time the economy went in the Dumpster. ... We hit a peak, it’s coming down, and it’ll go back up, but not at the same trajectory.

Question: NASCAR was publicly critical of the network you work for, ESPN, for the analysis of the Talladega race during the Chase. Is that the right place for the sanctioning body to focus?

Evernham: I know NASCAR was tough on us, but we’ve got a responsibility to the network and to the viewers to tell it like we see it. There’s a fine line between blowing sunshine. You can’t say it was a great race when it wasn’t. NASCAR has a little bit of a credibility problem because they don’t tend to communicate openly enough. They’re doing a lot of good things, they’re reaching out to owners and drivers to get their input, but they don’t talk about that enough.

Question: Do you ever get the itch to get back into a team situation as a crew chief, an adviser, an owner?

Evernham: Sure, I get the itch a lot. Part of my NASCAR consulting with Richard Petty Motorsports (formerly Evernham Motorsports) is exclusive. It’s a non-compete. Once we get that settled, I’d love to help Jeff Gordon, Rick Hendrick. I’ve always felt like that place is Home to me. I have no interest in going 38 weeks a year sitting on top of the pit box. I was a crew chief before in my life and had a great run with Jeff Gordon, but I’m a project guy now. Let me help figure out how to make a car go faster or how to straighten out a driver’s head. Give me a project.

Question: What would you do with Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

Evernham: I’d sit and talk to him, ask him what he thinks. I’m a little bit surprised and amazed they didn’t run any better. Dale Jr. has the talent to drive, unquestionably. He’s got the equipment. So what does he feel is missing? It’s got to start with him because the team revolves around the driver.