Could Evernham Save Junior?
8/3/2009Is Ray Evernham the man to save Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s career?
Could be.
Evernham, who developed Jeff Gordon from a good qualifier in the Busch (now Nationwide) Series to a Sprint Cup champion and American sports superstar, appears to be open to the great task.
"First, let me say, I was a Dale Sr. fan and friend and would do anything that I could to help Dale Jr. I have said that I would do anything I can," Evernham conceded recently. "If there was one guy I was ever going to go back to work for in the business, it would be Rick Hendrick."
Hmmmm . . .
Evernham, of course, left Hendrick Motorsports after three titles and 49 visits to victory lane with Gordon to organize Dodge's return to the Cup circuit. Evernham Motorsports became Gillett-Evernham Motorsports and now it's Richard Petty Motorsports. Ray has what he describes as "a very minority ownership" in RPM.
"Right now, there are some legal issues," admitted Evernham. "I do have some non-competes (contract clauses) that hold me in place for a while. If those things get taken care of, and Rick Hendrick needed me to go and help him in any way, or help Dale Jr., I would gladly do that.
"I would not be a crew chief. I ended my career as Jeff Gordon's crew chief, so I have no desire to be anybody else's crew chief. I would certainly go and help the Hendrick organization in a consulting role, or any way I can."
Evernham's now an ESPN analyst and has been out of the day-to-day, hands-on game for a couple of seasons. That presents no barrier to figuring out on the Junior puzzle, though, because the job description mainly would be mechanic to Earnhardt's psyche. Evernham began with Gordon but would be trying to turn around NASCAR's most popular driver in career mid-stream.
What's wrong?
"Hard to explain," said Evernham. "Dale Jr. certainly has the talent. If you talk to most of the other drivers, they'll tell you the kid's an incredible driver.
"He's got the equipment. I think it's communication. I think there's been some focus issues. Basically, back to that motivation and focus and communication.
"Tony Stewart has done that basically with about 80 percent of the same people (at Gene Haas' team). So, sometimes, it only takes one or two ingredients, that little spark, to get everybody talking and working together and pulling together. I think that's all the 88 team needs."
Gordon answered a pre-Brickyard question about Evernham, in the context of Kyle Busch, but his words cast light on what could be.
"Ray was an intense guy and very structured," Gordon reflected on their time together. "He taught me a lot about respect for the guys on the team. All the hard work that is put in to it. And getting yourself emotional on the radio, or saying things that could be hurtful toward the team, how it could tear down the efforts. I definitely feel like it is important to know when and where to push the buttons and how to go about motivation versus tearing down a team. There is a fine line there between showing your emotions and how much it means to you and your passion and crossing over that in to being destructive.
"I definitely say that Ray played a big role in teaching me a lot about that. I think that he learned a lot about that as well, but he was certainly older and more mature than I was to be able to recognize those things in a young guy like myself, and other members of the team." Lance McGrew, who Hendrick picked to replace Tony Eury Jr. as Earnhardt's crew chief, began his career under Evernham. What if Evernham was handed the authority to structure the No. 88 Chevrolet team as he saw fit, pick the crew chief, and other key players?
Suppose Hendrick sat down with Earnhardt and told him, basically, that this is it - Ray's the decision-maker, the coach, the teacher, The Man?
Would that work?
Ray Evernham just might be ready to give it a go.
Is Rick Hendrick?
Most importantly, is Dale Earnhardt Jr.?
I say: Why not?
If not Evernham, then, who?
[ Next column: August 17]
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(I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.)
BackAbout I.N. Sider
I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.