UPDATE Ray Evernham isn't sure what he'll do in 2011. The three-time champion crew chief for Jeff Gordon and former team owner could continue to work for ESPN, work for another race team or just continue running his race track and developing a modified dirt car designed for new and part-time racers. Evernham has not been allowed to work for a team since selling the majority of his Evernham Motorsports to George Gillett in 2007. With an exclusive consulting clause included in his agreement with Gillett as part of the sale, Evernham has not had a role in the NASCAR garage beyond his work as a commentator for ESPN. For 2011, Evernham believes he is "free and clear" from any commitments to Gillett (whose Richard Petty Motorsports is being restructured without Gillett playing no role in the new company) and the 53-year-old is looking for his next opportunity. "[I] don't have a complete direction for next year," Evernham said last week. "Obviously I've been buried under a mire of legal paperwork, caught up in something I don't want to be involved in. It is what it is. I think I'm probably as apprehensive or a little bit nervous about my future as I ever have been." Does he want to get back in the garage working for a team? "It would be on that part-time basis," Evernham said. "I have no desire to be the guy on the top of the box to try to come in and save the day. I'm past that. That was a different time in my life, and the sport was different." Evernham has talked with Hendrick Motorsports, where he earned his three NASCAR Cup titles with Jeff Gordon, about consulting roles and even roles outside the motorsports operation. Evernham, who owns East Lincoln Speedway, a dirt track in Stanley, N.C., has also developed a new dirt Legends car, which is being sold through Bruton Smith's U.S. Legends Cars International. "I love my ESPN job and I love the people I work with," Evernham said. "We're talking about that. We haven't talked about specifics, but I haven't made any decisions because I haven't had enough time to think about it quite yet. Everybody always tells you that there are going to be a ton of offers coming your way, and your biggest fear is that they don't. Obviously, I've had a great time doing ESPN, and I am talking to them."
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11/20/10 Famed crew chief and ESPN analyst Ray Evernham is free to return to the competition side of the Sprint Cup Series. Evernham said Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway that he no longer is legally bound to the exclusivity deal at financially strapped Richard Petty Motorsports that kept him from entertaining offers from other organizations. He said he will entertain offers of being a consultant, making it clear he does not want to return full-time.
"Ray Evernham, for the first time coming into the final race of a NASCAR season, does not have a complete direction for next year,'' Evernham said. "Obviously, I have been buried under a mire of legal paperwork, caught up in something I don't really want to be involved in. But it is what it is. I'm probably as apprehensive or a little bit nervous about my future as Ray Evernham has been. I am free and clear according to my people now. Basically, every contract I've had has been breached in every shape or form.''
Evernham sold majority interest in Evernham Motorsports in 2007 to George Gillett. That organization later merged with Petty Enterprises to become Richard Petty Motorsports, but it kept Evernham in the loop as a consultant and would not allow him to work with other teams. Evernham said he has not brought legal action against Gillett for outstanding money owed him in the original transaction, but he has hired attorneys that have plans in place to do so, if necessary. "Honestly, the thing before you file a lawsuit, you have to make sure there is something to get,'' he said.
Evernham isn't sure whether he'll remain with ESPN in 2011 or be with a race organization, or both. There has been speculation that he could return to Hendrick Motorsports, where he helped Jeff Gordon win three of his four titles and help turn around the struggling Dale Earnhardt Jr. "I love my ESPN job and the people I work with,'' Evernham said. "So we're talking about that. We haven't talked about specifics. I haven't made any decisions because I haven't had enough time to talk about it.'' ESPN.com