Gillett Evernham interested in free agent drivers
Tuesday Gillett Evernham Motorsports owner Ray Evernham spoke to Sirius Speedway host Dave Moody about the possibility of bringing Ryan Newman or any other free agent drivers to his race team for next year.
Host, Dave Moody: "Are you now, have you ever, or do you anticipate active negotiations with Ryan Newman for a spot in your stable next year?"
Ray Evernham: "We have not negotiated with Ryan but we have put out the feeler that we would be very interested, certainly, in talking to Ryan about the future as would probably all the other car owners but we've not spoken with Ryan or negotiated with him. But, yes, we are interested in talking to him."
Moody: "So if your phone rings and he does [call] you back are we talking about a fourth car?"
Evernham: "Mr. Gillett and I would love to expand to four cars. So if that's going to happen it has to happen quickly but there are opportunities to grow Gillett Evernham Motorsports. But, again, that depends on drivers and sponsors and there are sponsors available with the proper drivers."
Moody: "Would it be safe to assume then that Ryan Newman might not be the only top notch driver in the final year of his contract that you might have reached out [to] at this point?"
Evernham: "Yeah, absolutely, but there's no sense in doing a fourth team unless it can add to what we're already building and to start a fourth team without the proper sponsorship or a driver that can add to the program just doesn't make sense. There are a couple of drivers available and there are some sponsors out there that are talking to other teams, too, besides us to put packages together. But if we were to be able to put that package together to strengthen Gillett Evernham we'd certainly do it. The guys that are out there that have been talking to people, certainly that we have spoken to or are interested in speaking [to], are the same guys everybody else has talked to: Ryan Newman, Casey Mears and Martin Truex are the guys that are in the hot rumors right now." Sirius NASCAR Radio
Host, Dave Moody: "Are you now, have you ever, or do you anticipate active negotiations with Ryan Newman for a spot in your stable next year?"
Ray Evernham: "We have not negotiated with Ryan but we have put out the feeler that we would be very interested, certainly, in talking to Ryan about the future as would probably all the other car owners but we've not spoken with Ryan or negotiated with him. But, yes, we are interested in talking to him."
Moody: "So if your phone rings and he does [call] you back are we talking about a fourth car?"
Evernham: "Mr. Gillett and I would love to expand to four cars. So if that's going to happen it has to happen quickly but there are opportunities to grow Gillett Evernham Motorsports. But, again, that depends on drivers and sponsors and there are sponsors available with the proper drivers."
Moody: "Would it be safe to assume then that Ryan Newman might not be the only top notch driver in the final year of his contract that you might have reached out [to] at this point?"
Evernham: "Yeah, absolutely, but there's no sense in doing a fourth team unless it can add to what we're already building and to start a fourth team without the proper sponsorship or a driver that can add to the program just doesn't make sense. There are a couple of drivers available and there are some sponsors out there that are talking to other teams, too, besides us to put packages together. But if we were to be able to put that package together to strengthen Gillett Evernham we'd certainly do it. The guys that are out there that have been talking to people, certainly that we have spoken to or are interested in speaking [to], are the same guys everybody else has talked to: Ryan Newman, Casey Mears and Martin Truex are the guys that are in the hot rumors right now." Sirius NASCAR Radio