Jeff Gordon would like to see Ray Evernham rejoin Hendrick Motorsports
By SceneDaily StaffFriday, February 06, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jeff Gordon says the only time he ever really considered leaving Hendrick Motorsports was when crew chief Ray Evernham left the organization late in the 1999 season to start his own team and help bring Dodge back into NASCAR’s Cup series.
Gordon, who enters his 17th season at Hendrick in 2009, now says he would like to see the man with whom he won three of his four Cup titles rejoin Hendrick if the opportunity was right.
“We’ve just always stayed great friends, and I admire him. I think he’s a sharp guy, and he’s done a lot, obviously, in this sport,” Gordon said at Daytona International Speedway. “We talk racing all the time, so he helps me now. It’s just as a friend; it’s not really anything serious. If it’s an engineer, if it’s a team manager, whatever options are out there for anybody, we always take them serious.”
Before Evernham left Hendrick to launch Evernham Motorsports for the 2000 Cup season, Evernham and Gordon were viewed as the most potent driver-crew chief combination in the Cup garage. Today, most observers consider them one of the best tandems in NASCAR history.
The relationship between them even went beyond their duties with the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. In 1999, the two formed the now-extinct Gordon/Evernham Motorsports, a team that competed in six races with Gordon as driver and Evernham as crew chief in what is now known as the Nationwide Series.
“The opportunity that came along that I could have maybe done something different [was] when Ray went with Dodge,” Gordon said. “I sat down with [team owner] Rick [Hendrick] at that time and we talked, and that conversation went really well, and we proceeded forward sticking together. That’s the only time I can think of in all the time I’ve been at Hendrick that there was ever even an outside chance of me thinking about what else is out there. Even at that time, I wasn’t seriously pursuing the other opportunity.”
Since starting Evernham Motorsports in 2000, Evernham has gradually taken on a smaller role as a consultant in the team now known as Richard Petty Motorsports.
“With my experience with Ray being so positive in the past, I certainly wouldn’t ever throw [the possibility of him returning to Hendrick] out,” Gordon said. “It’s not something that is happening, but it’s not something that I’m going to ever say never would.”
For now, Gordon is more focused on improving his results from 2008, a season in which he failed to win for the first time since his rookie campaign in 1993 and finished seventh in the final points standings.
“It was a big deal last year … , but it’s behind us, and we learn from it. We grow from it, make ourselves better and try to make sure it doesn’t happen this year, and I don’t think it’s going to,” said Gordon, an 81-time Cup winner whose last victory was at Charlotte in October 2007.
“I think we’re a stronger, better team. I think we’re taking that experience and making the most of it. This is a humbling sport, and last year was a humbling year for us and made us realize just how bad we want to win and just how bad we don’t want to lose, and I think we can show that this year.”
Gordon believes NASCAR’s new car, which was used at all tracks for the first time last season, was the main reason for his struggles.
“When you’ve been in this sport as long as I have, it’s harder to adapt to changes. The longer you’re in it, the harder it is to adapt to changes,” he said. “So some of it is me adjusting my driving style. I can’t change how I drive, but I can make small adjustments. … We really made improvements towards the end of the year that I don’t think really got noticed because of the championship battle that was going on. And that’s certainly fair, but while we weren’t the top three, I felt like we were fourth to fifth best out there in that Chase [For The Sprint Cup] and that’s not too shabby, especially with where we started.
“So to me, we took momentum into the offseason because of that. Obviously, to compete with Jimmie [Johnson] and with Carl [Edwards], we’ve got to step it up a whole lot, but you’ve got to walk before you can run.”
By SceneDaily StaffFriday, February 06, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jeff Gordon says the only time he ever really considered leaving Hendrick Motorsports was when crew chief Ray Evernham left the organization late in the 1999 season to start his own team and help bring Dodge back into NASCAR’s Cup series.
Gordon, who enters his 17th season at Hendrick in 2009, now says he would like to see the man with whom he won three of his four Cup titles rejoin Hendrick if the opportunity was right.
“We’ve just always stayed great friends, and I admire him. I think he’s a sharp guy, and he’s done a lot, obviously, in this sport,” Gordon said at Daytona International Speedway. “We talk racing all the time, so he helps me now. It’s just as a friend; it’s not really anything serious. If it’s an engineer, if it’s a team manager, whatever options are out there for anybody, we always take them serious.”
Before Evernham left Hendrick to launch Evernham Motorsports for the 2000 Cup season, Evernham and Gordon were viewed as the most potent driver-crew chief combination in the Cup garage. Today, most observers consider them one of the best tandems in NASCAR history.
The relationship between them even went beyond their duties with the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. In 1999, the two formed the now-extinct Gordon/Evernham Motorsports, a team that competed in six races with Gordon as driver and Evernham as crew chief in what is now known as the Nationwide Series.
“The opportunity that came along that I could have maybe done something different [was] when Ray went with Dodge,” Gordon said. “I sat down with [team owner] Rick [Hendrick] at that time and we talked, and that conversation went really well, and we proceeded forward sticking together. That’s the only time I can think of in all the time I’ve been at Hendrick that there was ever even an outside chance of me thinking about what else is out there. Even at that time, I wasn’t seriously pursuing the other opportunity.”
Since starting Evernham Motorsports in 2000, Evernham has gradually taken on a smaller role as a consultant in the team now known as Richard Petty Motorsports.
“With my experience with Ray being so positive in the past, I certainly wouldn’t ever throw [the possibility of him returning to Hendrick] out,” Gordon said. “It’s not something that is happening, but it’s not something that I’m going to ever say never would.”
For now, Gordon is more focused on improving his results from 2008, a season in which he failed to win for the first time since his rookie campaign in 1993 and finished seventh in the final points standings.
“It was a big deal last year … , but it’s behind us, and we learn from it. We grow from it, make ourselves better and try to make sure it doesn’t happen this year, and I don’t think it’s going to,” said Gordon, an 81-time Cup winner whose last victory was at Charlotte in October 2007.
“I think we’re a stronger, better team. I think we’re taking that experience and making the most of it. This is a humbling sport, and last year was a humbling year for us and made us realize just how bad we want to win and just how bad we don’t want to lose, and I think we can show that this year.”
Gordon believes NASCAR’s new car, which was used at all tracks for the first time last season, was the main reason for his struggles.
“When you’ve been in this sport as long as I have, it’s harder to adapt to changes. The longer you’re in it, the harder it is to adapt to changes,” he said. “So some of it is me adjusting my driving style. I can’t change how I drive, but I can make small adjustments. … We really made improvements towards the end of the year that I don’t think really got noticed because of the championship battle that was going on. And that’s certainly fair, but while we weren’t the top three, I felt like we were fourth to fifth best out there in that Chase [For The Sprint Cup] and that’s not too shabby, especially with where we started.
“So to me, we took momentum into the offseason because of that. Obviously, to compete with Jimmie [Johnson] and with Carl [Edwards], we’ve got to step it up a whole lot, but you’ve got to walk before you can run.”
, I think the problem over there is Steve Letard. I'm pretty sure Jeff hasn't forgotten how to drive.
