DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dressed casually in jeans and a black, button-down oxford, Ray Evernham leaned back into his chair and twirled the large gold ring on his right ring finger - the ring he received as crew chief for Jeff Gordon's 1999 Daytona 500 victory.
"I've got two of these Daytona 500 rings, but I can't get a parking pass," Evernham joked Wednesday from the infield of the Daytona International Speedway.
A decade ago he was celebrating in victory lane. A year ago he was on the pit box guiding another young driver, Kasey Kahne, to a top-10 finish in the Daytona 500. This week, he had to borrow a parking pass from fellow ESPN television analyst Rusty Wallace.
Allmendinger, along with GEM, majority owner George Gillett and Ray Evernham Enterprises were named earlier this week in Iredell County (N.C.) as defendents by an attorney representing Elliott Sadler in a possible suit alleging breach of contract, according to David Poole of The Charlotte Observer.
Sadler, as we were surprised about earlier in the week, appears to be on the outs from GEM's No. 19 Dodge in favor of Allmendinger in 2009 -- despite signing a contract extension this past spring with the team through 2010.
Poole noted in the article that "Sadler plans to seek injunctive relief, declaratory relief/specific performance, consequential and punitive damages as a resultof Defendants anticipatory and actual breach of Plantiff's Driving Services Agreement [...]."
All of the legal lingo could more appropriately described as Sadler being extremely irritated and desiring to grab all of the money from GEM he can because of the loss of external revenue (personal contracts, etc.) he stands to lose by not driving in the Sprint Cup Series full time in 2009.
According to police reports, Kahne ran into the back of a car driven by a 17-year-old woman as traffic slowed on Highway 114 near the track. No one was injured and neither driver was charged in the accident. Both vehicles had to be towed away from the scene.
I'm glad their both OK, but do you think those crazy Allstate mom's were involved?
Kahne, according to the article, was driving a Dodge Durango "leased" from a dealership near Texas Motor Speedway. That's likely a perk of being a Dodge driver.
I'd really like to know, though, if the "17-year-old" driver had any clue who Kahne was. Can you imagine that phone call home if she happened to be a NASCAR fan?
"Hey Dad. Uh, I've been in accident, but it's totally sweet because Kasey Kahne hit me!"
Last night, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver found himself in Scottsdale, Arizona auctioning off one his No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolets from the 2007 season.
Sold at the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company with plenty high-rollers and celebrity figures alike in attendance, the Monte Carlo racer was auctioned in the name of the Darrell Gwynn Foundation in addition to a few other items as you'll see in the clip.
Yep, that's right, well over $300,000 for a race car, a ring from Stewart's 2007 season, a helmet, and driving suit worn by Stewart himself. All in the name of a charity that supports spinal cord research.
Welcome to the 2007 NASCAR FanHouse Year in Review. Follow along each day until the end of 2007 as we look back on the top 25 drivers of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for the 2007 season.
Driver: Elliott Sadler -- Emporia, Virgina Team: No. 19 Dodge Dealers Dodge, Gillette-Evernham Motorsports Points: 25th (-3583) 2006: 22nd Key Stats: 2 Top-10s, 4 DNF's Back in 2008?: Yes, same team
Elliott Sadler's 2007 campaign was a direct showing of the struggle that car owner Ray Evernham's teams had all year.
Sadler's year started well in 2007 after posting a sixth-place finish in the crazy finish of the Daytona 500, but it would be down hill for the rest of the season. Following Daytona in February, Sadler's No. 19 was penalized 25 points for a violation. He wouldn't find the Top-10 again until the LifeLock 400 at Kansas in October.
In between those high points, Sadler frankly struggled the entire way. A late-summer slump saw the No. 19 finish 28th or worse five races in a row. That's a long way removed from his two win, Chase-making season with Robert Yates Racing in 2004.
"It's been a long season for everyone and not the kind of season we expected when we went to Daytona in February. We have work to do this winter. We just have to put this year behind us and get to work on 2008. "
As for 2008, Sadler picked up a new primary sponsor for his No. 19 Dodge in Best Buy. It will be the first complete year under the Gillette-Evernham Motorsports banner for Sadler after Evernham signed a deal with Canadian investor George Gillette, which will hopefully allow the team to spend more money on R & D for all three teams.
Look for 2008 to definitely improve for GEM veterans Sadler and Kasey Kahne after two dismal years in a row.
Gillett-Evernham Motorsports announced today that the Anheuser-Busch product Budweiser will be the primary sponsor on Kasey Kahne's No. 9 starting in 2008 with -- coincidently enough -- the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.
No terms of the deal were announced, but you've got to imagine Kahne is excited to be switching from Mountain Dew and Dodge commercials to the access a Budweiser sponsorship allows.
"I just think it's the coolest sponsor out there. There's so many things from NASCAR to drag racing to sports. You go to a baseball game, a football game, the Super Bowl, the Final Four, it's everywhere. I think that's going to be really a lot of fun for myself to be able to get involved in some more of these sports and be able to get involved with it."
Think he's talked to Dale Earnhardt Jr. about perks at all in the past few weeks?
Kahne is admittedly already a "beer man", too.
"I've been a beer guy for a while," he said with a laugh. "I like Budweisers."
And Budweiser thought things would be easy jumping up just one car number. Think they knew Kahne was a fan of their product, too?
I think the new ride looks pretty good, too. To change up the scheme a little bit from that of Dale Jr.'s, Budweiser has brought back the bowtie behind the main logo on the hood, among other subtleties. It's not a huge change, but it's enough to recognize. Note: Apologies that the FanHouse can't get a legal photo of anything at today's announcement, but you can check out the GEM website for a little more. Think Kahne gets some of the Clydesdales as well? Also, be sure to come back at 1:00pm/ET on Wednesday for a LIVE BLOG of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s announcement.
Sitting on the pole isn't a bad way for the winless Clint Bowyer to start his first Chase for the Nextel Cup championship. He was the 45th of 49 drivers to qualify and knocked his fellow first-time chaser, Martin Truex Jr., out of the starting spot to score his second career pole.
Truex almost had hist first career pole ... instead he got beat by 0.035 seconds and got his second career front-row start. Bummer. He really wants in next year's Bud Shootout.
Four more chasers qualified in the top 10 ... Matt Kenseth is the rear chaser starting in 30th.
Dave Blaney qualified 10th, well ahead of Ken Schrader in the #21 car in 34th. If they finished that way--or close--Blaney would be back in the top 35.
Penske Racing's IRL driver Sam Hornish Jr. failed in his first Cup qualifying event.
Winners of the Week Ray Evernham and Boris Said. It might be the last spot, but who cares? The fourth Gillett-Evernham Motorsports Dodge entry is in the field. Ditto for Said. When is someone going to give him a full time job? He's got better records than some current full-timers. GEM? CGR? BAM? Any takers? Losers of the Week Michael Waltrip and Jeremy Mayfield both scored their 15th DNQs of the season, Dale Jarrett his 10th. Kevin LePage, who holds the record for most DNQs this season, claimed his 20th. John Andretti is batting 0.500 after failing to qualify for the eighth time 16 attempts.
"I think at this point, I want to earn that credibility back. I want to earn some more respect and go off on my own and do what I came here to do."
"I feel good about my driving. I just want things to be positive again ... I still feel like I can make a difference and make my name in this sport.
Yeah ... good luck with that, honey. You've already made your bed, now you have to lie in it a name for yourself.
Women in motorsports face enough challenges. They don't need one of their own developing a bad reputation for moving up the career ladder swiftly when she starts sleeping with the boss.
Changing Perception Won't Be Easy
For a little longer than a year now I've been reading comments and receiving emails about Crocker and how she has set the advancements for women in racing back decades by getting romantically involved with her owner. Those sentiments haven't changed much now that she and Evernham had a public "coming out" party.
Kasey Kahne confirmed that his phone has been ringing, but that the other owners are dreaming if they think he's going to leave Evernham Motorsports. He claims to have no such plans:
"I've had plenty of different teams calling to talk to me because we're running bad. I haven't talked to any other teams. I have never once talked to another team owner. It's just another reporter putting something out there with no facts. It's not true."
Kahne is signed with EMS through 2010, but is reported to have an exit clause if there is a change in ownership
Team owner Ray Evernham denies Kahne has a way out (or admits he has figured out how to work around it) and says Kahne hasn't given any indication that he wants out. Do they ever?
Evernham:
"Right now what we're trying to do is get this thing sorted out. Kasey has been one of my biggest supporters. The way he's jumped in, you'd think he was my partner. I'm really proud of him."
Hmmm. Kasey, Ray's partner? There's an idea. Maybe Evernham has been looking to the wrong people. The driver / owner thing worked out well for Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick ...
Even though his team doesn't look to appealing this season, NASCAR owner Ray Evernham is still trying to get in on some of this free agent action.
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he was leaving DEI, Evernham expressed his interest even though he knew it was a long shot:
"It's like trying to get a date with Jennifer Aniston -- if you see her, you've got to at least ask."
Now that Kyle Busch is available, Evernham is once again raising his hand:
"Quite honestly, I said [to Kyle], 'At least talk to us before you make a decision.' I did let it be known that I want to talk to him. All we can do is lay out the program compared to what else is available for him and see what he thinks of us. His driving ability is just unbelievable. I've worked with other drivers through that [age] period, and I'd like to have another shot to do it again."
While he's anxious to talk, Evernham isn't too keen on the evolution of silly season itself and how it's become a free-for-all:
"There will have to be more controls over who and when you can talk to the crew members and the drivers. If I have a contract with you, and you have two or three more years on your contract and you go and tell me that you've signed with somebody else when your contract is done, you've basically killed my program.
"So sooner or later, there'll be a lawsuit over something like that, and that'll start to change it."
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dressed casually in jeans and a black, button-down oxford, Ray Evernham leaned back into his chair and twirled the large gold ring on his right ring finger - the ring he received as crew chief for Jeff Gordon's 1999 Daytona 500 victory.
I bet this isn't what 
Kasey Kahne, this Bud is for you.
Sitting on the pole isn't a bad way for the winless Clint Bowyer to start his first Chase for the Nextel Cup championship. He was the 45th of 49 drivers to qualify and knocked his fellow first-time chaser, Martin Truex Jr., out of the starting spot to score his second career pole. 
Winners of the Week
Since sleeping it away with owner 
Kasey Kahne confirmed that his phone has been ringing, but that the other owners are 
Even though his team doesn't look to appealing this season, NASCAR owner Ray Evernham is still trying to get in on some of this free agent action.
