Owner says having Sadler around has had big impact on team
Aww!!! Hearing Ray talk up Elliott makes me smile!
Evernham ready to ease Kahne into Chase mode
Owner says having Sadler around has had big impact on team
By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
September 4, 2006
10:47 AM EDT (14:47 GMT)
FONTANA, Calif. -- Ray Evernham couldn't help but smile with 48 laps remaining in Sunday night's Nextel Cup race at California Speedway. His three cars were running first, second and third, not bad for a team that supposedly was in a shambles less than a month ago.
He still was smiling when Kasey Kahne took the checkered flag for a series-high fifth victory even though teammates Elliott Sadler (13th) and Scott Riggs (17th) dropped back late.
"Time is the enemy of any lie,'' said Evernham, who was upset when Jimmy Spencer made the comment about the state of his organization on SPEED before last month's race at Michigan.
"If you give us enough time we'll prove we're a good race team. We've still got a ways to go to catch Roush [Racing], Hendrick [Motorsports] and Joe Gibbs Racing. But we'll get there.''
Evernham's top concern, however, is getting Kahne in the Chase for the Nextel Cup that will be set after Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway.
Kahne is 30 points behind 10th-place Jeff Burton and 32 behind ninth-place Mark Martin heading to a track where he won his first race in the spring of 2005.
"You always are disappointed if you don't make the Chase,'' said Evernham, who was represented by Jeremy Mayfield in the Chase the past two seasons. "If we don't make it we know why.
"We shouldn't be in this position, but we blew up some engines and crashed some cars.''
The organization also went through some recent upheaval with the firing of Mayfield and the hiring of Elliott Sadler to replace him in the No. 19 that had fallen out of the top 35 in owners points guaranteed a spot each week.
There also were accusations that Evernham's personal relationship with developmental driver Erin Crocker was a disruption to the team.
Evernham said the hiring of Sadler, who is back in the top 35 (33rd), has changed the entire atmosphere of the organization. "I don't know how to put my finger on it, but everybody seems more relaxed because he has such a good sense of humor,'' he said. "He's come in and taken that edge off. I really think that's going to help our whole organization.
"If everybody is calmer as an organization, that's going to make Kasey calmer.''
Calm wasn't exactly the phrase one would use to describe Kahne when NASCAR gave him a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road with less than 100 laps remaining. He was very upset after falling from first to 24th in the race and basically where he started the night in points.
Evernham, sitting atop Kahne's pit box, also wasn't happy.
"Everything's on the edge right now and you hate to give up track position,'' he said. "I knew our car was strong, and I kind of felt we were out of time. It was stronger than I thought it was.''
Evernham said that's another sign of how strong the organization is. Again, he gave Sadler part of the credit.
"He got everybody talking and together,'' said Evernham, who claimed communication was a problem with Mayfield and the 19 team. "We've got everybody talking and three cars are on the same page and we're all using the same stuff and everybody is coming to all the meetings.
"It's good.''
It was especially good when Sadler was first, Kahne second and Riggs third with 48 laps remaining. "That was awesome,'' Evernham said. "They all ran in the top five and finished in the top 20, so I feel really good about where we're at.''
He hopes this is a sign that all three teams can make the Chase a year from now.
"That's realistic,'' he said. "And it's a goal. We've got the equipment to do it. We've got probably the best group of drivers and directors that we've had.
"Again, I've got to look at Evernham Motorsports objectively. You've got Roush and Hendrick in a class by themselves. Then you've got Gibbs a step behind. We're probably at the top of the class behind that.''
But on Sunday, EMS had the class of the field in Kahne.
And he hopes he's prepared to be that way again at Richmond.
"We've had really good meetings and plans,'' said Evernham, who watched Mayfield win at Richmond two years ago to make the Chase. "Everybody knows the strategy. They've tested. We actually ran well at Richmond in the spring. Again, that's where we had one of our engine problems.
"It should not be too much of a hectic week getting ready to go there.''