In the '90's Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon were unstoppable, unbeatable, phenomenal.  and simply unbelievable.  They were the Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus of the '90's.  Together they won 47 races and three championships. 

Evernham left Hendrick Motorsports at the end of 1999 to form his own race team, something he'd always dreamed of doing. He formed an arrangement with Dodge and with drivers such as Kasey Kahne, Casey Atwood, Bill Elliott, Elliott Sadler and Jeremy Mayfield he found success.  He even started developing drivers, such as Erin Crocker.  In 2006, Mayfield, always one of the biggest yakkers in the garage, accused Evernham of deserting the team so he could spend time with Erin Crocker.  The result of the accusation was the firing of Jeremy Mayfield and the effective end of his career. 

The economy eventually led Evernham to join forces with George Gillett, but that partnership never seemed to be all that Evernham wanted.  And further economical woes led to another merger, between Gillett-Evernham Racing and Petty Motorsports, forming Richard Petty Motorsports.

Although Ray Evernham has a minority ownership in Richard Petty Motorsports, he has nothing to do with the day to day operation of the company, and in fact, is more restricted on what he can and can't do in racing.

He and Erin were married earlier this year in Las Vegas and Ray started working with ESPN, improving their broadcast immensely.  He says he hopes to continue his broadcast efforts there along with his weekly guest shots on SIRIUS Satellite radios NASCAR Channel 128.  But it obviously isn't enough.

Ray is seeking to sever all ties with Richard Petty Motorsports, and the "non competition clause".  It couldn't be better for our sport, and I hope, beyond hope, he is successful in his quest.

NASCAR would be a better sport with Ray Evernham back in the garage.