Gordon, Evernham Are Vaunted Winning Combination

If Jeff Gordon can win his fifth consecutive NASCAR Winston Cup race Saturday night at Bristol, Tenn., he will be the first to accomplish that feat in the modern era. Richard Petty won 10 in a row in 1967, when the schedule had 48 races, but in NASCAR lore, the modern era began in 1972, when R.J. Reynolds began bankrolling the series.

Being the first is nothing new for the 27-year-old Gordon, nor for the man who has been his crew chief since before he drove his first Winston Cup car in 1993--Ray Evernham.

Gordon, Evernham and the Rainbow Warriors crew, so named for the multicolored No. 24 Chevrolet that Gordon drives, have won eight of 21 races this season, sat on the pole six times, won the Winston No Bull 5 and its $1-million bonus while becoming the first two-time winner of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.

The politically correct Gordon never misses a chance to praise Evernham, who will be 41 next Wednesday, and the men who work on the car.

“Ray and the crew just never give up,” he said after coming from well back to win at Michigan last Sunday. “We don’t ever give up until the checkered flag drops.”

The competition agrees.

Robert Yates, one of NASCAR’s premier engine builders and the owner of Dale Jarrett’s Ford, says, “Evernham is raising the whole level of the sport. He’s just really got it clicking.”

Said Terry Labonte, Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, “Jeff is really on a roll right now. We’ve seen that before with different people--Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip--and now it’s Jeff.

“They’ve got things figured out. They’ve got a good combination there with Ray and Jeff. They’re really communicating well. They’ve got the right setups in the car, and they unload with the right stuff. They’re never chasing it. They’re right when they get to the track until the time they leave.”

Evernham’s attention to detail might be as important to the team’s success as Gordon’s remarkable driving skill.

After each race, he compiles his own notes and notes from the chief mechanic, engine tuner, tire specialist and team engineer and reduces them to a three- or four page document that puts the weekend in a nutshell. That doesn’t include the mechanical inspection form that fills up 13 pages.

“There are three crews working all the time,” Evernham said. “One crew unloads the truck, inspects the race car and notes any damage and repairs that have to be made. Another crew works on the car for next weekend’s race and a third crew builds cars for upcoming weeks.

“Every Tuesday after work, we have pit practice behind the shop. Then we have our weekly team meeting, which is about the only time everyone, about 30 of us, are together at the same time. Jeff is usually there too.

“We sit around in a circle of chairs on the shop floor and talk about issues that concern the team. Anybody can say anything they feel needs to be said. We don’t use video or chalk talk, just an open forum for critiquing the team.

“Since I do most of the speaking, I try to emphasize education and motivation to keep us all focused on doing our best.”

Sandwiched between work and time with his family are personal appearances Evernham makes as the official spokesman for Ingersoll-Rand Professional Tools, much as Gordon does for Pepsi.

On race day, before the car is rolled to the starting line, it has been through a checklist with a name signed to every item.

“Each car has 32 pieces of paper attached to it, with all kinds of checklists and other information about decals, qualifying setup, race setup, build sheets, repair sheets, mileage tracking and more,” he said. “I may ask a guy about a certain item on the list, but I know it’s ready. That way, I have more time to talk to Jeff about strategy.”

Evernham and Gordon began working together in 1990, when car owner Hugh Connerty paired them for five Busch Grand National races. After those five races, 19-year-old Gordon went on to win the U.S. Auto Club midget championship and Evernham went home to New Jersey. Evernham later joined the late Alan Kulwicki’s team and Gordon raced a Ford in the 1991 Busch series for Bill Davis.

When Ray Hendrick offered Gordon a ride with his Chevrolet Winston Cup team toward the end of the 1992 season, he left Ford, and Evernham joined him. They’ve been together ever since, winning 37 races in 5 1/2 seasons.

“Our sport is like no other,” Evernham said. “In the NFL, if an equipment guy puts the wrong cleats on a guy’s shoes, he can change them real fast. Not in racing. There’s virtually no room for error. The best thing I can do is get the right people in the right job, then stand back and let them go.

“If they tell me the car is ready, I know it’s ready. Prioritizing, teamwork and having a positive attitude are the keys to success both on and off the track.”

LAST LAPS

Bill Donor, a former sports editor and race promoter who became commissioner of the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Assn. in 1994, has resigned and been replaced by Ned Allen, a Florida businessman and boat racer. The next unlimited race is at Madison, Ind., on Labor Day, followed by the Ralphs/ Food4Less Bill Muncey Cup on San Diego’s Mission Bay on Sept. 20.

Scott Pruett, who did all the testing to develop Firestone tires for Pat Patrick in 1994, will replace Robby Gordon on the Arciero-Wells CART team next year. Pruett, a two-time winner in seven CART seasons, will be a teammate of Max Papis on a two-car Toyota entry.

“CART racing is the ultimate in musical chairs,” Pruett said. “It is the time of the year when rumors are flying and I’m glad this one has been put to rest.”

The NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour drivers make their final outing before the Los Angeles street race Saturday night on a three-eighths-mile paved oval at Erie, Colo. Former champion Steve Portenega of Sparks, Nev., holds a narrow lead, 1,458 points to 1,415 over veteran M.K. Kanke of Granada Hills after 10 of 16 races. The L.A. race is Sept. 7, near the Coliseum.

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This Week’s Races

WINSTON CUP, Goody’s 500

* Schedule: Today, first-round qualifying, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 3 p.m.); Saturday, second-round qualifying, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.), race, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN).

* Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, 0.533 miles, 36 degrees banking in corners, 16 degrees in straightaways), Bristol, Tenn.

* Race distance: 266.5 miles, 500 laps.

* Defending champion: Dale Jarrett.

* Last week: Jeff Gordon became the seventh driver in modern NASCAR history to win four straight races, taking advantage of a late caution period to win the Pepsi 400 at Brooklyn, Mich. Gordon took the lead with eight laps to go, then easily held off Bobby Labonte by 1.826 seconds.

* Next race: New Hampshire 300, Aug. 30, Loudon, N.H.

*

BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL, Food City 250

* Schedule: Today, 1 p.m.; race, 4:30 (ESPN).

* Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, 0.533 miles, 36 degrees banking in corners, 16 degrees in straightaways), Bristol, Tenn.

* Race distance: 133.25 miles, 250 laps.

* Defending champion: Jimmy Spencer.

* Last week: Winston Cup regular Jeff Burton won the Pepsi 200 at Brooklyn, Mich., beating Bobby Labonte by 0.225 seconds. Burton has two victories this year and eight in his BGN career.

* Next race: Duralube 200, Sept. 5, Darlington, S.C.

*

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS, Lund Look 275K

* Schedule: Saturday, first-round qualifying, 10:15 a.m.; Sunday, second-round qualifying, 7:30 a.m.; Sunday, race, 11 a.m. (TNN).

* Track: Heartland Park Topeka (road course, 2.1 miles, 14 turns).

* Race distance: 170.1 miles, 81 laps, Topeka, Kan.

* Defending champion: Joe Ruttman.

* Last week: Jimmy Hensley won the Federated Auto Parts 250 at Nashville, giving Richard Petty his first series victory as a team owner. Hensley, 52, started 30th in the 34 truck field. He is the first driver in series history to win from a provisional starting position.

* Next race: Kroger 225, Aug. 29, Louisville, Ky.

*

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSN., Visionaire Northstar Nationals

* Schedule: Today, qualifying, noon and 4 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.; Sunday, final eliminations, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN2, tape, 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.).

* Track: Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minn.

* Defending champion: Cory McClenathan.

* Last event: Joe Amato won the top fuel competition in the Northwest Nationals on Aug. 2, beating McClenathan in the final. Ron Capps won the funny car final and Warren Johnson topped the pro stock division.

* Next event: U.S. Nationals, Sept. 2-7, Indianapolis.