A Slender Thread Of Rainbow Warrior Hope?

There’s an excellent interview of Ray Evernham by Mike Hembree over at Scene Daily.  Evernham sounds like a man who’s had more than enough; a classic case of industrial strength burnout.  Definitely worth the read.

The quote that most grabbed my attention is (emphasis mine):

NS: Have you shut the door on team ownership or on being a crew chief again?

Evernham: I have no desire to own a team again. I just have no desire to own a team. As far as crew-chiefing, I was Jeff Gordon’s crew chief. I will never be anybody else’s crew chief. Would I like to go and help Steve Letarte (Gordon’s current crew chief) in some way to help Jeff Gordon get back to winning races and winning a championship? I think Jeff can win championships. I think Steve is a great crew chief. That would probably be the only two guys who would get me back to the track to work on a race car.

Now, a quote from a recent most excellent interview by Bram of Backstretch Motorsports (get well, will ya?) of Jack Roush:

DO YOU THINK JEFF GORDON’S WINLESS SEASON HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH A MENTAL BLOCK OR HIGH FRUSTRATION LEVEL WITH THIS CAR? “I know a little bit about Jeff Gordon in terms of the feedback that I’ve gotten from Mark Martin and from the other people that have been around him and he doesn’t like a loose race car. This car has got to be pretty darn loose to be able to have the speed in it, so if the first thing you do is tighten the car up and you say, ‘Now we’re going to try and make it fast,’ you’ve probably created a scenario for yourself where the car won’t have the speed. I’m not being critical of Jeff, but I think that’s what’s going on. In my field of drivers, I’ve got drivers that have got a preference for a car that’s looser than other drivers. The drivers that have a preference for the looser cars are the ones that have stood supreme, and the ones that have an aversion to that have struggled.”

You can no doubt see where this one’s headed.

I suspect Evernham is being publicly kind about Letarte.  Have you ever heard a current or former crew chief talk down another crew chief?  Never happens.  Ever.

Granted, Letarte is in a tough spot.  The car’s nature goes against Gordon’s driving style.  It sounds simple enough to snark, “Well, if he’s as great a driver as you say he is why doesn’t he change what he’s doing to match the new car?”  Oh, that it was that simple.  You take something you’ve done most every day for seventeen years — remember Gordon’s entry into NASCAR was in the then-Busch series in 1990 — and then have what ostensibly is the same deal come your way when in reality everything you’re used to being a certain way is no longer applicable.

That said, Letarte is no Chad Knaus, possessing the innate knack of making the exact right adjustment at the exact right time.  When you have a car which at its core is ill-suited for your driver, you have zero margin for error.  You have to be spot on every single time.  Letarte isn’t that good.

Evernham was.

Could he be again?

After the wringer he’s been through, sitting atop Jeff Gordon’s pit box would be paid rest and relaxation for Evernham.  Although the faithful fan base such as yours truly still believe, no one expects Gordon to win another championship.  Other drivers are younger and hungrier; he’s too focused on Ingrid (can you blame him?) and Ella; he’s been making ever louder noises about walking away soon.  The expectations are lower.  Even with the phenomenal success Gordon and Evernham enjoyed together, should they team up once more the talk will be how everything has changed and their time has passed.  In short, Gordon and Evernham would have everyone right where they want them: not paying attention as their focus is on Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

Granted, it’s all conjecture and idle speculation bordering on even more idle wishing.  Still, it’s enough to make this #24 fan quietly smile.  After last season, going into this season I need all the smiles I can get.