517 - Ray Evernham: The Secret Alliance With Dale Earnhardt

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reunites with legendary NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham to talk about his new book and catch up on his life since his last appearance in 2020. The book, titled “Trophies and Scars” is an autobiography that Ray explains is designed to help show his family and friends who have helped him along the way how he’s evolved over the years. Ray says that a couple of the bigger moments outlined in the book are how the success of fellow modified racer Tony Siscone inspired him to take things to the next level in 1983 and his departure from Hendrick Motorsports in 1999. Dale also inquired more about Ray leaving Jeff Gordon and what in retrospect could have been done to prevent the split from happening. They dive into Ray’s growth from being a journeyman chassis engineer to one of the most prominent crew chiefs in the ‘90s, to which Ray credits taking lessons from other leaders like Jeff Hammond and reading books written by successful coaches. Ray discusses having great admiration for Dale Earnhardt Sr. but having to learn to turn it off when it came to competing on track. The interview also goes on to discuss Ray’s time with IROC in the ‘80s and how he came to acquire the name and trademark this year, his future plans for the once legendary series, his departure from SRX and how he helped revolutionize the NASCAR Cup pit crew.