{"id":10845,"date":"2024-04-11T19:37:56","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T19:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/?p=10845"},"modified":"2024-04-24T15:16:50","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T15:16:50","slug":"review-ray-evernhams-trophies-and-scars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/?p=10845","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Ray Evernham\u2019s \u2018Trophies and Scars\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From the man who turned Jeff Gordon into a serial winner in NASCAR\u2019s Winston Cup. From the man who brought Dodge back to the winner\u2019s circle in NASCAR. Ray Evernham\u2019s autobiography \u2018Trophies and Scars\u2019 is an entertaining, insightful read.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Jersey\u2019s Ray Evernham is one of NASCAR\u2019s miracle men. A \u2018modified\u2019 racer himself, Evernham first got noticed when he built a new generation of IROC cars in 1983. Ten years on, Evernham was part of an incredible partnership that would grab hold of the Winston Cup for years on end. In Dupont rainbow colours, with the #24 Chevrolet, a young Jeff Gordon and his untried crew chief were to bring Hendrick Motorsport to a new level of fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Octane Press<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rainbow Warriors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Evernham\u2019s strategy to introduce a dedicated pit crew \u2013 the \u2018Rainbow Warriors<\/a>\u2019 over the wall made his car gain seconds over the competition. It took them some time to catch on. Later on, Evernham became a team owner on his own, bringing Dodge back to NASCAR and into the winner\u2019s circle. Having sold his team, Ray Evernham found himself part of another famous team: ESPN\u2019s NASCAR commentary team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jeff Gordon and crew chief Ray Evernham in Victory Lane after winning the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, 1997. Photo ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images\/NASCAR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hazlet, New Jersey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In his book \u2018Trophies and Scars\u2019, Evernham told his life story to author Joe Garner, who did an outstanding job at bringing Evernham\u2019s words to life. I\u2019m not sure if Evernham is a funny guy. In fact, I doubt it, really. But at the beginning of his book, I found myself grinning every now and then. There is this whole young, innocent, country vibe that flows through the pages as Everham describes his early years in Hazlet, New Jersey. The picture painted seems to come straight from Back to the Future. The parallels to Springsteen songs are easily drawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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24 Mar 2001: Driver Bill Elliott and owner Ray Evernham pose beside the newly unveiled “Champions” #9 Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dealers Intrepid R\/T featuring the image of boxer Muhammad Ali during the NASCAR Winston Cup Food City 500 at Bristol Motorspeedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Photo Robert Laberge\/ALLSPORT\/NASCAR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Life lessons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Usually, racing biographies tend to skip the formative years all too easily, whereas here, they help you get a feel for the character. As the pages progress, you start to understand how Ray Evernham saw racing take over his life. In the beginning, he wouldn\u2019t have been all that different from you and me, maybe he was aware of life\u2019s lessons earlier than most of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he picks up on the street racing theme, it\u2019s all too easy to hear your mental jukebox sticking Springsteen\u2019s \u2018Racing in the Streets\u2019 on repeat. Only for Evernham to draw the only conclusion most of us take a lot longer to reach: lucky we managed to come out of that alive. If anything, youth needs in the presence of powerful cars, it\u2019s plenty of luck. Or a guardian angel riding shotgun, as Evernham puts it. It\u2019s sobering, for a racer\u2019s book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Evernham Motorsports announce plans for Erin Crocker to drive the #98 Betty Crocker Dodge in the NASCAR Busch Series for the 2006 season. Driver Erin Crocker and team owner Ray Evernham pose with the #98 Cheerio’s Betty Crocker Dodge. Photo Rusty Jarrett\/Getty Images\/NASCAR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NASCAR politics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I found the (few) sections about regrets the most interesting in his book. Not mistakes, but decisions\/actions he looks back on with regret. It\u2019s not often successful people in racing open up on human failure, about not seeing the big picture at that time, but seeing it later on. It shows wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Trophies and Scars\u2019 offers a very interesting insight into how NASCAR worked in the nineties. A professional sport as any other, but still with room for individual improvements that could prove to be a game changer and decide upon winning or losing. Evernham\u2019s book is a highly interesting manifesto on winning in a team sport, even though he is clever enough to never fully explain how some of his changes made the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially on the technical side, you often get a feeling at first you are learning something, but give it a second read and you notice there is no real answer to the \u2018ok, but how did you actually do this\u2019 question. Not an oversight, and not a shortcoming, but probably a case of the chef deciding he is only going to give so much of the kitchen\u2019s secrets away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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NASCAR Hall of Fame Members Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham pose for a photo during the 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Charlotte Convention Center on February 01, 2019. Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images\/NASCAR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Save the show<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whereas Evernham keeps a tight lid on his own secrets, he is more generous at disclosing the inner workings of NASCAR. It\u2019s especially interesting for Europeans who might have followed Jeff Gordon\u2019s dominance in the mid-nineties from a distance, to now read about much of the politics involved. Especially the parts on NASCAR\u2019s attempts to save the show at all costs – even if that means disqualifying a competitor who would become too dominant – resonate strongly in these days where balance of performance (over)regulates many of the racing series. NASCAR was there, years before the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ray Evernham was chief mechanic for Jeff Gordon during his title-winning years of 1995, 1997, and 1998, on the Rick Hendrick team. Photo by ISC Archives via Getty Images\/NASCAR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At $34.95 (\u20ac42), the hardcover paper book is within everyone\u2019s reach. And the e-book is just $9.99. If there is a let-down, it\u2019s the variable quality in the photo reproduction. But other than that, this Octane Press book (344 pages) proved fast-paced, entertaining and honest\u2026 without being too honest. A description that fits Ray Evernham to a tee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Available online and through most book retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Octanepress.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Ray Evernham & Joe Garner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISBN: 9781642341461<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher: Octane Press<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pages: 344<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price: $34.95<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the man who turned Jeff Gordon into a serial winner in NASCAR. Ray Evernham\u2019s autobiography \u2018Trophies and Scars\u2019 is an entertaining, insightful read.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[960,1436,1525,1528,1527,1025,1039,303,1155,1524,1526,924],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-10845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-books","tag-chevrolet","tag-daytona-500","tag-dodge","tag-espn","tag-hendrick-motorsports","tag-iroc","tag-jeff-gordon","tag-nascar","tag-octane-press","tag-ray-evernham","tag-rick-hendrick","tag-winston-cup","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/2010-HOF-August-Evolution-Of-The-Pit-Stop-Jeff-Gordon-With-24-Car.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10845"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11004,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10845\/revisions\/11004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10845"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fthb-sponsors&post=10845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}