2006 Racing Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com

Evernham Motorsports fielded these
two Dodge racers in the last race of
the 2005 season at Homestead, Fla.
Evernham drivers like Riggs will
continue to benefit from the experience
of 1988 Winston Cup Champion
Bill Elliott. Driving part-time
now, Elliott is still a big contributor.
Since the 2004 season, “Awesome
Bill” has been supporting research
and development and coaching.
This season also finds the cars
with a new look. Mayfield’s car
sports the Dodge trademark in red
on the hood and roof and the
UAW insignia on the sides, but
carries black doors and fenders
with red numbers on the side;
Kahne’s shows off white doors
and fenders with black numbers.
2005 Lessons Learned
While Evernham’s 2005 season was
disappointing overall, there were highlights
and opportunities. Mayfield’s
win and a sixth-place finish in the September
race at Richmond qualified him
for the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR
Nextel Cup for the second consecutive
year. “I’m proud of this team for making
the Chase twice in a row,” Mayfield
says. “That’s cool.”
‘‘
IS HIS TEAMS UP
THAT’S WHERE
RAY EVERNHAM DOES
A GREAT JOB. HE SAYS
ALL HE WANTS TO
DO IS WIN RACES,
ALL HE WANTS TO SEE
‘‘
FRONT. HE’S MAKING
SURE THEY’RE MUCH
BETTER IN 2006.
KASEY KAHNE
What wasn’t cool was the bad luck
at the track and the difficulty setting up
the Charger in the garage that plagued
Mayfield throughout the Chase. The
Charger nose proved problematic,
earning the blame for a disappointing
performance in traffic and at the 1.5-
and 2-mile tracks. With the Intrepid in
2004, Dodges led more laps and won
one more race. Near the end of 2005,
Dodge tried unsuccessfully to get NAS-
CAR to agree to run the 2005 Dodge
Charger with an Intrepid-like nose.
But Dodge was allowed to run three
Intrepids in the season’s last race at
Homestead. Evernham spent the
off-season tweaking the structure.
This season, Mayfield hopes better
preparation will head off problems.
“As long as we don’t leave
anything on the table when we leave
the shop,” he says, “we should be
able to win a championship.”
Kahne, who was never in the
hunt for the Chase in 2005, says,
“The biggest thing I need to do this
season to get into the Chase is give
better feedback to the crew.”
For Kahne and Mayfield, there
was a lot to do in the off-season. “That’s
where Ray Evernham does a great job,”
says Kahne. “He says all he wants to do
is win races, all he wants to see is his
teams up front. He’s making sure
they’re much better in 2006.”
Evernham emphatically seconds
that. “Until I’ve got a car in the Top 5
every week,” he says, “I’m not going to
be happy. We are in this to win the
championship.” ■
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