Evernham Motorsports

Ray Evernham founded Evernham Motorsports in 2000. He had previously won three championships as crew chief for Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports. Evernham was named a team manager and owner for Daimler Chrysler's return to NASCAR's top level through their Dodge brand, leading the development of the Intrepid R/T race car, which debuted in 2001. The team operated with direct factory backing and sponsorship from Dodge. The team originally operated out of the former facility of Bill Elliott Racing. In August 2007, George N. Gillett Jr., owner of the Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C., purchased a majority stake in the race team, leading to the Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) era. Ray Evernham retained substantial ownership and the role of CEO, while the Gillett family handled the business end. GEM hired financial executives, including Tom Reddin as CEO. At the beginning of the 2008 season, GEM signed a technical and marketing agreement with Robby Gordon, with plans to absorb Robby Gordon Motorsports, but the deal fell through, and GEM sued Gordon. After the 2008 season, A. J. Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson were signed to drive for the team, while Elliott Sadler was released and planned to sue. In January 2009, amid a struggling economy, GEM merged with Petty Enterprises to form Richard Petty Motorsports. Ray Evernham was not involved in the merger negotiations, and both he and Richard Petty held minority shares in the new team.

On November 16, 2001, Ultra Motorsports announced a joint venture with Evernham Motorsports, switching to Dodge Intrepids from Ford. Casey Atwood, who had been driving Evernham's No. 19 and needed a ride after Jeremy Mayfield became the team's second driver, took over the No. 7 car for the 2002 season. The venture was known as Ultra-Evernham Motorsports. Sirius Satellite Radio sponsored the No. 7 car in 2002. Atwood struggled, with a 29.4 average finish. The partnership dissolved after Atwood was removed from the car with two races left in the season, with Jason Leffler named interim driver. Jimmy Spencer took over the car in 2003 for the independent Ultra Motorsports Dodge.

The No. 9 car debuted in the 2001 Daytona 500 with Dodge's return to NASCAR. Bill Elliott, the 1988 Winston Cup Series champion, joined Evernham as a driver and resumed the No. 9. Elliott won the pole for the Daytona 500 and finished fifth. He secured his first win in seven years at Homestead–Miami Speedway and finished 15th in points. Elliott scored two wins and finished 13th in points in 2002. His final career win was at Rockingham Speedway in fall 2003. After finishing ninth in points that season, Elliott stepped down from his full-time ride to drive the team's research and development car.

Elliott was replaced by rookie driver Kasey Kahne for the 2004 season. Tommy Baldwin Jr. served as crew chief. Kahne earned four poles and 14 Top 10 finishes, winning Rookie of the Year honors. In 2005, he won the spring Richmond race but finished 23rd in the final standings. In 2006, Kahne won six races, including the Coca-Cola 600, and made his first Chase for the Nextel Cup, finishing eighth in the standings. His six wins were a series high that year, and he tied for the most pole awards with six. Budweiser sponsored the No. 9 car starting in 2008. In his first year with Budweiser sponsorship, Kahne had two wins and finished 14th in points.

In 2006, Scott Riggs and his Valvoline sponsorship moved to the team. Valvoline also maintained an ownership stake, with the team referred to as Valvoline-Evernham Motorsports. Riggs finished 20th in the standings despite missing the Daytona 500. In 2007, Riggs failed to qualify for six races and had five DNFs. He was released with two races remaining and replaced by former Champ Car driver Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier became the full-time driver in 2008. With Valvoline taking a backseat and Stanley Tools moving to the No. 19, GEM signed LifeLock for eight races. Charter Communications and Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper also sponsored races. Carpentier struggled, missing five races and was out of the Top 35 in points when he was released after Kansas. Second-year driver A. J. Allmendinger replaced Carpentier. Allmendinger posted three Top 15s in his five races for GEM. He was initially rewarded with a full-time ride in the No. 19, replacing Elliott Sadler, but this was complicated by Sadler's intent to sue and the signing of Reed Sorenson as a third driver.

The No. 19 car was Evernham Motorsports' first entry in the Cup series, debuting in the 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond International Raceway as the No. 19 Motorola-sponsored Ford with driver Casey Atwood. Atwood finished 19th in that race and tenth at Homestead. For Evernham's full-time debut in 2001, Atwood drove the No. 19, teammate to Bill Elliott in the No. 9, as part of Dodge's return to NASCAR. Atwood won the pole at Phoenix International Raceway and nearly won at Homestead. In 2002, Evernham replaced Atwood with Jeremy Mayfield. Mayfield struggled in his initial year, posting just four top tens. He won a pole at Talladega Superspeedway in 2003 and improved to 19th in points. 2004 saw Mayfield win at Richmond and make the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup. He claimed another win in 2005 and qualified for the Chase again. After an early-race crash in the 2006 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, owner Ray Evernham replaced Mayfield with Bill Elliott for the Watkins Glen race, citing a lack of performance. Mayfield blamed his lack of performance and termination on Evernham's involvement with development driver Erin Crocker.

On August 16, Elliott Sadler was named the driver of the No. 19 car for the remainder of 2006 and for the 2007 season. Sadler qualified second and finished tenth in his first race, and later scored a sixth-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Sadler finished 22nd in driver points in 2006, and 25th in 2007. In November 2007, Best Buy was announced as a sponsor for 2008, along with Stanley and McDonald's. On December 27, 2008, GEM announced A. J. Allmendinger would replace Sadler in the No. 19 for 2009. Sadler's attorney announced he would seek a breach of contract lawsuit, but a settlement was reached that would return Sadler to the No. 19 for 2009 while keeping Allmendinger with the team.

The No. 98 car started as the No. 91 in 2002. Dick Trickle, Hank Parker Jr., and Casey Atwood drove the No. 91. Atwood drove the No. 91 Mountain Dew sponsored Dodge at Pocono in 2003. In 2004, Bill Elliott relinquished his full-time duties to drive the No. 91 part-time. Elliott also ran three races in a No. 98 Dodge under his own Bill Elliott Racing banner, utilizing Evernham equipment and crew. He returned to drive the No. 91 part-time in 2005.

The No. 9 Ultimate Chargers Busch team started as the No. 6 Pepsi-sponsored Dodge Intrepid for Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2002. Wally Dallenbach Jr. drove the car. In 2004, Unilever backed the Hungry Drivers program. In October 2004, Evernham Motorsports acquired Tommy Baldwin Racing and the Hungry Drivers program. Paul Wolfe was awarded the No. 6 Busch seat for 2005 but was let go after four races. Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield drove the No. 6, with Kahne scoring the team's first win at Kansas. Erin Crocker made her Busch Series debut with the team. In 2006, a number switch with Roush Racing gave Evernham the No. 9. Kahne, Mayfield, and Scott Riggs were the main drivers. Crocker also shared driving duties. Kahne won twice at Las Vegas and Fontana. In 2007, Kahne won at Charlotte and Bristol. Elliott Sadler, Scott Riggs, Boris Said, and Chase Miller also shared driving duties. In 2008, Unilever continued sponsorship with Kahne, Sadler, Patrick Carpentier, and Chase Miller sharing driving duties. The team failed to record a win, with two second-place finishes. Later in the year, Unilever moved to JR Motorsports, and the team moved to a part-time schedule for 2009.

In the 2003 season, the team debuted with Jeremy Mayfield driving the No. 79 Dodge Intrepid with Mountain Dew sponsorship. The team returned in 2005, with Kahne and Mayfield sharing driving duties. In the last race of the 2007 season, Patrick Carpentier made his second Busch Series start in the No. 19 sponsored by Stanley. Chase Miller drove the car as a second GEM car in select Nationwide Series races in 2008.

In 2002, Casey Atwood ran a Dodge-sponsored No. 19 car at Pocono Raceway in the ARCA Racing Series, winning the race from the pole. In 2005, Erin Crocker made her ARCA Racing Series debut in a No. 98 Dodge at Nashville Superspeedway, winning the pole and finishing 12th. Crocker ran six more ARCA races in 2006 and moved to NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series full-time with sponsorship from General Mills brands Cheerios and Betty Crocker. The Truck Series team closed at the end of the season. Crocker returned to ARCA for 12 races in 2007, winning the pole at Daytona and her third consecutive Kentucky pole.

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