Ok...So we've all read about Jeremy Mayfield being fired by Ray Evernham. And maybe I have to agree that Jeremy's performance this year has not been outstanding. But, come on, people...I'm not a big fan of Jeremy's but I thought his firing was down and dirty...and THEN I found out the REAL reason Ray was so upset about Jeremy saying something to the press about his absence. Dale Cagle, business manager for Mayfield Motorsports Inc. HAS went on record to say that Erin and Ray Evernham have a very close, personal relationship. I guess Ray didn't want the news of his relationship with Erin Crocker getting to the media...which must be the real reason that Jeremy had a media representative following him around in his last days of Ray Evernham. This is what what was said in court during their settlement discussions..and yes people, it's on paper:
"Mayfield Motorsports said that for significant periods of time, Ray Evernham was an absentee owner and manager at best largely because at some point he had entered into a close personal relationship with a female driver that he engages on Nascar's ARCA, truck and Busch series. That relationship became a subject of considerable discussion and distraction in the Nextel cup garage during the 2006 season."
Cagle says this in a court affidavit regarding his preoccupation with the female driver as being the reason Jeremy said something regarding his absence. Now, we all have our differing opinions as to whether or not Jeremy should have said something about Ray's absence...but now that I find out the reason WHY Ray was such an absentee owner..I'm irritated, disgusted, and I totally think Jeremy Mayfield should get another chance!
Now, I personally do not care what people do in their personal lives, but this isn't personal and for a lot of reasons.
I'm a female and I was so happy to see female drivers in Nascar (although I must admit I do not think that they are aggressive enough). But with this little tidbit of news, I am left wondering exactly how Erin Crocker got to be where she is, as I am sure most people will be.
This means nothing but harm not just for females who want to try and get into racing, but for the ones already there. Is Nascar going to start having casting cars for tryouts instead of races? The majority of males already make jokes and give the females, whether drivers or fans, a difficult time...this just adds to the fodder for disrespect! It's a stunning blow to Nascar in all ways, shapes, and forms.
I don't care for Evernham and if he did engage in a relationsip with Erin than it shows his contempt for Nascar and lack of respect for her. She certainly shares responsibility in this as well.
I wish Kasey was in a different camp because he is a great talent and right now Ray is lucky to have a driver like him.
I like Sadler but question his decision to work for Evernham. I think he could have done better.
mtc: Thanks for the comment..I really think that Evernham dealt all of us Nascar fans, male and female alike, a low blow. I like Kasey and Sadler too and I really hope that Ray takes his attention off of Erin enough to make these drivers have the teams they deserve. MICHIGAN!!! Oh my my! You can feel the tension, it's palpable! This is not a race you want to miss! I think that there are going to be a lot of surprises in Michigan this weekend! Stay tuned! :-)
Last edited by SouthernCindi on August 17th at 8:08 AM.
It's a shame, wasn't Mayfield in the "Chase" a few years ago? But like every other job, he'll get replaced by some 20 year old with no experience, but a fast car, and that guy will prosper.
MrNFL: Thank you for your comment. Yes, some other person will prosper hopefully (I'm not too sure considering Ray HASN'T been around the Nextel's garages!). Kasey Kahne is a very good driver, has had some bad luck, but that happens to them all. Sadler, I feel, is taking a risk with Ray. We shall see.
Postscript: If you want a preview of the Nextel race watch the Busch race on TNT Sunday. A lot of the contenders will be driving including Tony Stewart...should be interesting.
Hey Southern Fried Cindi( having some fun there) it is to bad about Jeremy Mayfield. When he started in NASCar in the mid 90's I watched him and Tony all the time. Now it is down to Tony and if Jeff Burton comes back that would be good for NASCAR.
Hey HockeyBoy! Thanks for commenting as always. Well..this entire sordid drama is worse than usual for Nascar. I think Jeremy Mayfield has a lot to give, but I've raced before and also have been on a team, and if you don't have the right team, or if there is dissension within the team...you won't win. Same as any sport really. I think Jeff Burton still has a lot to give to the fans too, but we shall soon see if it's going to be this year or 2007.
Oh...and I cook the best fried chicken you have ever tasted, melts in your mouth. :-)
Last edited by SouthernCindi on August 18th at 2:49 PM.
Wings, I am SO sorry hon. Please accept my humble and heartfelt apologies. I was multitasking and slipped. Forgive me???? Please??? I fixed it hon...I truly did not mean to do that. Um..and what is LGRW????
Last edited by SouthernCindi on August 18th at 2:50 PM.
SouthernCindi I have to agree with you on one point that the way Evernham went about firing Mayfield was down and dirty. But you have to remember, Mayfield let it be known earlier that he wanted out of his contract with Evernham Motorsports. He is the one who went to the media and blasted his owner and had nothing but criticism for the way his team was performing.
Mayfield could have handled this situation alot better, but he wanted out of his contract and he found away to make it happend. If a driver feels that he and his team are being let down by an owner, don't take it to the media. Take it behind closed doors and workout a release for that driver. Mayfield was very unprofessional about what he did.
Now I am not going to let Evernham off that easy. He is the owner of these teams and he should have been on top of the fact that he had a driver who was not happy. He should have sat Jeremy down and they had a talk. If they could not have worked out the problem, then give the driver his release and let him seek a ride elsewhere.
As far as Evernham and Crocker he should be ashamed that he is 49 years old and going after a woman who is half his age (25 years old). And I have heard that Evernham and his wife have filed for divorce. It was shortly after I heard about their divorce that the story about Erin and Ray broke. Makes you wonder if Mrs. Evernham knew about this and decided to kick Ray to the curb.
TsFan: Thank you for your comments. I agree actually that there should have been more communication and it's just sad that this whole situation is a public one. I have heard from good sources that Ray and Erin have been playing footsy for a while so I suppose Mrs. Evernham certainly wouldn't put up with it. But my main gripe is that instead of showing fans what a good driver she could be..and working hard on her racing..she chose instead to play with the boss. The jokes about her driving were bad enough..but this just makes it so much worse for female fans and drivers. I will not support Evernham Racing in any way now. But on a personal level, I do like Kasey and Sadler, both seem like decent people. I hope it works out for them.
It should be interesting to see how Erin Crocker handles the media on Wednesday night, or maybe how the media handles her. I thought Ray Evernham did a terrible job on Sunday, stuttering every time he said the words 'personal life'.
My obsession is Nascar, always has, always will. I also enjoy sports of almost any kind, competition is just something I enjoy. I'm not a little girl, but a woman with a son that's grown and out of the house(YAY). I was blessed to be born on the southern side of the Mason-Dixon line. I love racing, I love everything to do with racing and will continue to love it till the day I die. !
