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August 17, 2006
Mayfield vs. Evernham Gets Uglier
Just when I think the war between Jeremy Mayfield and Ray Evernham couldn't get any worse, it does. Yesterday, court documents from the suit Mayfield filed against Evernham seeking payment for the rest of the season after he was released, were made public. And both parties took their best shots at each other. Mayfield and his business manager, Dale Cagle, claim that Evernham's relationship with Evernham Motorsports driver Erin Crocker hurt the team, because Evernham wasn't involved with its operations as he had been in the past. Evernham responded by saying in his affidavit, that Mayfield breached their contract by not giving his full effort towards competing, including deliberately wrecking his car, and made disparaging remarks about Evernham personally as well as his organization. I'd like to say I'm amazed by how nasty this has gotten, but I'm not. Months ago, I heard some things that Mayfield was supposedly saying about Ray, which is pretty much what he said in those court documents. At the time it was clear that Mayfield wanted out and I predicted that things would get extremely ugly, and unfortunately I was right.
Mayfield said the following in his affidavit,
"For significant periods of time [Evernham] has been, at best, an absentee manager and owner, largely because, ... at some point in time Ray Evernham had entered into an [sic] close personal relationship with a female driver he engages to drive on NASCAR's ARCA, truck and Busch Series. That relationship became a subject of considerable discussion and distraction in the Nextel Cup garage area during the 2006 season."
and Cagle said,
"During the 2006 season, however, apparently because he was preoccupied by his personal relationship with a female driver Evernham engaged to drive on the ARCA, Busch and Truck Series, Ray Evernham has not been actively involved or engaged in the affairs or operation of the team."
I have absolutely no idea what the specifics are of the relationship between Evernham and Crocker, though it's likely that they are involved on a level that is greater than that of just owner and driver. I also think that it's a problem for Evernham to be dating one of his employees - that's just not a good idea. It sets up all sorts of questions about preferrential treatment and puts him in a position to be sued for sexual harassment if things go bad. I also think it's a career killer for Crocker, because most are going to assume that she got her ride, and has kept her ride in spite of poor results, because she's sleeping with her owner. I think it will be very difficult for her to get other teams to believe in her should she leave EMS. In addition, both of their reputations are pretty much ruined in the garage area and with fans - Nascar is a conservative sport and appearances do matter. Which makes me wonder what Crocker's sponsor, Betty Crocker (no relation) thinks about all of this? Or EMS's sponsors? All of that said, as inappropriate as I think the relationship might be, both are consenting adults. If they are willing to risk their reputations, and in Crocker's case, possibly her career, to be together, who am I to judge them as people?
Evernham said that he felt that Mayfield deliberately sabatoged the team. From the article,
Evernham said that Mayfield inexplicably pitted late in the Pocono race July 23 because of a flat tire that turned out to have nothing wrong with it. He also said that Mayfield brushed the wall at Indianapolis and "based on my experience, I believed that Mayfield's conduct in wrecking the car was on purpose."
I can believe that a driver might give up on his team and might not give 100% effort. However, I find it extremely hard to believe that a driver would deliberately wreck themselves into a wall. We've seen Dale Earnhardt, Jr. deliberately spin himself to bring out a caution. But put themselves into a wall? I can't see any driver willingly doing that. While there have been many safety advances through the years, and there's the safer barrier at most tracks, this remains a dangerous sport. I would be extremely disappointed to find out that Mayfield or any other driver deliberately wreceked themselves.
He also said that Mayfield has had communication problems with team members,
"Mayfield, however, has not interacted well with other personnel on his team at Evernham Motorsports and has had five crew chiefs in five years because of his inability to get along with them."
I didn't realize that Mayfield has had five crew chiefs in five years. However, it's not unusual for there to be a lot of turnover with crew chiefs. It can be difficult for a driver to find a crew chief they click with - just ask Michael Waltrip who's on his fouth crew chief this season alone! Ideally every driver would find a crew chief that's perfect for them early on and be able to stay with that person through their entire tenure at an organization. But with a few exceptions, that's often not what happens.
Supossedly there's a settlement in this suit. Mayfield may end up getting his money, and he may feel that he "won." But I don't think there are any winner in this mess.
Posted by silverdsl at August 17, 2006 10:05 AM