| | HARRISBURG, N.C. -- Five days on the job. One race. One win.
The transition from Ray Evernham to Brian Whitesell as crew
chief for Jeff Gordon appeared seamless at the start.
But Whitesell isn't expecting his new job to be as easy as it
looked in his first week as the leader of Gordon's Rainbow Warriors
team.
"Now it's that much more pressure," Whitesell said after the
victory Sunday in Martinsville, Va. "Jeff won the race the first
time. From here it could be a letdown."
|  | | Brian Whitesell, left, knows things can't get any better for he and Jeff Gordon than they were last week in Martinsville. |
Nobody is expecting that, though. Whitesell has been thoroughly
schooled by Evernham, who brought the younger man -- at 35, nine
years his junior -- with him to Hendrick Motorsports six years ago.
He made Whitesell his protege.
Although hardly anyone outside the team knew of him, Whitesell
was never far from Evernham's side. In fact, the two men shared the
exalted pit perch on top of the team's giant tool box, where all
crew chiefs work on race day.
The biggest difference is that Whitesell is now the man talking
with Gordon on the radio -- instead of just listening and making
notes -- and the one making the decisions.
Whitesell's first big decision, leaving Gordon on the track
while other contenders pitted for tires late in the race in
Martinsville, resulted in Gordon's 48th career victory and first
without Evernham along for the celebration.
Once the elation subsided, Gordon reflected on the big change.
"Our communication was great, but it was strange, awkward not
having Ray there, especially going to Victory Lane," Gordon said.
"It was emotional. We were missing a key link that got us to where
we are today. It was definitely bittersweet."
But Gordon said he fully supports Evernham's decision to leave
the Hendrick operation to start his own team.
|
“ |
The minute Ray walked out the door, then
no longer were things done exactly the way Ray did them. Now, I'm making the
decisions instead of Ray. ” |
|
|
— Brian Whitesell |
Evernham is expected to lead Chrysler's return to NASCAR in 2001
and the company has scheduled a news conference for Oct. 14 in New
York.
"The biggest thing is that we all are clear on what the future
is," the three-time Winston Cup champion said. "I'm really happy
for Ray. When he told me the things he has planned in the future,
there's no way I could tell him honestly that was the wrong thing
for him to do.
"I know what drives Ray. I know what his ambitions are. It's a
perfect situation for him. I'm happy for him, but we miss him."
If any of Gordon's competitors figure that the change might
cause friction or problems within the organization, the driver
insists it won't. He has considerable confidence in Whitesell.
"He's been side-by-side with Ray," Gordon said. "He's either
been involved with the decisions or heard Ray make them. He's
learned from the best."
If Evernham had remained with the Hendrick team, his role was
going to change. In fact, team president John Hendrick said there
was to be an announcement before Sunday's UAW-GM 500 at Lowe's
Motor Speedway that Evernham was stepping up to the job of general
manager for the three-car operation that includes Terry Labonte and
Wally Dallenbach.
"It was certainly a disappointment for us, but Ray is the one
who needs to make the decisions about his own future," Hendrick
said. "Once the decision was made, we had to get on with our own
future, and Brian was the right man for the job."
Hendrick liked the calm approach Whitesell took to the race last
Sunday.
"He made great calls," Hendrick said. "It was very
impressive."
Once he was officially in charge, Whitesell quickly reorganized
the team, which also lost chief mechanic Ed Guzzo, who left with
Evernham. It was Whitesell and Guzzo who directed the preparation
of the No. 24 Chevrolet for each race.
Whitesell, trying to move beyond the Evernham era, doesn't
intend to be a clone of his mentor.
"The minute Ray walked out the door, then no longer were things
done exactly the way Ray did them," Whitesell said. "Now, I'm
making the decisions instead of Ray."
| |
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