“Great memories”: Jeff Gordon’s former crew chief expresses his thoughts on Rockingham’s NASCAR return
Jeff Gordon's former crew chief, Ray Evernham, recalled racing at Rockingham Speedway amid the race weekend at the returning track. In an X post, Evernham said Rockingham is one of his favorite tracks, filled with "great memories."
Evernham and Jeff Gordon teamed up at Rockingham Speedway (formerly North Carolina Speedway) in the 1990s while part of Hendrick Motorsports. The crew chief-driver pairing scored four wins at the North Carolina track and won three of the driver's four NASCAR Cup Series championships.
The former crew chief got out of the #24 HMS camp to build his own team starting in the 2000 season before NASCAR scrapped the track off the calendar in 2004 (2013 for the Craftsman Truck Series).
Speaking about the Truck Series' race at the returning track, Ray Evernham wrote:
"Pretty cool to be watching @NASCAR_Trucks from @RockinghamSpeed. So happy to see them back racing there. Those folks put in a lot of time and effort to get that done. One of my favorite tracks. Great memories there."
The Black's Tire 200 (Truck) is the first of two NASCAR national series races at Rockingham Speedway. The latter is the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 (Xfinity), which will witness the return of former HMS driver Kasey Kahne on the NASCAR stage.
The Cup Series, meanwhile, has a one-race break on Easter Sunday before action resumes at the Talladega Superspeedway next week. It is one of the two superspeedway tracks on the schedule, along with the Daytona International Speedway.
While Ray Evernham is no longer active in NASCAR, Jeff Gordon is involved in Hendrick Motorsports' executive department. He is the team's vice chairman. Notably, Gordon won 93 Cup races (third all-time) as a full-time driver from 1993 to 2015.
Jeff Gordon's former HMS shot caller applauded tribute to Jon Edwards
Following their back-to-back wins (Cup and Xfinity) at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports dedicated the victories to Jon Edwards. Ray Evernham took to X to share one of the tributes dedicated to his former colleague.
For the unversed, Jon Edwards was the team's director of racing communications. He was also the PR representative of Kyle Larson, who won the SciAps 300 (Xfinity) in the #17 Chevrolet and the Food City 500 (Cup) in the #5 car last week.
"Really nice tribute to Jon Edwards today @TeamHendrick," Evernham wrote on X.
The former #24 crew chief also reposted Jeff Gordon's post dedicated to Jon Edwards, where the four-time champion wrote:
"I’m devastated by the loss of my dear friend, Jon. For almost three decades, we were side by side through every high and low, every celebration, and every challenge. He was one of the most loyal, hardworking, and selfless people I’ve ever known, and I will be forever grateful for his immeasurable impact on my life and my career. My heart is with Jon’s family and everyone who loved him. He was truly one of a kind."
Jon Edwards passed away on April 10 at 52. Hendrick Motorsports, the team Edwards worked with for three decades, did not disclose the reason for his death.