Ray Evernham believes the clock is ticking on Nextel Cup owners who aren’t aligned with deep-pocketed partners, and the timepiece on his left wrist tells him why.

“I have the stainless Rolex,” Evernham said with a smile. “I’ve only got so much money. I’m not a billionaire. I know a lot of billionaires who went racing and became millionaires. But I don’t know any thousandaires who became billionaires. You’ve got to spend your money wisely.”

From hardscrabble beginnings as a scruffy mechanic and fledgling Modified driver in Hazlet, N.J., Evernham has invested well while building the foundation for a championship-caliber empire in NASCAR. After winning three championships as a crew chief with Jeff Gordon from 1995-98 at Hendrick Motorsports, Evernham started his own team when Dodge re-entered NASCAR’s premier series in 2001.

Evernham Motorsports has won a race in each of its six seasons and qualified for all three editions of the Chase for the Nextel Cup. But success has come with a price. Once able to field cars with $10 million apiece annually and about 60 crewmembers, Evernham has a staff of 330 and says he needs $20 million a car to be competitive.

Next year, the team will add a part-time fourth Charger while spending more on the Car of Tomorrow. Evernham estimates his budget will need to grow by $8 million for software, technology and personnel.

Wary of tapping sponsors for more money, Evernham said the ultimate solution to the cash crunch will be taking on minority partners in his Statesville, N.C.-based operation.

“I know someday I’ll have to do it if I want to win a championship,” he said. “My goal is to prove I can build something from nothing, and it’s whatever it takes to get the funding in place to do it. We’ve got to come up with a lot more funding over the next two to three years.”

Other teams are exploring the strategy. Roush Racing is in discussions with Boston Red Sox owner John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group that might involve as much as a 50% interest. The Boston Globe reported a deal could be worth more than $50 million to the five-car team.

An 80% stake in MB2 Motorsports was purchased in August by Bobby Ginn, and the Florida real estate developer plans to expand the team from two cars to four.

“The problem with being an owner is your risk is so high and the reward is so small, it gets a little lopsided sometimes,” said Chip Ganassi, owner of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. “That’s why guys look for partners to defray the risk. You have huge budgets, and your upside is not that much.”

Evernham said the benefits were evident for Richard Childress, who sold partial equity in his team to Chartwell Investments three years ago. After a reorganization that increased its budget by millions, Richard Childress Racing has five wins and two cars in the Chase.

“Richard did it and made a huge investment and turned his place around,” Evernham said. “A guy who’s a sharp businessman like Jack (Roush) is doing it. I’ve got to be aligned with somebody of a lot higher financial stature than I am.”

More at USA Today

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