Media tour of the raceshops.......
Day two Media tour Blog
The first official day on the tour is behind us and like last year, the theme for me at least is ‘sleep is for sissies’.
The highlight Monday evening for me at least was spending time with Erin Crocker and getting her take on 2005 and her prospects for 2006
(CSD/Greg Engle)
Last night, the tour traveled North to Ray Evernham’s new 55,000 expanded shop. Since I’m a good friend with on of the Dodge PR reps, Annette, I knew that they had planned something big. Annette had been emailing me for a week saying how excited she was and that she couldn’t wait for me to see what they had set up.
We certainly weren’t disappointed. Entering the new lobby, the line was directed into a hallway towards the main shop. At the start of the hallway stood a reception line led by Evernham himself, followed by Scott Riggs, Erin Crocker and new development driver A.J. Foyt IV. The hallway lined with candles led into the main shop area.
We were greeted by loud music and colored lights providing an atmosphere that seemed more akin to a nightclub than a race shop; the work had been cleaned off and a gourmet buffet line replaced tools and car parts, while an open bar topped off the meal.
After the meal, the lights were brightened, the music turned off and Evernham introduced his drivers and talked about his 2005 season and outlined his plans for 2006, including his new team concept for his Nextel Cup teams that eliminates crew chiefs and replaces them with team directors.
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