Ray Evernham looking to invest in agency that represents Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne and other top drivers
Ray Evernham is looking to invest in the agency that represents several top NASCAR drivers. // Archive, NASCAR Illustrated
The motorsports agency that handles the business affairs of Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and other top NASCAR drivers is considering an offer from team co-owner Ray Evernham to become an investor.
Evernham, a former championship crew chief with Hendrick Motorsports and Jeff Gordon, started his own NASCAR Cup team. He still has a minority interest in what is now Richard Petty Motorsports.
Motorsports Management International negotiates contracts and handles many of the drivers’ personal services deals.
“Over the years, MMI has been approached several times about mergers or acquisitions,” said MMI President and founder Cary Agajanian in a statement. “I have known Ray Evernham for over 20 years and have great respect for him and what he’s accomplished in the racing business, especially his mentoring work as a team owner for Kasey Kahne, one of MMI’s cornerstone clients.
“So it is flattering to have Ray’s group make an offer for an interest in MMI and build upon the talent management and driver development standard that MMI has set within the industry. We have an ongoing dialogue that will eventually determine if it makes business sense for us to take that next step at this time.”
Evernham believes his involvement could help smooth relations between owners, drivers and agents.
“Between Cary Agajanian and the other people involved, we could really put together a nice package to offer and have an opportunity to bring young drivers up,” said Evernham, who is also a TV analyst for ESPN. “We know that the sport is getting expensive.
“I’ve been on both sides from the owners side to the players side and I think that I can provide a good balance there and actually have everybody be happy and do some good without owners hating agents and drivers and greed. It seems like a pretty good thing to do. I hope it happens.”
By having been a team owner, Evernham also believes he can help drivers who might want to transition into team ownership.
“I can help guide these guys through a lot of things, certainly from the business side,” Evernham said. “One of the things that I’m very proud of, I think I did a good job with no business experience of running my race team and then selling it and doing pretty good.
“I think I can help these guys maybe be thinking about stuff like that and giving advice. When they have to go deal with an agent or somebody who is a salesperson for them, they might not respect their racing advice as much.”
