Evernham trying to find his new role with race team (cont'd)

"We'll see -- it's early," Evernham said. "I'm still learning. I transitioned from driver to crew chief and crew chief to owner -- then I sold the majority of [Evernham Motorsports] to the Gilletts, and I'm just trying to help them get their feet on the ground, because I believe in those people.

"And in the interim, like I said, there's a lot of other things in my life that have passed me by. I still have a passion for this -- I love racing. I have a passion for it and I always will have a passion for it, but I need to just do it a little bit differently than I've been doing it.

"And this is going to allow me to spend some time to help my son with his life and to enjoy some of the things that I want to enjoy, with a little bit of a relaxed schedule -- but it still will allow me to have the passion."

The team -- including lead driver Kasey Kahne and his crew chief, Kenny Francis -- has seen the change and is comfortable with it, which makes a lot of sense since better performance is all racers ultimately care about; not to say that ever was a question with Evernham.

"I think Ray's going to step back a little this year," Kahne said. "He's always been such a hands-on owner, because of his background and what he's done in the sport, but now he's put Mark McArdle in charge of the car side of things, at the shop and he's going to come to races, do more with sponsors -- act more like the average owner, I guess.

"As far as him and racing and how bad he wants it and him doing whatever it takes to make sure we run good -- that's all still there. But as far as him being in the middle of the set-ups and being in the middle of some of that stuff, I think he's getting away from that and kind of letting other people just put a better team together to do that.

"I think there's already been a difference and everybody I've talked to, at the shop is really impressed and happy with the way things have gone so far."

Francis, who with Kahne won a league-leading six races in 2006 before hitting a winless skid that's now reached 41 races, then picked up the story.

"I think it's a lot more organized and focused on solving the problems that matter, whereas last year, we jumped from one problem to the next, without ever fixing the first problem, and we kept going around in circles," Francis said. "Mark [McArdle] doesn't have as much on his plate as Ray [did]."

But empty plate aside, seeing him at Daytona, it was hard not to think that Evernham was like a man who at best was going to the dentist, and at worst was going in for major surgery -- that his passion and commitment to "his" team, as Kahne acknowledged, wouldn't allow him to fully let go.

"I read somewhere that I'm going to be back in the fab shop, building cars," Evernham said. "It's not like I'm going to be getting my Rainbow Warriors suit [from the Hendrick days] out and jump back on the [pit] box.

"I'm not going to be doing that. Again, it will be pointing out direction, giving an opinion or direction and maybe researching some things. But like I said, I have a passion for the sport, but I just cannot do it the way that I want to do it.

"I want to be a help, to be a mentor -- like I said, I get to help the Gilletts go. And I do want to work with the sponsors a little bit, doing the speeches and the autograph things, but I just don't have to do the negotiations anymore, so instead of the good-cop bad-cop, I get to be the good cop."

In the end, Kahne said he was happy for the man who gave him his first opportunity in Cup racing.

"He's going to do other things on the side, that he enjoys," Kahne said. "He's definitely going to do different things this year than what he's done in the past, and that's good for him. He's built a great organization and he's done a good job with it, so he deserves to be able to step back."