Evernham says he plans to retire, buy N.C. dirt track

LINCOLNTON, N.C. -- NASCAR team owner Ray Evernham says he is negotiating to buy a small track in North Carolina so he can "get back into grassroots racing."

The Lincoln Times-News reports that Evernham said Thursday that he and partner Bob Mack plan to buy the East Lincoln Speedway. Evernham said he has sold most of his interest in the Gillett Evernham Motorsports racing team, and plans to retire from the highest level of the sport.

The 51-year-old Evernham was a championship-winning crew chief who won three NASCAR titles with Jeff Gordon.

Evernham said small speedways that play an important role in developing future racing stars are disappearing nationwide. The East Lincoln Speedway has been in operation since 1991, and Evernham said the dirt track had a family atmosphere that he wanted to preserve.

Evernham helped lead Dodge's return to NASCAR in 2001 when he left his position as crew chief for Gordon a year earlier and formed Evernham Motorsports with drivers Bill Elliott and Casey Atwood. He sold majority ownership of his team in 2007 to George Gillett Jr., and the team became known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

As an owner, Evernham cars have notched 15 victories, 73 top-five and 152 top-10 finishes. In 2006, Evernham was selected as NASCAR's top all-time crew chief by a national motorsports media contingent.