HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Richard Petty Motorsports is poised to survive and hopefully thrive, according to Ray Evernham, who said Saturday that he is willing to give the organization that may take on a new name an assist.

Evernham also said he's poised to sue George Gillett and that he considers himself free and clear of an exclusive consulting arrangement to which he previously was bound per an earlier agreement. Evernham sold his controlling interest in what was then called Evernham Motorsports to the Gillett family in August of 2007, and the company became Gillett Evernham Motorsports. That company then merged with what used to be Petty Enterprises to become Richard Petty Motorsports in January of 2009.

Since that time, Gillett has encountered serious financial difficulties -- ultimately leaving RPM in limbo as numerous creditors have come a calling. That has resulted in mass layoffs and an uncertain future for the company.

But Evernham said Saturday that he expects Richard Petty and a group of investors to emerge from the fray with a viable operation that sources say will field at least two Sprint Cup cars next season.

Evernham still owns a percentage of Richard Petty Motorsports and admitted he may have to sue Gillett in an attempt to receive money he is owed. He said he is willing to help Petty start his new organization -- which could begin operation as soon as next week under a new name for legal reasons -- but that he does not want to be a majority investor or be involved heavily in the day-to-day operations.

"I think he's got the support to get it done. I think it can be a successful deal if he can get it cleaned up," Evernham said of Petty, the all-time leader in NASCAR race victories as a driver and a member of the inaugural Hall of Fame class. "He's got some support there; he just needs to get it through this maze of legal things.

"But as I've said, I've been confident that he had the money to get through this year and I'm confident that he'll have the support going forward with it. I know it's a successful, viable business entity if it's not mired in tons of debt. And once he gets through these things, there won't be tons of debt on it, so I think Richard can make it work."

Asked to clarify what role he may have in such a new organization, Evernham replied: "I'll help him, sure -- whatever it'll take. But I don't want to own it, and I don't want to manage it every day. I certainly would be more than willing to help Richard in any way I can."

Reached Saturday in the Sprint Cup garage at Homestead-Miami Speedway following the final practice for Sunday's season finale, Petty acknowledged that he is aware of Evernham's standing offer to assist his ownership efforts.

"We're pretty optimistic about everything, too. We're just going to have to wait and see how things turn out," Petty said.

Asked if he could be opening up what would be considered a new operation as soon as next week, Petty grinned and said only: "Basically we've got to get to the end of this season before we can really figure out what we're going to do next season."

The 2010 season ends with Sunday's race at Homestead. Asked also if he would need to change the company name for legal reasons, Petty said he and his group of investors are still working out all the details in their efforts.

"When I find out, I'll let you know," Petty said before moving off, adding politely that he did not feel he could answer any more questions about it at this time.

Evernham said he and Petty spoke briefly at Phoenix a week ago.

"My business manager [Rick Russell] has talked to [Petty advisor] Brian Moffitt a good bit. ... I spoke to Richard last week at Phoenix, a brief conversation where I told him I'm there, tell me what you need," Evernham said. "He's not gotten the situation [squared away] yet -- but I know if he needs something, he will call me."

The communications director for Richard Petty Motorsports, Tiffany Breaux, announced on Thursday that it was her final day of employment at the organization and that she was moving on to a new job with Kevin Harvick Inc.

Evernham was asked if Petty had enough time to put a new ownership group in place for the 2011 season. He said the bigger question, at least for a while, was whether or not RPM as currently constituted was going to be able to find enough operating capital to complete this season with its current four-car lineup.

"One of the key things was getting here with all four cars, and they've done that. So that relieves a lot of pressure. Now they have some time," Evernham said.

Petty previously said the plans for RPM -- even before the Gillett financial crisis became public -- already were to scale from four teams down to two next season. Petty added then that sponsorship was lined up for A.J. Allmendinger to drive the No. 43 Ford and Marcos Ambrose to drive the No. 9 Ford.

Evernham admitted he is disappointed that it appears the organization that once bore his name appears poised to cease to exist. But he said he takes some consolation in the fact that Petty plans to help it rise again, at least in some form.

"I think the saddest thing is I see a lot of good people without jobs. I see a lot of people that have gotten behind on their bills," Evernham said. "It makes you feel like you let down people that believed in me when I moved that thing over. I feel the worst about that, that there doesn't seem to be a lot of remorse on that side [of the Gilletts].

"I thought I was trying to do something good for the sport. It turned out not to be good for the sport. So it does bother me to see it have not succeeded. But my name on it was never the most important thing -- and I can look back on it and know that it was not my fault. ... Unfortunately, there have been several hundred deals lost when you look at taking part of my deal, and then taking part of the Petty deal, and part of the Yates deal [which also merged with Petty at one point]. There have been a lot of car numbers and jobs lost through this, and that's probably what has bothered me the most. And that's one of the main reasons I've said I will do whatever I have to do to make sure that Richard can carry some of that forward."

As for suing Gillett, who has not commented publicly on his situation for weeks, Evernham admitted that he received a large sum of money up front when he sold his controlling interest in the team. He declined to be specific, but said he still is owed money from the deal that he no longer is confident he will get.

Evernham said the only communication he has had with the Gillett family during the past six months has been through attorneys, and that he considers his exclusive consulting contract with them null and void.

"We have everything ready to go," said Evernham, who currently works as an analyst for ESPN and said he has talked with the cable network about a new contract beginning next season, but so far isn't certain what will happen. "I'll tell you the hardest thing is that if you're going to file a lawsuit, you've got to make sure there is something there to get. And right now, until something happens, we don't know which way to go. All we're doing right now is preparing for every scenario.

"So whether or not I got paid some of what I was promised up front, the bottom line is that I'm likely not to get the rest of it. So that's the bad news. The good news is now I can try to go out and go back to work."