I recently had a conversation with Ray Evernham, the former stock car crew chief/race car driver/team owner who entered the NASCAR Hall of Fame following his retirement. As a team owner, Ray was pivotal in returning Dodge to NASCAR’s winner’s circle. Along the way, he got into collecting and restoring historic hot rods and muscle cars from the Fifties and Sixties, as well as several historic vintage race cars from multiple disciplines of the sport. An overwhelming amount of restoration work was done at Big Iron Garage, his shop in Mooresville, North Carolina.

While the scope and quality of cars within Ray’s collection is impressive, our recent discussion focused on his decision to part with a noteworthy portion of it, which may strike a chord with enthusiasts across all corners of the hobby. Ray cited considerations involving the time, space, and money that maintaining a growing collection demands. Space at the facility was at a premium, and he had realized that more and more time was being spent on general maintenance and upkeep rather than the very thing that Ray and his team enjoy most: finding and restoring cars significant to the auto industry and motor racing alike.

That’s not to say Ray is bidding adieu to the hobby. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: Part of the equity he hopes the sale will generate has been earmarked for relaunching Ray’s AmeriCarna TV show, while another portion will go into the continued effort to locate, purchase, and restore significant cars. According to Ray, "It’s going to take some kicking around until somebody says ‘Hey, we found the Holy Grail of whatever.’ Then you put your Indiana Jones hat on and go try to find and buy it."

Keep reading...