Gillett buys into NASCAR teams

Aug 7 2007

LIVERPOOL co-owner George Gillett has invested in motorsport for his latest sporting adventure.

Ray Evernham completed the sale of his NASCAR racing team team to Gillett yesterday, ending nearly six months of negotiations to bring on a partner.Gillett becomes the majority owner of the team, which will now be called Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

Evernham, who won three championships as a crew chief, still has an ownership stake of the team he launched in 2001 but he will concentrate on competition issues going forward and allow Gillett to handle the business-side of racing. In addition to Liverpool, which he bought in conjunction with Tom Hicks earlier this year, Gillett owns ice hockey’s Montreal Canadiens.

But he said: “Racing is in my blood. It's not often you get to partner with a leader with Ray's reputation, talent and championship legacy.”

Everham said: “With the business acumen of the Gillett family and its sports brands, we've greatly expanded our reach. It certainly allows us to capitalize on our strengths and position GEM for longterm success both on and off