BUSCH: Former driver to Lead Evernham operation.

Evernham Motorsports have announced that former Busch Series veteran Elton Sawyer will lead their first full time NASCAR Busch Series effort as Team Director of the #6 Hungry Drivers Racing Dodge team with driver Paul Wolfe.

Sawyer, who hails from the same Virginia town as Ricky Rudd, started racing late models at the age of 16 and would go on to compete successfully in the NASCAR Busch Series for over twenty years. To date, he is ranked second in all time starts among past and present NASCAR Busch Series drivers with 392 starts.

Over the years, Sawyer proved that he was not your average weekend race car driver. He could often be seen staying late to work on his own cars well after his team members had gone home for the night.

After putting his driving shoes aside, Sawyer decided to put his racing experience and knowledge to use by educating and mentoring younger drivers coming into the sport. In 2002, Sawyer worked with a team on the Busch Series circuit, coaching up-and-coming drivers on a variety of aspects of the racing business, including both on track and off issues.

While at Daytona in July of 2003, Sawyer struck up a conversation with Evernham whom he had first met in 1992 when both worked for Bill Davis Racing, Evernham as crew chief and Sawyer as a chassis specialist. Evernham was giving serious consideration to starting a driver development program of his own and was interested in what Sawyer had been doing as far as coaching younger drivers.

Two months later, Sawyer was hired by Evernham as Director of Dodge Research and Development a position that would help prepare him for the role he would take on a year later, team director of Evernham Motorsports Hungry Drivers Racing program.

Lisa Klauser, Vice President Integrated Marketing Capabilities, Unilever Foods, thinks that Sawyer is a perfect match for the Hungry Drivers program.

"We have high expectations for the 2005 season and Elton will play a pivotal role in our success. We are happy to have him on board and are very impressed with his credentials. We feel that Elton's experience behind the wheel and his experience in working with younger drivers is a perfect fit for the Hungry Drivers team concept."

Sawyer is looking forward to his new role as Team Director of Evernham Motorsports' first full time NASCAR Busch Series effort and to being a part of the unique Hungry Drivers program.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to lead Evernham Motorsports first full time Busch Series effort," said Sawyer. "I have the utmost respect for Ray Evernham and what he has achieved over the years in this sport. I look forward to being a mentor to Paul Wolfe and to helping Evernham Motorsports and Unilever Foods brands Ragu, Hellmann's, Country Crock, Lawry's and Lipton achieve that same kind of success with their NASCAR Busch Series program.

"The Hungry Drivers program is right up my alley as far as mentoring and coaching younger drivers. I feel that my 20 years of experience as a driver will be helpful in developing these young talents into their full potential."

For Ray Evernham, the decision to allow Sawyer to lead the No. 6 Hungry Drivers Racing program was an easy one.

"Elton was the obvious choice when I was determining who was best suited to lead this team and endeavour for Evernham Motorsports," said Evernham. "His knowledge about race cars is both extensive and impressive. He has the knowledge and skill to bring along new talent and I am confident in his ability to work with and develop our drivers to help them achieve success on the race track."

Evernham Motorsports also announced that Paul Wolfe would be the primary driver of the No. 6 Hungry Drivers Dodge for the 2005 season and that former NASCAR Champion and current TV commentator Benny Parsons would continue in his role as a spokesperson for the team.

Parsons is a household name in the world of racing. The racing legend retired from NASCAR competition after the 1988 season with many great accomplishments throughout his career, including the NASCAR Championship. Throughout his 25 year career, Parsons recorded 21 wins, most notably the 1975 Daytona 500 and the1980 Coca-Cola 600.

In 1989, Benny Parsons began a second career as a race colour analyst for ESPN and radio-show host for the Performance Racing Network. In 2001, Benny became the lead colour analyst for NBC and TNT covering all of their NASCAR Nextel Cup and NASCAR Busch Series broadcasts.

According to Benny Parsons, "If there's two things I know, it's good racing and good food. The Parsons household has been using Ragu, Country Crock, Hellmann's, Lawry's and Lipton for years. I look forward to continuing representing Unilever Foods and all of these brands and to exposing them to racing families across the U.S."