Ray Evernham: “The ghost was put together by some crazy ideas that I had from 40 years of racing.”
Ray Evernham pulled himself out of the NASCAR garage area years ago when he sold Evernham Motorsports. However, his mind still wanders. He’s put that wondering to great use by building a stunning race car that is soon to climb mountains.
“The ghost was put together by some crazy ideas that I had from 40 years of racing, 45 years of making cars,” Ray Evernham told Matt Weaver back in November.
“I wanted to build something, just to build it. Something we could do without building to rules to specifics. Something that we thought was neat. And not use all of the technology like CAD and simulation. But, to use the things that we’ve learned over the past 45 years to build a car out of our minds.”
“Old school way, new school kind of technology.”
The body was originally a 1936 Chevy sedan. In Ray’s day, that was a modified race car. He used to race the cars race on the East coast.
“The chassis is a combination of a NASCAR modified currently, a trans-am car and actually a NASCAR Monster Energy Cup car. Very safe. Built out of triangular and round steel tubing.”
Under the hood, per say, the car is powered by an all aluminum engine. It’s a fuel injected 410 cubic inch motor. While it also has “new school” electronics. On top of that, it’s loaded with data systems that track the braking, rpm and other things.
“I wanted it open wheel but we needed a little bit of downforce. We made it like a 1980’s Indycar. The car’s flat all the way until it reaches the back and it’s got a huge rear defuser. The car is all aluminum, it’s not fiberglass. Everything you see is handmade and it’s that way for a reason.”
The car sits very low to the ground. That creates a problem for a jackman, per say. Ray solved that issue by installing air jacks, like a F1 car.
“It’s been in my mind for 40 years.”
The car will feature multiple variations. The aerodynamic elements will change from an oval track like Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Pikes Peak.
“We’ve talked about some of the aero changes that we’ve made. A lot of these things won’t be on when we go to Indy. Dan’s made some skirt extensions and some really big sideboards for the car when it goes around the corners.”
“Racing up 1400 feet, the air’s going to get thin. We’re going to need all the aerodynamics we can get.
In June, the car will be testing at Virginia International Raceway. Then, they’re off to test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Finally, it will race at Pikes Peak.
Located in Colorado, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is the second oldest auto race in the United States. The tracks spans a whopping 12.42 miles up a mountain. The track features 156 turns ending at the 14,115′ summit of Pikes Peak.
The 2018 Pikes Peak race takes place on June 24th.
Ray Evernham
The Ghost
The Ghost
Road Atlanta
Take a ride with me at @RoadAtlanta in the Ghost! @Valvoline @GoodyearRacing @aemelectronics @PFCbrakes @JRiShocks pic.twitter.com/aEYTVMf68K
— ray evernham (@RayEvernham) March 29, 2018
The Ghost
Modified
Debatably one of the most important features on the Ghost, the brakes! These @PFCbrakes are going to save my butt, especially when I’m running up Pikes Peak. @PPIHC pic.twitter.com/52t2yQpIjW
— ray evernham (@RayEvernham) March 16, 2018
The Ghost Photos
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