With three championship seasons as a crew chief for Jeff Gordon and taking part in owning a race team, Ray Evernham has decided to fall back into the "grassroots" of the industry.

This past Thursday Evernham announced that he and his business partner Bob Mack are going to purchase the East Lincoln Speedway.

“I want to get back into grassroots racing,” stated Evernham. “It’s a nice Saturday night place. That’s my plan - to keep it a nice Saturday night place. First thing we’re going to do is see what everybody needs.”

In addition to his investment, Evernham has reportedly sold a majority of his intrest in Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

With hopes of keeping the smaller, local tracks alive, Evernham knows that the small tracks play a large role in feeding the better known racing leagues. Gordon is a prime example, who caught the eye of team owner Rick Hendrick by making a name for himself on the smaller dirt tracks.

Although the deal has yet to be finalized, current track owner Jim Nantz is thrilled about the potential Evernham brings to the table.

“It would certainly do something for local racing,” Nantz told the Lincoln Times. “I think if things go as planned, a lot of people are going to be really excited. When you do something like this it directly or indirectly affects a lot of people.”