LONG POND, Pa. -- Ray Evernham’s attempt to break the 200 mph barrier with his specially designed “Ghost” car is set for after IndyCar practice Saturday afternoon at Pocono Raceway.
Evernham, the NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief and team owner, brought the car as part of the Classic Racing Times Vintage Celebration at the 2.5-mile track.
The exhibition run had been scheduled for Saturday morning but was delayed when rain put IndyCar practice on hold until the aftenroon.
“The Ghost” is a custom-built race car created to look like a Modified that would have raced in the 1960s but with modern features and technology. Although it resembles a 1936 Chevrolet sedan, The Ghost has the aero performance of an Indy car and is powered by an engine with 850-plus horsepower.
“Building The Ghost is the culmination of my more than 40 years of experience in auto racing and car fabrication,” Evernham said in a statement.. “Our goal was to design and build a race car from the ground up just like it was done in the 1970s and 1980s, and to utilize the knowledge we accumulated through the years – without any computers or lasers.
“On the outside the car looks like the Modified race cars I grew up watching and racing at short tracks in New Jersey, but on the inside it’s packed with all the latest and greatest technology. And the chassis is really a combination of a current Modified, a Trans-Am car and a little bit of a Cup stock car, but it’s also like a 1980s Indy car too.”
.@RayEvernham sits behind the wheel of The Ghost as he and his team prepare to take a run at 200mph! #WhatTurn4 pic.twitter.com/p2xin3c9ko
— Pocono Raceway (@PoconoRaceway) August 17, 2019
In 2018, Evernham traveled to Colorado with “The Ghost” for the historic Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which takes place on a 12.42 mile public mountain road with 156 turns and an elevation increase of 4,720 feet en route to the finish line at the mountain summit.
In his inaugural attempt at the long-running motorsports competition, he finished first in the Exhibition Class, and 18th overall among 77 competitors.
In addition to his success at Pikes Peak, Evernham, 61, also has competed in historic road course races with “The Ghost” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Road Atlanta and Virginia International Raceway.