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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Countdown To Daytona - Stewart-Haas
A year ago, if anyone wondered whether Tony Stewart would leave Joe Gibbs Racing to form his own team would have been laughed out of the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted February 02, 2009   Harrisburg, NC
Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman will be teammates for the 2009 Sprint Cup season. (Photo: LAT)

Editor’s note: This is the sixth of 10 stories in SPEEDtv.com’s “Countdown To Daytona” preview of the upcoming 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

A year ago at this time, if anyone wondered whether Tony Stewart would leave the powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing team to partner up with Haas CNC Racing they probably would have been laughed out of the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage. And yet that’s exactly what happened, two unlikely dance partners teaming up to create one of the most intriguing storylines of 2008.

Stewart, who is half owner of the team, has a platinum pedigree that is beyond reproach. As a driver, the man known as “Smoke,” has a USAC Triple Crown championship and an IRL title to go along with his two NASCAR Sprint Cup titles. As a team owner, Stewart had fielded championship open-wheel teams in USAC and the World of Outlaws, and as an entrepreneur he’s done a great job maintaining the legacy of Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, arguably the nation’s best-known dirt track.

TOM JENSEN BLOG: 2009 Predictions

Quietly, Stewart has given millions of dollars to charities, including the Victory Junction Gang Camp and Darrell Gwynn’s foundation. In addition, Stewart’s great with sponsors and often a fascinating interview, two reasons Office Depot and Old Spice were willing to pony up what likely was north of $25 million to sponsor Stewart’s Chevrolet Impala SS, which will carry the No. 14 immortalized by his boyhood idol, A.J. Foyt. Even Stewart’s occasional volatility has worked out to be mostly a positive in recent years, as he’s viewed as one of the most authentic racers in a garage full of politically correct clones.

Stewart’s also brought a strong supporting cast with him to his new team. Longtime Richard Childress Racing manager Bobby Hutchens is running the competition end of the business, with ex-Hendrick Motorsports engineer Darian Grubb Stewart’s crew chief. Fellow Hoosier Ryan Newman will drive the team’s No. 39 Chevy with crew chief Tony Gibson on board after a successful 2008 at Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he was the pit boss for Mark Martin.

Under the hood, Stewart-Haas will have Hendrick engines. And make no mistake about it, the full support of Rick Hendrick and General Motors is available to help this team be competitive out of the box.

The flip side, though, is the reality that the old Haas CNC Racing team that begat Stewart-Haas was a perennial backmarker. The team’s two cars finished 30th and 43rd, respectively, in 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup owner points. Since going Cup racing full time in 2003, Haas CNC has scored zero race victories and just a single top-five finish, hardly impressive numbers.


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