A lot of people would say that Tony Stewart is making a bad decision by becoming part owner of a team that has seen practically no success in it’s history in NASCAR. The 2-time Sprint Cup champion has seen success his entire racing career. From USAC, IRL, IROC, and NASCAR Tony Stewart has proved to be possibly the most talented driver in racing right now. He has been with Joe Gibbs Racing since 1999, winning 3 races his rookie season. Since that year, Stewart has won at least 2 races every year except for so far in 2008.
The Haas Racing team on the other hand, has had practically no success in their 6 years of existence in the Sprint Cup Series. Right now, neither of the team’s 2 cars are automatically locked into the weekly field because they are not in the top-35 in owner’s point standings. Since 2002 when Haas Racing broke into the series, their team has totaled 250 combined races between the cars competing every week. In those 250 races, they have never scored a win, and have only one top 5 among 12 different drivers.
Not exactly a dream team. So why would Tony Stewart even think about leaving behind his success with Joe Gibbs Racing to join a team with the terrible track record such as Haas? Even Stewart is unsure of the move:
At least he’s confident.“There’s no guarantees that this is going to be successful,” Stewart said. “But after sitting down and evaluating what the potential of this team is, I wouldn’t have made this decision if I didn’t think it would be successful and if I didn’t think it had the potential to be great.” (Yahoo Sports)
Anybody who follows NASCAR knows that Tony Stewart has an aggressive personality on and off the track. If there is something that can be done to fix the team, he will make sure it is taken care of. With part ownership of the team, he can choose who he wants as a teammate in the Sprint Cup Series. Having a good teammate can make a huge difference in how a driver performs every week. Who is to say the addition of the confrontational Kyle Busch in 2008 to Joe Gibbs Racing hasn’t had an affect on Stewart’s struggles so far in 2008. Next year he will have a teammate of his choosing that he can work with.
There are a few more benefits Tony Stewart gains by becoming a part owner in the series. Joe Gibbs Racing switched from Pontiac to Chevrolet in 2003, and then in 2008 switched again to the Toyota manufacturer. Next season Stewart will go back to driving a Chevrolet which he prefers much more than Toyota. The newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing team also receives engines from the most powerful team in the Sprint Cup Series, Hendrick Motorsports. It hasn’t helped Haas Racing so far, but it will make running the team even easier for Tony Stewart next season. The biggest benefit Tony Stewart gets from becoming co-owner is that even after retiring from driving in a few years, he will still be able to be an active owner in the team, which is something definitely appeals to him.
Even though Tony Stewart is taking a gigantic risk in becoming part owner of this team, if it works out it could become one of the greatest decisions in his racing career for years to come.
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