January 19, 2009
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Despite the skidding economy, the Stewart-Haas team is looking to the future and expects to at least be competitive going into this year’s Daytona 500. However, the team is not immune to the sponsorship crunch that is currently being felt throughout the entire NASCAR garage.
Ryan Newman’s car still needs a sponsor for 16 races next year; the U.S. Army sponsorship will only carry him for 22 races. Still, the situation at Stewart-Haas is far better than that some of the other teams are currently experiencing.
In light of the many teams that have merged and the ever growing number of team employees who have been laid off, it is refreshing to a new team on the rise. Hopefully, Stewart-Haas Racing will be around for a while and not be forced to merge or close its doors due to the difficult economic times.
Becoming part owner of a NASCAR team has kept Tony Stewart very busy this off season. However, he is not in as bad a shape as he would be if it were a start up team, and besides, he has the advantage of using Hendrick chassis and engines.
"It's an existing team that's changing a little bit, but especially with two new drivers and two new crew chiefs and two drivers that aren't used to the chassis packages we're going to be running, it's definitely going to be a big adjustment,” Stewart said in a Reid Spencer article on nascar.com.
Getting a feel for their new rides was exactly what Newman and Stewart were doing last Wednesday at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. NASCAR banned testing at sanctioned tracks this off-season, but the Cup Series does not race at New Smyrna.
In addition to getting a feel for their new cars, the drivers also worked on establishing effective communications with their new crew chiefs. Darian Grubb will serve as Stewart’s crew chief and Tony Gibson will fill that role for Newman.
Grubb is a veteran of Hendrick Motorsports and will provide a wealth of experience for Stewart-Haas Racing. Gibson has been a crew chief in the Cup Series since 2002, having worked with drivers such as Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Park and Michael Waltrip.
Despite have switched teams for the first time in his career, Ryan Newman is convinced that he can defend his Daytona 500 title that he won driving for Penske last season.
"I am confident coming out of the box that we'll be a contender at the Daytona 500," Newman said in a Joe Menzer article for nascar.com. "I feel that there are going to be some things that we'll have to learn, but I think as a group, with our team ... that we'll be competitive. I feel with the Hendrick components, myself and Darian Grubb and Tony Gibson, that there's no reason that we're not [going to be].”
And after that, Newman says the goals are for both cars to qualify for the Chase for the Championship next season. Quite lofty goals for a brand new team, but since Stewart-Haas will be racing under the Hendrick banner this season, not entirely out of the question.
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