Stewart-Haas Racing's Tony Stewart takes obstacles in stride as he builds top organization
Stewart-Haas Racing's Tony Stewart is finding early success as NASCAR Sprint Cup team co-owner/driver. // Dale Barbee, NASCAR Scene
Tony Stewart never has really been known for taking the easy route.
So it's really no surprise that Stewart took the long road to his initial victory with Stewart-Haas Racing. A co-owner of the organization for just a handful of months, Stewart won at Pocono Raceway with a charge from the back Sunday. He was initially on the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race, but a crash during a practice session caused him to go to a backup car for the race - and to start it from the rear.
That didn't faze Stewart. He just found a new way to manage the setback - this time with a gamble on fuel mileage. Stewart went slightly more than 102 miles on his final tank, using a variety of means to conserve as the laps wound down.
After the race, he joked about almost messing up his team's shot at the win before it even got in the race.
"We were in here Friday talking about how good of a weekend it started off being by getting a pole due to the rainout," Stewart said at Pocono following the race. "But I found a way to screw that up on Saturday and just lost it off of [Turn] 2, and because of that, we had to start last today and we just had a great race car.
"… We went out there, it was like we had not missed a beat and just thankful we got a good group of guys like that and good partners that were willing to help out when we needed a hand."
This group has pulled together quickly. After taking over co-ownership of the former Haas CNC Racing in the offseason, Stewart crafted a new competition department and added Ryan Newman as his teammate. The organization spent last season battling for a locked-in position with its two teams week to week. This year, Stewart holds the points lead and Newman is fourth in the standings after 14 races.
So dealing with having to use a backup car was a minor hiccup for them.
"That was a very interesting weekend all the way around. To come up here and sit in the rain and get the pole because we earned it; we had the points lead and guys have been working really hard, the entire Stewart-Haas organization to get that," crew chief Darian Grubb said. "And just to be able to get it last week and to take the benefits of it this week by being able to start on the pole was a great thing.
"Having to go to the backup car, it was great to see everybody just keep their heads about them, stay calm and stay cool. Made all the changes we needed to between the two cars, and I think we actually made the second car better when we went out and started happy hour. So it's a testament to how hard they work and how they all pull together as a team to do this. Tony said before the race that he felt bad; he felt like he gave that car away and he was going to go out there and earn something for us. And I told him, 'This is a team and what we are all here for and luckily at the end we were able to show him what kind of team we are and get him out of the pits in first and it was great from there.'"
It's a team, though, that has picked up on the attitude of Stewart.
A two-time Cup champion during his tenure with JGR, Stewart has past experience as a team owner in other series, the talent to win in anybody's equipment and the savvy to recognize the value of the organization's alignment with Hendrick Motorsports.
He spent the offseason really getting to know his Cup organization and helping his group map out a plan for the 2009 Cup season.
Everyone assessed and evaluated the parts and pieces, tried to figure out what it would take to be competitive.
They looked to Stewart for guidance - and drew confidence from his approach.
"There's something to be said when Tony walks into the shop and he has that confidence," Grubb says. "He pats everybody on the back. They know he's back and putting everything he's got into it. And same thing with Ryan Newman, they know they have two of the best drivers out there and they come through and pat each other on the back, and they know they are part of this team and they are in it for the long haul; that makes everybody want to work that much harder to go out there and give them what they need to win."
Stewart, meanwhile, deflects any praise for his role.
"I've just got to spend the time being the cheerleader during the week and I've got great race cars and a great team behind me on the weekends," he said.
Now, everyone's hard work is showing up in their on-track performances.
After his win Sunday, Stewart was asked a simple question: Which was more difficult, building the team into a winning organization in such a short span or winning from the back of the field in a backup car?
From his point of view, with his team in place, both have been easier than some might suspect.
"Both of them seem pretty easy," he said. "But I know it's not. I mean, neither one of them are easy and they are both difficult and they both are because of hard work.
"It's easy when you've got the tools in place and that's something that [Vice President] Joe [Custer] has given us from the start is anything that we needed, and the tools were there when I got there. It's just a matter of finding some key people to help tie up the loose ends so to speak."
