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Stewart Seeking A Challenge

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By TONY FABRIZIO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 11, 2008

Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott and Ricky Rudd tried being owner/drivers in NASCAR's top level. Each gave up after finding it too difficult to juggle testing at Bristol with keeping a multi-million-dollar business afloat.

Robby Gordon and Michael Waltrip are competing as owners/drivers now. Neither is doing well enough to make it look like a good idea.

Why would Tony Stewart trade his secure place with one of racing's most powerful teams - where all he really has to worry about is turning left and charming the Home Depot execs - for the headache, pressure and uncertainty of being an owner/driver for a bottom-dwelling team?

"This is an incredible opportunity that allows me to race competitively in NASCAR's top division while carving out a place in this sport long after my driving career is over," Stewart said Thursday in confirming he has become a 50-percent owner of Haas CNC Racing - soon to be Stewart Haas Racing - and will drive for the team next year.

To grasp the answer you have to know a little more about Stewart. He makes several million dollars a year driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and he doesn't need to do anything more, but he owns three race tracks - including famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio - and four open-wheel teams in USAC and the World of Outlaws.

Stewart considers his victory in the 2007 Chili Bowl midget race in Oklahoma one of his most fulfilling experiences, because he drove for a team he founded and built. Ownership runs in his veins. Although he once said he would never do it in NASCAR's top level, it was probably inevitable.

"As time has gone on and I've gotten a little bit older, you start realizing the importance of history and what values are important to you," Stewart said.

"The thought of being another Richard Childress or a Richard Petty or a Rick Hendrick, people who have driven in this sport and in some cases their legacy is bigger than when they were drivers ... the opportunity to do that was very important to me."

Stewart is 37. People think he is younger because he hasn't been around that long, but remember he had a career in Indy car racing before coming to NASCAR. Team ownership means he wouldn't have to leave after he quits driving, which he indicated Thursday isn't going to happen any time soon.

Robby Gordon doesn't win as an owner/driver. But he's doing things his way, controlling his own destiny, putting any profits into his pocket. Nobody can fire him for saying what he thinks. That appeals to Stewart.

"I've had conversations with Robby Gordon ... and basically the moral to the story is he said you're going to enjoy this," Stewart said.

So Stewart, one of the top five drivers in NASCAR, heads to a team that has had one top-five finish since breaking into the Sprint Cup series in 2002. Both of its cars, now driven by Scott Riggs and Jason Leffler, are outside the top 35 in owners points.

Worse, Stewart's new partner, Haas Automation Inc. owner Gene Haas, started a two-year prison sentence in January for tax evasion. (Technically, Haas relinquished ownership of the team to his wife, Margaret, and General Manager Joe Custer.)

And yet it isn't as bleak as that sounds. Haas CNC gets its cars, engines and technical support from Hendrick Motorsports - you've heard of them - and has a new 140,000-square-foot race shop with state-of-the-art technology.

What's lacking are the people and driving talent to convert the resources into victories.

"We feel that we have good people, but drivers are absolutely critical," Custer said Thursday. "With this new chassis we're working with, the Car of Tomorrow, it's even more. That's really what drove this decision. We want to win."

Stewart's odds don't look good on paper. Since Richard Petty scored his final victory for Petty Enterprises in 1983, an owner/driver has won only 22 of 787 races. No owner/driver has won since Rudd in 1998.

And yet that's what makes the challenge so enticing to Stewart, who is basically being given his 50 percent ownership stake for what he brings in driving talent and sponsorship appeal.

"I'm excited about the fact that I feel like we could go to Daytona and have an opportunity to win the Daytona 500 and stand there and climb out of that car with my own guys and my own operation and be there as champions," Stewart said. "That's an aspect I'm hopefully going to get a chance to experience and enjoy."

Stewart's Move

Two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart officially announced his plans to become an owner-driver next season. Here are the specifics:

Stewart becomes 50 percent owner of Haas CNC Racing and will drive for the team. The team has been renamed Stewart Haas Racing but will not race under that banner until next year.

No announcement was made on who will drive the team's second car. Stewart neither confirmed nor denied that Ryan Newman is a candidate but said current Haas CNC driver Scott Riggs has not been ruled out.

Greg Zipadelli, Stewart's crew chief for the last 10 years, will remain at Joe Gibbs Racing. Sponsor Home Depot will not follow Stewart to his new team.

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