Tony Stewart -Successful Owner
Who can say how successful NASCAR racing Tony Stewart will be since he left Joe Gibbs Racing? Stewart became the owner and primary driver of Stewart Haas Racing. It was an “also ran” and he and his drivers have been bringing it to a success status one week at a time.
In 1998, Tony Stewart was stock car racing with Joe Gibbs racing. He won the rookie of the year award at the Winston Cup Series in 1999. His record there was fantastic with 33 races won and 2 championships. Why he left that team to take on ownership of such a lesser-known team with barely 5 top five finishes since 2003 is beyond me.
After only 8 races for Stewart to silenced the critics simply by winning 6 of them in the top ten. Right now he is fourth in the Sprint Cup standings. This keeps Tony Stewart right up there with the NASCAR racing heavy hitters like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
I’m not kidding Tony Stewart is getting better every week! Stewart finished in second place, his best finish so far, at Phoenix. Stewart is a favorite to win at the Talladega Super Speedway. If he wins that race, he will be the first driver to win a race in a car that he owns since 1998, when Ricky Rudd won at Martinsville. That would be a fantastic feat for Stewart and NASCAR racing.
Not only is Tony Stewart in the top 5 in Sprint Cup standings, but also in driver rating and average running position. Stewart Haas Racing is using resources from Hendrick Motorsports, a real powerhouse team. Of course they are doing so well so early in this season of NASCAR racing.
Ryan Newman, Stewart’s teammate, has not been as successful. Even so the team has improved tremendously since the season began. It was a shaky start, after only the 4th race, in Atlanta; Newman came close to losing his place in the top 35 of the Sprint Cup owner’s standings. Newman is number 17 now and looking to be 12 soon. Ryan Newman had top ten finishes at Bristol and Martinsville. Newman saw potential in Tony Stewart’s NASCAR racing ideas at Stewart Haas Racing and decided to join his team. Sure, it was a risk to leave Penske Racing. Newman began in 2000 racing stock cars with Penske Racing part time for the ARCA series. He won 13 races including one Daytona 500.
Go for it Stewart Haas Racing! You are looking great now. You have great management and crew chiefs including Tony Gibson, Darian Grubb, Bobby Hutchens and Matt Borland.
Stewart feels certain a win is on the horizon for Stewart Haas Racing. And so are lots of NASCAR racing fans. Stewart seems relaxed with no one else directing his career path. So long as he is pleased with the effort and results, all is well.