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Tag: Stewart Haas Racing

  • Danica Patrick Won’t Return to Stewart-Haas in 2018  

    Danica Patrick Won’t Return to Stewart-Haas in 2018  

    By Kenny Bruce | NASCAR.com

    Danica Patrick, the only female driver to win the Daytona 500 pole and one of the most popular figures in NASCAR, will not return to compete for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018.

    “It has been my honor to drive for Tony Stewart, Gene Haas and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing for the past six seasons,” Patrick said Tuesday in a statement posted through Facebook. “Together we earned a Daytona 500 pole, seven top-10 finishes and we also had some exciting racing along the way. My time driving for them, however, has come to an end due to a new sponsorship arrangement in 2018.

    Sponsorship plays a vital role in our sport, and I have been very fortunate over the course of my career, but this year threw us for a curve. Our amazing partners, such as Aspen Dental and Code 3, stepped up in a big way on short notice this year and I am incredibly grateful.

    “I wish SHR the best of luck with their new sponsorship and driver. Thanks for the memories. Right now, my focus is on the remainder of the 2017 season and finishing the year strong. I have the utmost faith in myself and those around me, and feel confident about my future.”

    Patrick’s best points finish in the MENCS thus far has been 24th, which she accomplished in 2015 and ’16. She is currently 28th in points with 10 races remaining.

    Patrick did not address whether she will attempt to continue to compete in NASCAR going forward. Earlier this year she told NASCAR.com she did not know how much longer she wanted to race in the series.

    “I said this last year, it’s not any fun to run 20th or 25th,” she said in June. “It’s not.”

    Her average finishing position this year is 23rd and she has a career high seven DNFs this season, an increase that could be due in part to NASCAR’s new Damaged Vehicle Policy that limits teams from making repairs to damaged cars in an effort to return to the race.

    “Just keep digging. Just letting it flow,” she said of her approach. “… Stop worrying about how you think everything should go and just let it happen. Give it your best all the time, every day, don’t be too worried about how it’s all going to go and, if it’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen and just let it go.”

  • Smithfield Foods to Join Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018

    Smithfield Foods to Join Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018

    By Kenny Bruce | NASCAR.com

    Smithfield Foods, the primary team sponsor for the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford with driver Aric Almirola, will not return to the organization in 2018 and instead join Stewart-Haas Racing, according to a post Tuesday morning on the company’s Facebook page.

    “We are excited to announce today that Smithfield Foods will join Stewart-Haas Racing as a primary team sponsor beginning in 2018,” the post stated. “The decision to leave Richard Petty Motorsports and join Stewart-Haas Racing was difficult but we feel this move will improve our competitiveness on the track and strengthen our position as a leading consumer packaged goods company.

    “Further details of our agreement with Stewart-Haas Racing will be provided at a later date.”

    Smithfield has been affiliated with RPM in a sponsor role since 2012.

    SHR officials confirmed the addition of Smithfield to its sponsor lineup for the four-team organization. According to a team release, details of the agreement, including the driver who will be added to SHR’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series lineup in 2018, will be provided at a later date.

    SHR fields Ford entries for drivers Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick.

    “We’re very proud to have Smithfield Foods join the Stewart-Haas Racing family,” SHR President Brett Frood said in the statement.

    “Smithfield has activated heavily and successfully within the sport, and we’re honored to be a part of the brand’s forward initiatives and strategy. Although we’re not ready to announce the full details of the program, we look forward to this new endeavor while remaining focused on the upcoming playoffs and putting forth the best effort possible to win more races and contend for another championship.”

  • Rough Day for Stewart-Haas Racing in Vegas

    Rough Day for Stewart-Haas Racing in Vegas

    Stewart-Haas Racing cars were the class of the field the first two races of the season, with a win in the Daytona 500 by Kurt Busch and most laps led in both the 500 and the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway by Kevin Harvick. Unfortunately, a 10th-place finish by Clint Bowyer was the highlight of a lousy day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from the four-car organization.

    But even Bowyer admitted that was a struggle.

    “To be truthful, we weren’t the best all weekend, but we just kept digging,” he said after the race. “(Mike) Bugga didn’t give up on the box and kept adjusting on it and got me pretty good, the best we’d been right there at the end. It’s a top-10 and gives us some momentum. It’s our third race together and we got a top-10, so we’ve got to keep digging.”

    Kurt Busch dealt with electrical issues that forced him to pit and change batteries with 66 laps to go. He finished in 30th place, four laps down.

    “Obviously it wasn’t the day we were hoping to have with our Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion,” Busch said. “We didn’t have the long-run speed or the balance, and we had an electrical issue that forced us to change batteries on pit road. We kept battling, we didn’t give up. I hoped to have a better run here in front of the hometown fans.”

    The other two SHR cars didn’t make it to the finish.

    Exiting the tri-oval on lap 68, Kevin Harvick suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall. He said the tire started vibrating four or five laps prior and was he trying to nurse it to the end of the stage.

    He was critical of the response time by American Medical Response.

    “The worst part was the medical response. It took them forever to get to the car,” Harvick said. “I thought we made that better, but obviously we haven’t.”

    He finished 38th and lost the points lead.

    With 16 to go, Danica Patrick’s engine expired on the frontstretch, relegating her to a 36th-place finish.

    “We just got the car to a place where I think we could have got a little more racy with it,” Patrick said, “especially if we would have caught some breaks, but then it just flattened out. I just rode around the top in case I blew up, but having a teammate behind me was not ideal for the timing of it, but unfortunately it happened. We’ll just move on.”

  • Busch’s Daytona 500 Win Ideal Comeback Story for NASCAR

    Busch’s Daytona 500 Win Ideal Comeback Story for NASCAR

    Undoubtedly, this year’s edition of Speedweeks had everything a race fan could ask for. There were Cinderella stories, with Kaz Grala the titular belle of the ball Friday night when he won a wild Camping World Truck Series season opener. There were underdog stories, as Ryan Reed showed a level of maturity behind the wheel he only recently came into by running a near perfect race and winning Saturday’s XFINITY Series season-opener. Sunday’s Daytona 500 was all about new beginnings, with a new series title sponsor in Monster Energy, new formats in both points and racing, and the return of Dale Earnhardt Jr. following a lengthy hiatus from behind the wheel.

    At the end of it all, Kurt Busch pulled his battered and beaten Stewart-Haas Ford into Victory Lane, turning over another leaf in his already storied career. Competitors and fans alike were quick to congratulate Busch on his win in his 16th attempt in the Great American Race.

    Couldn’t it have been left at that?

    An article published by USA Today columnist Brant James stresses that while the win was hard-earned by Busch, his win in the 500 wasn’t what NASCAR needed, especially considering declining attendance, sponsorship issues, and a scathing article recently published by the Wall Street Journal. James goes on to reiterate that it would have been better if Kyle Larson had won after leading late, or if polesitter Chase Elliott had been able to hang on to the lead. But definitely not Busch.

    What’s wrong with that assessment? Everything.

    First, to address the idea of Larson, Elliott, or even runner-up Ryan Blaney taking the checkered instead of Busch. Had they done so, great. Excellent. It would have been hard-fought and earned. It would have been a huge boost to their individual careers and NASCAR would have undoubtedly had a field day. Those drivers are extremely talented and the future of our sport, with plenty of trophies, are waiting to be claimed by them.

    But they didn’t win. They weren’t the fortunate ones to cross under that checkered flag first and claim the trophy. It was the No. 41 Ford of Busch that did that. Furthermore, James’s assessment essentially claims that those drivers have already achieved larger-than-life status in the sport. James puts their status as larger than the 500, with the race itself nothing more than a milestone to be achieved in the sport. But, if James truly knew the sport, he would understand that no driver, male or female, is larger than the Daytona 500. Not event Dale Earnhardt Sr., who struggled mightily to win the event.

    Moving on to his assessment of Busch’s win in the 500, it’s easy to assume Busch has already reached the pinnacle of the sport because he has. Thirteen years ago, as a matter of fact, when he won the 2004 Cup Series championship. Going into Sunday’s race he had already won 28 races on various types of speedways, not to mention the 2011 edition of Daytona’s Clash event, a qualifying race later that week, as well as the 2010 All-Star event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has wins in both trucks and XFINITY. He’s raced in the Indianapolis 500. He’s driven a rally car. He’s even driven an NHRA Pro Stock Dodge at Gainesville in 2011. Busch is a wheelman who is no stranger to success. So of course, what’s a win in the 500 supposed to mean to a guy with his record?

    Everything. It wasn’t that long ago that Busch was at the bottom of the sport.

    Here’s a guy who started out with a bright star at Roush Racing (now Roush-Fenway), winning 14 races in his No. 97 Ford as well as the ’04 championship. However, with his temper came repercussions; a well-publicized feud with one of NASCAR’s veterans in Jimmy Spencer that ended with a broken nose on Busch’s part and a suspension following a run-in with the law in Arizona.

    A transfer to Penske Racing didn’t improve his temper much. Sure, there was success. But there were also repeated profanity-filled tirades over the radio as Busch berated his crew, competitors and NASCAR itself. At Richmond in September 2011, Busch traded spins with his then-nemesis Jimmie Johnson, had to be restrained after exchanging words with a journalist, then ripped up another journalist’s notes in the media center. Two weeks later at Loudon, he berated an ESPN journalist after his car didn’t pass pre-race inspection. At the season finale in Homestead, Busch launched into another tirade towards ESPN reporter Dr. Jerry Punch. This tirade was put on YouTube, and not long after he and Penske split, with Busch going to a second-rate team in Phoenix Racing, where his struggles began in earnest.

    Radio tirades. A spat with Ryan Newman’s crew at Darlington. Another suspension after berating journalist Bob Pockrass at Dover. Weekly struggles in sub-par equipment, offset with only a ninth-place at Fontana and a third-place at Sonoma to show for his efforts. The No. 51 team had reached the bottom with a championship-caliber driver. This was in stark contrast to the beginning of the 2012 season when many claimed Busch was going to put Phoenix Racing on the map.

    A move to the No. 78 Furniture Row team in 2013 showed promise of a comeback, but no wins. 2014 brought a win and a playoff appearance, but Busch struggled getting acclimated with his new Stewart-Haas Racing team and was eliminated in the first round of eliminations that Fall.

    Then 2015 came around and saw allegations of assault from Busch’s ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. These allegations led to an indefinite suspension of Busch, with many under the impression that this was it; Busch was done for in NASCAR.

    During the 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 26, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

    While this was going on, NASCAR was moving on without him, kicking its schedule into high gear. But when it came out that Busch wasn’t going to be charged for assault, NASCAR was quick to reinstate him, complete with a playoff waiver so he could contend for a championship. Busch wrapped up the ’15 season with two wins and an eighth-place in points, topped in ’16 with a seventh-place points finish and a win at Pocono in June.

    To top it all off, Busch finally came through Sunday by winning the Daytona 500, the biggest race in all of stock car racing. The crown jewel of NASCAR and Busch completed his road from the bottom to the top by winning the Great American Race.

    The Busch America saw in Victory Lane Sunday was the best of both worlds. He was the exuberant kid from Las Vegas we all saw at Roush, but he was also the grizzled vet who bore the weight of a thousand losses and setbacks over the course of the years on his shoulders. Only this time, that weight was completely lifted.

    Mr. James says Busch’s win does nothing for NASCAR, that Busch’s win lacks magnitude. On the contrary; for someone like Busch, who has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, this was the culmination of a long and painful road back to the top. That’s what Busch’s win means for NASCAR; the ultimate comeback story.

     

  • The View From My Recliner: Pre-Clash Edition

    The View From My Recliner: Pre-Clash Edition

    After taking the holidays to recharge and fight this never ending cold, it’s time to park myself in the recliner and share my view of what is going on in the world of NASCAR.

    To be honest, the view right now is foggy at best. There are a ton of questions that need to be answered. Some we will never find out the true answer (How long is the contract with Monster Energy and how much did they pay to sponsor the premiere series?) and many others we will find out on the track.

    Last year, the Charter system was going to help give owners something tangible for their teams if they decide to get out. This off-season, we have watched so many charters move around that it is hard to figure out who actually owns charters.

    According to NASCAR.com, here is the updated charter shuffle as we get close to the Clash.

    Premium Motorsports sold this Charter to Furniture Row Racing for its second team, the No. 77. In 2016, the Charter was leased by the No. 46 team of HScott Motorsports.

    Richard Petty Motorsports is leasing the No. 44 Charter to the No. 32 team of Go Fas Racing in 2017 and Roush Fenway Racing will lease the No. 16 Charter to JTG Daugherty Racing’s newly formed second team (No. 37) in 2017.

    Near the end of the 2016 season, Tommy Baldwin Racing sold its Charter to Leavine Family Racing.

    HScott Motorsports’ No. 15 Charter was sold to Premium Motorsports and Go Fas Racing is leasing the No. 32 Charter to the No. 21 team of Wood Brothers Racing.

    Circle Sport and The Motorsports Group merged operations to field the No. 33 team with the Charter Circle Sport had. In 2016, Circle Sport partnered with Leavine Family Racing to field the No. 95 for the season.

    BK Racing sold the No. 83 Charter to Front Row Motorsports, who is leasing the Charter to TriStar Motorsports for the 2017 season.

    This charter shuffling makes me worry about the sport’s future. That is something we can attack later in the season.

    Three big questions in 2017:

    1. Will the new even lower downforce package help the racing product?
    2. How big are the sponsor issues at Stewart-Haas Racing with plenty of inventory available on the 10 and 14 cars?
    3. Will there be a surprise driver who makes the playoffs like Chris Buescher did in 2016?

    Three things I think will happen:

    1. Dodge will announce they will return to the sport with a surprise team in the lead of the effort.
    2. Danica Patrick will be replaced at Stewart-Haas Racing by Matt Kenseth.
    3. William Byron replaces Kasey Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports, Erik Jones replaces Kenseth at Joe Gibbs Racing and Kahne replaces Jones at Furniture Row Racing.

    Enjoy the wreck fest this Saturday and we’ll talk next week with my thoughts on the Clash and the new race formats.

  • SHR Sues Nature’s Bakery

    SHR Sues Nature’s Bakery

    Stewart-Haas Racing filed a $31 million breach of contract lawsuit against Nature’s Bakery on Friday. The lawsuit accuses the company of refusing to pay millions of dollars it owes the team to sponsor driver Danica Patrick through 2018.

    The lawsuit states that Nature’s Bakery sent a letter to the team on Jan. 19 terminating the sponsorship agreement.  It also says that the company has missed several re-scheduled deadlines to pay and is seeking $31.7 million.

    Nature’s Bakery seemed to be the perfect fit for Patrick because she promotes healthy living and Nature’s Bakery does the same with its nutritious line of products. The sponsor came to Patrick after Go-Daddy left in 2015.

    In a statement issued by the team on Friday, Stewart-Hass Racing emphasized that “the litigation will not impact the organization’s on-track efforts.”

    Dave Pericak, the global director of Ford Performance, said on Monday during a media teleconference, that they remain committed to Stewart-Haas Racing.

    “What I would say is we’re gonna let that, unfortunately, play out through the court system and see how it works out.  I’m hopeful that we’re gonna come to a resolution on that, but at the end of the day what I can say is that you have my commitment and the commitment of Stewart-Haas Racing and everyone that’s involved that it is not gonna affect our ability to hit the track and run that car and run it the way that it needs to be run.  I don’t really want to make any additional comments given where we are in the whole situation, and it’s very unfortunate that we’re going through it right now, but one way or another I can just tell you that you will have that 10 car on the track and it will be ready to perform.”

     

  • Harvick’s and Busch’s Post-Race Actions at Talladega Were Pointless

    Harvick’s and Busch’s Post-Race Actions at Talladega Were Pointless

    Talladega is already a stressful race. Add the fact that it’s also a Chase elimination race and the stress factor rises even more. That makes sense. That’s a given. That way, in a sense, the disagreement between Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick following the Hellmann’s 500 on Sunday almost has some merit, even if they are Stewart-Haas Racing teammates.

    Keep in mind the key word in that sentence is “almost.” Regardless of the circumstances, the tradeoff following the checkered flag between Harvick and Busch was pointless, to be honest. It had no merit, no point, no reason. Busch was upset because Harvick wasn’t working with him coming to the finish and ran into him following the race. Harvick responded by confronting Busch while he was still in his No. 41 Chevy. It was an added bit of drama that really didn’t need to be added.

    It’s understandable why Busch was upset, but truthfully, restrictor-plate racing isn’t a guarantee that teammates will act like teammates. This isn’t Formula One, where team orders are blatant and part of the norm. That’s not saying that team orders aren’t in NASCAR (Does anyone remember Richmond in September 2013?). On the contrary, NASCAR drivers are supposed to chase their own glory, and if a team happens to do good because of a teammate, well, yay. Great job everyone.

    Although Busch is a great teammate to others and has done an awesome job working with his teammates (just ask Ryan Newman), he’s a smart enough, established racer who knows that sometimes things aren’t going to go as planned. It isn’t like he’s completely innocent in not working with a teammate either; just ask Greg Biffle about the 2004 All-Star race at Charlotte, where then-teammate Busch not only took him out but several other drivers with one boneheaded bump.

    But Harvick isn’t a saint either. He’s fiery; yes, that’s great and that’s one of the reasons he’s loved as much as he is. But it’s not really entertaining anymore. It honestly stopped being entertaining around 2005. That said, he still continues to respond to situations in a zero-to-100 manner, in that his first knee-jerk response is to fly into a rage when he’s mad. Ask Jimmie Johnson following the first Chase race of 2015.

    That can be understood on a rare occasion. But Harvick’s been around long enough to know what’s necessary in the right situations. Storming over and swinging at a teammate or teammate’s car wouldn’t fall into that category, not without knowing the reasons why at first. It’s easy to see why he was mad: Busch drove up to him and gave him a heart smack on the right side, so why shouldn’t he be mad? But even Busch can attest that cooler heads should prevail.

    This doesn’t scream dissension and unease in the SHR camp, and this doesn’t look like the revival of an old rivalry. This is nothing more than a misunderstanding between teammates, albeit a ridiculous one. Both drivers are fiery, talented drivers, one of whom just so happens to flat-out love to fight. But even Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards cleared the air by the end of the Chase in 2007, back when they were Roush Fenway Racing teammates. By Martinsville, Harvick and Busch will be back to just being teammates. They hit a bump Sunday, even if it was a rather dumb one, but they get along great as teammates and shouldn’t let something like this get in the way of their chemistry.

  • Four Gears – Indianapolis Edition

    Four Gears – Indianapolis Edition

    This week our staff takes a look at some of the hot topics in the world of NASCAR. We discuss Jeff Gordon’s current status as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart’s chances for another championship in his final season. We also look at possible prospects for the recently announced Stewart-Haas Racing’s 2017 XFINITY team and question NASCAR’s decision that moved the XFINITY Series event from O’Reilly Raceway Park to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    We are joined by guest contributor, James Burton. Burton is a former ARCA pit reporter who covered the Talladega events for three years as well as the first Mobile ARCA 200. He was with WTDR 92.7 FM from 2011-13 and is currently with Jacobs Media Services.

    First Gear: After subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Indy, Jeff Gordon’s next (and likely last) race in the No. 88 will be at Pocono. Is this the last we’ve seen of Gordon in a Sprint Cup car? Should Hendrick have put more focus on Alex Bowman in the 88 car instead?

    Given that the race after Pocono is a road course, I’d put my money on Jeff Gordon – the all-time winningest road course racer in NASCAR history – being in the car for Watkins Glen. Although given his track record at The Glen since 2001, I would think it wise to let someone else drive the car.

    I wrote a piece recently explaining why I didn’t want to see Gordon back in the car again, at least not in NASCAR, and I also took to Twitter to say Hendrick Motorsports should’ve put Alex Bowman in the car after his drive at Loudon. So you probably knew where I stood on this. – Tucker White

    I want to say yes. The fact that Gordon has come back to sub for Earnhardt sort of diminishes the impact of his final season. I was sort of hoping he’d go the Rusty Wallace route and be done with it all. Still, I’m holding onto hope that maybe he will be done once and for all after Pocono. Maybe then he’ll be done for good. As for Bowman, Loudon wasn’t enough of a shot for him. On one hand, put him in the car more. He’s a heck of a driver who knows how to take care of his stuff. Then again, as James pointed out in his comments, maybe put him in the car for the shorter, flatter tracks if Earnhardt has to sit out longer. – Joseph Shelton

    I don’t think it’s the last time we’ll see Jeff Gordon drive in a Cup series race. With how few development drivers Hendrick employs (as in none), there’s a good chance Gordon will be called on again if somebody has to miss a race. Because of that, I’d rather keep Gordon in the car over Alex Bowman, who hasn’t really proven himself yet past a couple of great runs in JR Motorsports equipment. – Michael Finley

    I think so, barring more injuries from other Hendrick drivers. Gordon said he kept getting his butt kicked on restarts, so you can tell being out of the seat has changed his perspective a little bit. He’s got one race to go before he goes back into retirement, so you never know if he could go out there and dominate. Three weeks ago when Bowman filled in for Earnhardt the first week, it was mentioned it was the first time that neither an Earnhardt or Gordon had been in a race since Dale Earnhardt Sr. sat out four races in 1979. What they failed to mention was that David Pearson drove the No. 2 car those four races and he qualified on the pole at Michigan and won at Darlington. Is that banking on good omens and superstition? Absolutely, but superstition is pretty commonplace in this sport and Gordon’s no slouch at Pocono.

    As for Bowman, I think Hendrick made the right decision. This is a kid who has thus far had a ‘meh’ Cup career, but honestly deserved a chance to drive for one of the big dogs. Had it been short to mid-sized tracks past New Hampshire, then yes, keep Bowman in the car. Gordon in at Indy and Pocono was and is the right decision. Even if Earnhardt doesn’t get a waiver (which let’s be honest, he will) then the owner points will have the best chance to remain the same. – James Burton

    Second Gear: It’s looking more and more like Tony Stewart is shaping up for the upcoming Chase. With the way that he is running, does he have a chance for the championship?

    I think the jury is still out on this one. He’s starting to post more consistent top-10 runs, but I see him being where Jeff Gordon was a year ago, just cracking the top-10 at the end of the day. With that being said, I think the only track that would hinder a title run is Talladega, which as we all know is its own animal. – Tucker White

    Stewart is building momentum. Obviously, in the past he’s kicked his season into gear during the summer and it’s looking like this could be the case again. It’s not going to be anything like his dominance in 2005, but we could be looking at a repeat of his 2011 season; mildly consistent, something of a sleeper, then once the Chase kicks in, he’s the guy to beat. – Joseph Shelton

    Anything that can happen in the Chase will happen. Jeff Gordon had no momentum at all going into his final Chase last season and ended up making the final four. Stewart is no stranger to coming out of nowhere to compete and win in the Chase- just look at his 2011 season. He went from saying he didn’t deserve to be in the Chase to hoisting the Cup just a few months later. – Michael Finley

    Stewart is in the position he needs to be. Back when he returned he had to win and average a 22nd place finish in order to make the top 30 in points. He’s won and he currently sits 27th in points with six races before the cut off. In five of the last six races he has finished no worse than 11th and even his 26th at Daytona hasn’t caused him to falter much. The momentum seems to be in his favor as he has won at all the upcoming six tracks at least once.
    Does he have a chance at the championship? He’s Tony Stewart. Of course he does. The trick is staying out of trouble at the tracks that will bite you. He has one restrictor plate track left on the schedule that comes at a crucial cut off point. You survive Dega and transfer, then you have a chance at Homestead. – James Burton

    Third Gear: With the announcement of Stewart-Haas Racing fielding an XFINITY Series entry in 2017, who are some likely candidates to fill in the seat?

    The first one that comes to mind right away is Cole Custer. With his father being an executive at Stewart-Haas Racing, he’s probably leaving the JR Motorsports camp at the end of 2016, although I’m not sure if he’s ready to make the jump to the XFINITY Series.

    A more likely candidate would be Jeb Burton. He was in contention for a Chase spot before sponsorship dried up and his ride in the 43 car went the way of the dodo. Of course, depending on contract status, drivers like Darrell Wallace Jr., Ryan Reed, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick could fit the bill as well. – Tucker White

    With the Penske ties I could see Reddick or Hemric in the car. Reddick has seniority and a couple of Camping World Truck Series wins under his belt, but Hemric is solidly consistent, sitting third in points with nine top-10s in 11 starts. I see a lot of potential with him if he heads to the XFINITY Series. – Joseph Shelton

    I can see Cole Custer running a partial season while running full time in the trucks for fellow Ford team Brad Keselowski Racing. Clint Bowyer seems to be open to running lower series races, while Harvick has said he is not running in the XFINITY Series after this season. Finally, Tony Stewart has said he is open to running XFINITY races and would help provide the team with some sponsorship. – Michael Finley

    The first people to look at will be the truck drivers for Brad Keselowski Racing. Since SHR is basically replacing Hendrick for Penske as their “parent” team, you’re going to have talent such as Daniel Hemric or Tyler Reddick fighting for that ride. If I had to choose between the two I would go with Reddick as he has seniority with the organization. Another possibility might be to see Bubba Wallace jump to another Ford camp. Wallace has had mild success at Roush but SHR might be the atmosphere he needs to break through to the XFINITY win column. – James Burton

    Fourth Gear: On Saturday we were faced with yet another lackluster XFINITY race at Indy. Did NASCAR make a mistake in moving the division to Indianapolis Motor Speedway instead of leaving them at O’Reilly Raceway Park?

    Alex, I’ll take “Questions that deserve a DUH response” for 1000. I don’t care how big the purse is for the XFINITY Series at the Brickyard. The product we get at the Brickyard does not justify it. The lackluster product is compounded by the fact that the XFINITY Series is at its worst.

    I watched the ARCA race that was held at Indianapolis Raceway Park last Friday and it was a pretty entertaining race. That’s more than I can say for what we got at the Brickyard. I say either move the XFINITY Series onto the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course or take it back to Indianapolis Raceway Park or whatever it’s called now. – Tucker White

    Yep. Yep, yep, yep. I don’t understand the logic in bringing Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the XFINITY Series and it hasn’t been fruitful in the slightest. Kyle Busch has won three of the five events there, with Brad Keselowski and Ty Dillon winning the other two. Every race there has been forgettable and I think it was a mistake to leave O’Reilly Raceway Park.

    In trying to make the XFINITY schedule more like the Sprint Cup schedule, they’ve robbed the division not only of good racing but also of its own identity. We didn’t need IMS on the XFINITY schedule. We didn’t need Pocono on the schedule. If anything, if they wanted to create good racing in the series they should have made sure the schedule stood apart from the other divisions and retained its own identity. Simple as that. – Joseph Shelton

    Considering there was much better racing at ORP and just as many if more fans actually in attendance, they made a pretty big mistake. – Michael Finley

    Absolutely. To put it in perspective, let’s compare it to a bowl game. Just because the Dr. Lane’s Bath Salts for Menopause and Spider Bites Bowl is played at the Rose Bowl stadium doesn’t mean it’s going to be as epic as the actual Rose Bowl. It’s just another page in NASCAR’s failed attempts at what equates to “no driver left behind.” You race at the Brickyard when you’re good enough to make it Cup. Plain and simple. – James Burton

    Please join us again next week and become a part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts in the comment section below.

     

  • Stewart’s Emotional Sonoma Victory One Of NASCAR’s Defining Wins

    Stewart’s Emotional Sonoma Victory One Of NASCAR’s Defining Wins

    Once Tony Stewart broke his leg in a Sprint Car crash in 2013, it was easy to write him off in the long scheme of things. He had only won once that season with five top-fives and eight top-10s.  In 2014 he was winless with three top-fives and seven top-10s. Then 2015 wasn’t any better, with a measly three top-10s. There was no reason to expect anything remotely different out of that No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team in 2016, which is Stewart’s retirement year.

    So to see Stewart bring the fight to Denny Hamlin on the last corner of the last lap of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway and emerge victorious in his battered No. 14 Chevy was not only a pleasant surprise, but capped off one of the most emotional roads to recovery this sport has ever seen.

    Stewart has always been strong on the road courses, leading all active drivers with eight wins at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, so his win there isn’t exactly a surprise, especially on the heels of a strong seventh-place run at Michigan. But look at his last three finishes there beginning in 2013: 28th, 19th, and 12th. It was definitely his worst streak at Sonoma since his first start in 1999, where he finished 15th after starting second.

    But take some of the other things into consideration. In 2013 he struggled mightily, worse than he ever had, behind the wheel of a Sprint Cup car. He did win at Dover in June, but that was due to good pit strategy. He wasn’t consistent, he wasn’t near the front, and he wasn’t doing so well. That carried on into 2014 and 2015, and what was once a question of when Stewart would win again became a question of if he would win again. Top-10s alone were cause for celebration among the Stewart supporters.

    Then came Michigan two weeks ago, and Stewart put on a performance that was so strong and unexpected that many were wondering if he had turned the corner with his No. 14 and rookie Crew Chief Mike Bugarewicz. Then comes a 10th-place qualifying effort at Sonoma, followed by a determined performance by Stewart, where he led 22 laps and had no qualms door-slamming Hamlin out of the way on the way to victory.

    Is this a championship statement? Not likely. Even though SHR has now won three times in 2016, they’re still being overshadowed by the Toyotas of Joe Gibbs Racing. On top of that, even though it’s a given that Stewart will claim that 30th-place in points and claim his Chase spot come Richmond, it’s still too early to say if he’ll even contend for the championship. It would be nice, granted, but one win does not a championship run make.

    The next race is Daytona, where Stewart has multiple wins in the July event. Daytona is also a crapshoot when it comes to winners and losers. Stewart is a strong superspeedway racer and could very well nail a top-five or a top-10 easily. He’s got a lot of good tracks coming up and he will be the one to watch in the next two months before the Chase starts.

    Regardless of Chase status, it’s evident that the questions of whether or not Stewart has lost his edge can now stop. Drivers like Stewart, people like Stewart, never really lose that edge, that will to win. It may have been subdued over the last three years, but it never left Stewart completely. In the final corner of the final lap at Sonoma, it was made clear that that the will to win was stronger than ever. Stewart wanted to win at all costs and with the amount of crew members and peers including SHR drivers Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch as well as runner-up Hamlin coming up to congratulate him on his way to Victory Lane, it was obvious no one could blame him.

  • Harvick Rumors Squelched With Contract Extension at SHR and with Ford

    Harvick Rumors Squelched With Contract Extension at SHR and with Ford

    From the moment Tony Stewart announced that Stewart-Haas Racing was switching to Ford, NASCAR’s Chevrolet fans (which make up 75 percent of all NASCAR fans in my estimation) went into a panic. Harvick wouldn’t leave Chevrolet. He would look for another ride. He would replace Kasey Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports. Through it all, Harvick was firm that he was staying at what he called, “the best situation I’ve ever been in,” but long-time Chevrolet fans wouldn’t believe that. You have to wonder why.

    In February, it was written that he (Harvick) said that to not be committed to his team would be foolish. In March, Harvick basically said that he was in the best position of his career and he wouldn’t walk out on his team. In April, he said there was nothing to talk about because he was in the best organization that could possibly be. It doesn’t sound like a man on the move to me. Yet, the rumors were still there and an article on Monday fanned the flames again, saying he would be leaving for Hendrick Motorsports next year. Three days later Stewart-Haas announced a multi-year extension for Harvick. Yes, he would be in a Ford Fusion in 2017 and beyond.

    What happened? Harvick was staying at Stewart-Haas all along. Harvick made it clear from the time of the announcement that his commitment to Stewart-Haas was strong, but the fan base couldn’t fathom him in anything but a Chevy, and the disbelief kept the rumor alive. There also aren’t any open, or about to be open, good teams for him to join. Kahne has had a rough season but is under contract with Hendrick. He’s also a very talented driver. Could he have gone other places? Either the team was not strong enough or not as strong as where Harvick already was. The four-car rule and the Charter system really gave Harvick no options, but why wouldn’t he stay? He was a championship contender from the minute he got in the No. 4. How many drivers can say that today?

    So, with that rumor blown out of the water, we can get back to racing. The dominant team this year has been Joe Gibbs Racing and his pirated drivers Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Hey didn’t they change manufacturers? They were Ford guys, but that isn’t the same, I guess. What is the same continues to be the great competition in the Sprint Cup Series. Let’s concentrate on that, shall we?