From Mike Maruska's blog:
Address:http://www.onebadwheel.com/blogs/mike_maruska/2009/02/08/10-reasons-why-\
stewart-haas-is-better-than-you-think/


Updated: Feb 08 , 2009
10 Reasons Why Stewart-Haas Is Better Than You Think
By Mike Maruska

When Tony Stewart surprised almost everyone to leave his cushy job at
Joe Gibbs Racing to assume ownership of Haas CNC Racing, people assumed
the worst. The obvious comparisons were for Stewart to have a similar
path to other driver-owners, Robby Gordon and Michael Waltrip. While on
the surface that makes some sense, but Stewart's situation is
drastically better.

~Haas is already an established team. While Gordon and Waltrip basically
converted hobby/Busch teams into their Cup outfits, Haas has been a one
or two-car Cup team since 2003. With a lot of infrastructure already in
place, Stewart didn't have to drop cash for everything at once. It also
meant more tweaking than simply scrambling to get all the pieces in
place before Daytona.

~Stewart has firsthand experience on how to build a raceteam. During
Stewart's tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing, the team grew organically into a
powerhouse. Stewart was able to observe how Gibbs ran his team, worked
with sponsors, grew slowly, and emphasized hiring and keeping talented
employees. This is another large difference compared to Gordon and
Waltrip. Neither was with a championship-caliber team(Gordon was with
RCR at a time when they were still rebounding from the loss of Dale
Earnhardt). So when it came time to start their own teams, they lacked
the blueprint that Stewart surely has.

~Tony Stewart is a better driver than Robby Gordon. It sounds obvious,
but for as talented as Gordon is, he still is prone to costly mistakes
and fits of poor judgment. Stewart has won at least one race every year
since 1999.

~Tony Stewart is more marketable than Michael Waltrip. In a move worthy
of its own Ripley's Believe it or Not episode, Michael Waltrip managed
to fully sponsor three cars in his maiden Cup voyage based on little
more than his persuasion and pitchman skills. What might be more
impressive, though, is that Stewart landed enough sponsorship to fully
fund two Cup cars in a year filled with unsponsored teams, merges and
contraction. Not only is Stewart one of the top drivers, he is also one
of the most marketable and recognizable drivers on the circuit. Having
such a resource at Stewart-Haas is a great advantage long term.

~Stewart can learn from Gordon and Waltrip's mistakes. Gordon and
Waltrip made plenty of mistakes building their teams. Gordon gambled on
an unproven engine manufacturer and Waltrip expanded to three teams too
quickly (there was also the PR nightmares regarding jet fuel and Waltrip
leaving the scene of an accident). Stewart will surely observe and learn
from these blunders in the coming years when he begins to shape his
organization.

~Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman are better drivers than anyone Haas has
ever had. With all respect to Scott Riggs, Ward Burton, Johnny Sauter,
Jeremy Mayfield and Jeff Green, Newman and Stewart are the best and most
accomplished drivers ever. While previous drivers have never dazzled,
Haas managed to remain in the top 35 and gather occasional top 10's(14
total). Newman and Stewart will only improve on these numbers.

~They're using Hendrick Engines: Michael Waltrip and Robby Gordon both
used engines from sources (Toyota, Menard) that were new to building
NASCAR engines. As expected there were growing pains with both programs
and both teams saw large batches of sour engines. If step one is making
the top 35, then a reliable engine program is an enormous advantage.

~They're using Hendrick Engines: Not only is Stewart-Haas set up with an
existing engine program, they have one of the top engine programs in the
sport. In fact, Hendrick's technical support will provide Stewart-Haas
with similar resources that Gibbs Racing once received from Hendrick as
a startup team.

~Haas has technology on their side With on-track testing axed for 2009,
the emphasis shifts to collecting data elsewhere. For Stewart-Haas, they
have a state-of-the-art "rolling wind tunnel" in their shop, which means
they actually have a technical advantage in one area of the sport. The
biggest key for Stewart is acquiring the right engineers and other
personnel to best utilize their advantage.

~Tony Stewart isn't stupid. Simply put, why would Stewart go to Haas if
he didn't believe he could win races in year one. Tony Stewart could
have gone to almost any team in NASCAR if he wanted. He didn't need
money either. Stewart hates losing and if there wasn't a legitimate
chance for Stewart to succeed at Haas he would have gone somewhere else.

Whatever it takes......