And that's why I believe that Stewart Haas will have a very successful
season. I think Tony and Ryan are going to give HMS a run for their
money.

--- In jerms_joint@yahoogroups.com, kentdaughtrey@... wrote:
>
> 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......
>