29 replies to this topic

[OfficeLinebacker]

So this is big news:

http://www.nascar.co...cing/index.html

Apparently Tony was given this opportunity Scot-free (with apologies to our Tartan bethren), simply for his driving talent and marketability.

It's obviously a HUGE step, yet one that makes perfect sense. He already owns four race tracks and several racing teams in the lower-lower levels.

Recent history has shown that the role of owner-driver is counter to success, yet pundits agree that if anyone can pull it off, it's Tony Stewart.

Greg Zipadelli, his only crew chief, will remain with Joe Gibbs, along with his sponsor, Home Depot, and his number, 20. He'll be racing for Office Depot. His car number hasn't been announced, but 70, 66, and 14 are likely candidates. His partner is likely Ryan Newman, though Scott Riggs is not out of the picture.

This should be really interesting. I am very proud of Tony and I wish him the best. It'll give us a nice storyline to follow next year.

Of course many of us are hoping that Juan Pablo Montoya will land at Joe Gibbs Racing, but that's secondary to the big story--Tony Stewart is the next man to try where Bill Elliott and Ricky Rudd failed.

Go Tony, go Stewart Haas Racing. I wish you the best.

[red stick]

I hope he spent some time talking to Elliott and Rudd. Both found it's much harder racing and owning than racing alone. Neither particularly recommended the experience. And if they were honest about it, Robby Gordon and Michael Waltrip might tell you the same.

I wish him the best, but if you thought he was moody and temperamental before, imagine what a season of 33rd place finishes will do to him.

[PhillyF1Fan]

There are some differences between what Tony Stewart is doing and what Rudd, Gordon, Waltrip and Elliot tried. He, Stewart, is partnering with Carl Haas, which if you followed CART pre split would understand that the success he had when partnered with Paul Newman. From Andretti to Mansell, Haas experienced winning.

Elliot and Rudd where differant in the sense that they were independent teams in the sense that they had to build a race shop from the ground up, Tony already has alot of the major pieces in place. His business partner already knows how to win and so does Tony.

I think the biggest hurdle for the new team will lie with Tony and his new crew chief/ race engineer.

Waltrip is/ has been supported throughout his entire career because of his last name and I think that Stewart could stand to benefit from Robby Gordon's experience the most.

[Alaweni]

I'm bitter about this because this is the end of his career.

Mostly about how he has wasted his talent by using the AJ Foyt Fitness DVD. If he actually would have focused on driving instead of using 1/2 his energy getting out of bed with a hangover he could have been so much more.

Bottom line is he is running simply for the paycheck because he wasn't committed enough to beat Kyle.

[race4aliving]

That's GENE Haas who co-own's Stewarts new team, not CARL Haas the Indy car owner.
Gene also happens to in jail right now serving time for tax evasion.

[AyePirate]

Originally posted by Alaweni
I'm bitter about this because this is the end of his career.

Mostly about how he has wasted his talent by using the AJ Foyt Fitness DVD. If he actually would have focused on driving instead of using 1/2 his energy getting out of bed with a hangover he could have been so much more.

Bottom line is he is running simply for the paycheck because he wasn't committed enough to beat Kyle.

It's funny you should mention AJ. That's the guy that Stewart has always reminded me of- the prodigious talent, the girth, the ability to engage the mouth before the brain, the big heart when the mood strikes him...very much the of the same mold.

You might be right, it does look like Kyle blew him out of JGR, but the Haas CNC deal is one that I bet a lot of drivers would jump at. Dale jr. must be thinking damn I missed it by one year since Tony got essentially what he Jr. wanted from DEI (Tony's deal has the added bonus of Hendrick cars are the class of the Chevy's).

And as an added bonus Smoke will never have to wonder which driver the owner likes best.

I think the deal has potential to be great for Tony. He'll have Hendrick cars, Haas has some great facilities in their shop and he is one of the few drivers that will be able to attract sponsors in a tough economic climate. Who knows? now that its his name on the team he may buckle down and drop some lbs. He is one of those guys gets motivated by negative expectations.

....or he could go the other way into late period AJ-ness which would be a clustre-f.

[Alaweni]

Originally posted by AyePirate


It's funny you should mention AJ. That's the guy that Stewart has always reminded me of- the prodigious talent, the girth, the ability to engage the mouth before the brain, the big heart when the mood strikes him...very much the of the same mold.

You might be right, it does look like Kyle blew him out of JGR, but the Haas CNC deal is one that I bet a lot of drivers would jump at. Dale jr. must be thinking damn I missed it by one year since Tony got essentially what he Jr. wanted from DEI (Tony's deal has the added bonus of Hendrick cars are the class of the Chevy's).

And as an added bonus Smoke will never have to wonder which driver the owner likes best.

I think the deal has potential to be great for Tony. He'll have Hendrick cars, Haas has some great facilities in their shop and he is one of the few drivers that will be able to attract sponsors in a tough economic climate. Who knows? now that its his name on the team he may buckle down and drop some lbs. He is one of those guys gets motivated by negative expectations.

....or he could go the other way into late period AJ-ness which would be a clustre-f.

I remember after his last championship he said he was going to use the money to buy an exercise gym for his house and stop eating 4 cheeseburgers at a pop...

[CWeil]

They were discussing this on Sirius today- apparently in the modern era (80's and beyond), there have been all of 27 wins in around 1200 starts by owner/drivers. That's not good.

[OfficeLinebacker]

Originally posted by Alaweni


I remember after his last championship he said he was going to use the money to buy an exercise gym for his house and stop eating 4 cheeseburgers at a pop...

IIRC he used the money to have a Dairy Queen soft serve installed in his motor coach.

In fairness, he also installed a nice home gym, he just never uses it.

[Lantern]

That gives us THREE more stories to watch next year.

How Tony does in the new team and with who at crew chief.

How well Gibbs does without Tony.

How Kyle does as the #1 guy with a young Lagano and Hamlin a distant #2 behind him.

[AyePirate]

I think this is a genius move by Haas.

50% of Stewart-Haas Racing is worth nore than 100% of Haas CNC Racing.

[red stick]

Originally posted by race4aliving
That's GENE Haas who co-own's Stewarts new team, not CARL Haas the Indy car owner.
Gene also happens to in jail right now serving time for tax evasion.

Thanks. You beat me to it.


And let's not get too excited about Hendrick engines. I'm glad that Roush, Hendrick, etc. partner with and share some of their expertise with lesser teams. Name one of those teams that does as well as Roush, Hendrick, etc.

I think the bottom line is he wanted the challenge of being a team owner. A classic case of beware what you ask for...

[Dmitriy_Guller]

How much will Stewart be involved in day-to-day management of the team? IIRC, both Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson own parts of the Hendrick team, and yet they're not really owner-drivers.

[Ricardo F1]

Well it'll give him more time to take other drivers out.

[whitewaterMkII]

Originally posted by Ricardo F1
Well it'll give him more time to take other drivers out.

...at the rear of the field.

TS really has his hands full now. Obviously he's set for life on his past salary, but now that he's an owner he gets to negotiate his own salary, which ultimately determines how much goes into the race team.
It will be years before he wins again, which is sad to this fan of his.
I wonder how much Haas had to do with this, since he's in a Federal prison right now and won't be out for another year.

[OfficeLinebacker]

While prison is never laudable, hasn't Hendrick spent time behind bars for financial funny business as well?

[AyePirate]

House arrest for bribing for bribing Honda executives with BMW cars. etc.

[Ross Stonefeld]

He was a felon, pardoned under Clinton.

[Locai]

Let's not forget that Kyle Petty is very involved in the day-to-day running (into the ground) of Petty Enterprises. He may not be technically an owner-driver. But, he's not really been very good at either one.

[Zar]

Good luck to Tony...I think he will need it to be competitive, but I'm happy for the guy and I think it's a good move long term.

OTOH this opens a spot with JGR and I'm praying to the racing gods that JPM gets it!!!!

[Rob G]

Originally posted by CWeil
They were discussing this on Sirius today- apparently in the modern era (80's and beyond), there have been all of 27 wins in around 1200 starts by owner/drivers. That's not good.

The only truly successful owner-driver I can think of in the past 20 years was Alan Kulwicki. What he did in 1992 was incredible.

The low number doesn't surprise me. Some owner drivers (both Pettys and Darrell Waltrip, for instance), were in the waning years of their careers and arguably should have retired years earlier, but most were guys like James Hylton, Dave Marcis, Cecil Gordon, D.K. Ulrich, Jimmy Means, J.D. McDuffie, and so on and so on and on. They had lots of heart but little money, and were there to just be a part of it and to hope for a lucky break. Tony Stewart's got the heart, the money, the skill, and the youth to get it done.

[John B]

Rudd and D. Waltrip enjoyed some success when they started, winning first year out of the box, though not against the volume of superteam cars we see today from Hendrick, Gibbs, Roush.

From Gibbs perspective the timing isn't bad. In the year before TS leaves, they sew up Kyle Busch, a couple years ago Hamlin, and their version of Lewis Hamilton (Logano) just became eligible and has a nationwide win and other good runs.

I wonder if TS will turn up in an Indy car down the road and give the 500 another shot....

[red stick]

Originally posted by Rob G
Tony Stewart's got the heart, the money, the skill, and the youth to get it done.

Here's hoping you're right. But what Rudd and Elliott both commented on was the vast difference in being a driver, with limited though substantial responsibilities, to being the guy responsible for EVERYTHING. I wonder if Stewart possesses the mindset and people skills to manage all that and drive the car. We'll soon know.

[ColdHeart]

Tony has well-known issues with claustrophobia and is no doubt getting tired of the grind. It would not surprise me to see him cut back to part-time status within a few years and transition to being a car owner. Wouldn't be the first time; Richard Childress started out as a fairly decent Cup driver and Jack Roush was a very successful drag racer.

[PhillyF1Fan]

race4aliving That's GENE Haas who co-own's Stewarts new team, not CARL Haas the Indy car owner.
Gene also happens to in jail right now serving time for tax evasion.

Race, thanks, I was unaware that Haas is Gene and Not Carl.

I would suspect that Tony's performance will suffer and will not be privy to inside Toyota knowledge for the remained of the season. Much like a lame duck president in the USA.

The team as it stands now has top drivers, Stewart and Newman allegedly, top sponsorship in Office Depot, and facilities in place. Add to that the resources they receive from Hendrick and you have the combination to run well. At short tracks and restrictor plate races, where uncertainty plays a much great role than normal, they will have chances to win.

[Nathan]

Originally posted by red stick
I hope he spent some time talking to Elliott and Rudd. Both found it's much harder racing and owning than racing alone. Neither particularly recommended the experience. And if they were honest about it, Robby Gordon and Michael Waltrip might tell you the same.

I wonder what Jeff Gordon would say? Let's face it, there will be others involved in the management. The team will be using Hendrick chassis and engines, so that tackles the big issue with Waltrip, as well this isn't a start-up. Robby will tell you within 20 seconds he can't get the sponsors like Tony can.

[AyePirate]

Originally posted by PhillyF1Fan


I would suspect that Tony's performance will suffer and will not be privy to inside Toyota knowledge for the remained of the season.

I doubt that.

If his performance suffers it may be from distraction but not from lack of help from his team.

They gave him a standing o at the shop when he announce his plans. They didn't want him to leave but understand it's a great opportunity for him.

I am not sure but I don't think Tony is much beyond tell Zip that the car is loose or tight. So I don't think technology transfer is an issue JGR wants as many cars as possible in the Chase and they aren't going to shirk their responsibilities to Home Depot etc.

[ColdHeart]

The housing crunch is hitting Home Depot hard and they may be gone at the end of this season - which may explain why Tony jumped now. HDs contract runs through '09 but they may just buy their way out a year early and walk away.

[OfficeLinebacker]

Kyle Busch did OK despite some outsider status at Hendrick last year, no?

We all know that Tony is almost as good at working on cars as he is at driving them. Just last year, in his first or second complete race back from the broken shoulder, he was on his back wielding a hammer on his crunched bodywork.

Don't let those fake ads for Home Depot fool you. He LOVES working with his hands and, if the world of wrenching were as lucrative as the world of driving, he'd be an elite mechanic (maybe not "Smoke"y Yunick material ha ).

Just not sure how much technology transfer there is between Toyota and Chevy. He's already signed an agreement not to poach ANY JGR staff (thus why Zippy isn't following...this year at least).

I would imagine there's a similar "won't poach technology" clause, which, though harder to enforce, will be respected.

Tony is a brat (or prat if you will). He is belligerent. He's fat, and he comes across as a major dick.

One thing that I have absorbed, however, is that Tony is also a man of his word. If I were Toyota/JGR, if he said he wasn't going to poach technology, and he signed a document to that effect, that would be all I need.

He might not be classy in the way he comports himself in a day-to-day basis, but when it comes to business, whether it's involvement with a team, running his dirt tracks and his charity events, or other more business-centric endeavors, I think he's about as classy as they get.

Look at the way he's addressing his departure from Gibbs. Only the most biased or cold people would not feel their heart warmed by how he's comported himself, and the response of the team, in this departure scenario.

Oh yeah, and I don't know if this is part of "class" or not, but he puts his best effort forward when it comes to doing marketing for his sponsors--look at those Home Depot ads, that ad w/ his Corvette for Armor All, the Toyota fan experience (radio controlled cars) ad. I think he knows as much as anybody that one of the best types of commercials is when our heroes are exposed as being a bit off and made fun of. He plays that role to a 't.'

Note Montoya is of the same ilk--those types of commercials are by far my favorite. To me someone of very high status being brought down to Earth (or getting the piss taken out, if you will) is the epitome of entertainment. When the hero is complicit, that just makes it all the better for everyone involved!

Can post links if desired!

[OfficeLinebacker]

Hey just wanted to post this article, since obviously as far as I am concerned this thread is an opportunity for me to throw a love-fest for Tony:

http://www.nascar.co...work/index.html

This hilarious episode (have I mentioned how I get a kick out of celebrities being humiliated? ) demonstrates this guy's MO:

Stewart also builds playgrounds for his sponsor Home Depot, has auctioned off his own prized items for charity -- championship rings, helmets, driver suits -- and has even endured bodily harm. At the start of the season, Stewart agreed to have his infamously hairy back waxed on his radio show Tony Stewart Live. The stunt raised $125,000 for the Victory Junction Gang Camp.

Who the hell does that? I mean it was a big deal when Steve Carell had a few strips taken from his chest for a movie role (for which he was paid, natch). But this guy does it for free. To raise money for charity.

That **** hurts!

Pattie Petty on how Stewart helps her deal with life's ups & downs, starting with her son Adam's passing:

"I've always loved [Tony] -- he was always my best friend. But now I just don't like to be very far away from him. I feel better, and I feel calmer, and I deal with life better when he's close by."

I bet you this story, if you read between the lines, triggered some of Tony's famous cantankerousness & belligerence. I'd like to have heard what he had to say to those fans. Who knew it was for a righteous cause?

The example that is most vivid in his mother's mind is when her son granted the wish of a dying girl: 17-year-old Nicole Childs, who suffered from an incurable cancer. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Nicole was to meet her hero for a brief introduction at Michigan International Speedway in the summer of 2000.

"But he just took that little gal everywhere he went that day," Boas said. "She had no hair under her ball cap and still was the cutest kid. On their way to his drivers' meeting, she was walking right next to him and some fans rushed Tony to get something signed ..."

The girl was knocked to the ground and Stewart was appalled, she added.

"Oh my gosh that was not going to do!" Boas continued. "He scooped her up and took her on into the drivers' meeting. It fractured him that someone would not be thoughtful of her."

Stewart won the race that weekend and stayed in touch with Nicole until her death.

(LMAO at the bolded part--if that's how his mom describes it, imagine the actual scene! I bet it made knocking a tape recorder out of a journo's hand look like saintly restraint!)

Now this whole story bodes very, very poorly for Stewart Haas Racing. In racing, I think it's standard that running a tight ship and controlling costs is tantamount to being successful. Hopefully he can balance his philanthropy, and use it wisely, to garner success. Obviously there's a relationship there--it's his fame that allows him to donate, and his charity no doubt helps his fame. Yet without success there is very little fame, and without fame there can be little donation.