USA TODAY International Edition
Stewart says he has no beef with co- owner
Driver says he never argued with Haas over adding Kurt Busch as team’s fourth driver for next year
KANNAPOLIS, N. C. On consecutive Tuesdays on a sponsor- covered dais at Stewart- Haas Racing, a pinhole view emerged into the evolving dynamic between the two surnames in the Sprint Cup team’s title.
Their divergent styles spoke volumes about how quickly the perception of SHR swung from an organization seemingly teetering on a management implosion to a NASCAR powerhouse that is poised to enter 2014 stronger than ever. Gene Haas winged it. Tony Stewart worked it. During an 80- minute command performance in his first news confer- ence since the Aug. 5 sprint car crash that has landed him on the sidelines with a broken right leg until at least February, Stewart deftly defused all of the potentially damaging conjecture, concerns and questions raised a week earlier when Haas revealed he had angered and annoyed his NASCAR business partner by singlehandedly spearheading the hiring of Kurt Busch.
While he spun a fascinating yarn of butting heads with one of the most gargantuan and powerful personalities in motor sports, Haas did so with the swashbuckling verve of a gunslinger gone rogue.
How would Stewart — the mercurial superstar who has slapped aside tape recorders, slugged rivals and zinged anyone who gets in his way — handle coexisting with a co- owner who went under the radar to out front overnight?
With the gracious aplomb of a three- time champion, of course.
“We never argued about it,” Stewart said. “Gene was so excited about doing this and having his hand involved in it. As his partner, I love see- ing him engaged. I’m really proud of him for being as active in this process as he was. ... I just expressed my concern about the timing.”
There were playful jabs with the news media (“I actually miss you guys, which tells you that I’m not healthy yet”), quips about what he misses most (“the hot girls at the track”) and self- deprecating commentary on his slimmer figure (“That was the goal. The only way I’m truly going to lose weight is to have to break something.”)
But Stewart also delivered a series of underlying messages Tuesday about the stability of his team and relationship with Haas that were calculated without seeming rehearsed.
The biggest takeaway for Stewart, 42, from the Busch- Haas saga might have been the recognition of a role reversal.
“The part that scared me when Gene and I spoke about all this is that for a split second I was actually the
adult in the conversation,” Stewart said. “I actually was the one that used common sense and was like, ‘ Wait, let’s take a step back and think,’ and normally I’m the guy that’s throwing the dart on the board and saying, ‘ If it hits, yes, I’m full throttle.’ ”
But as Tuesday showed, he can be composed and tranquil, too, when the moment arises.
In doing so, he proved again how he has built enormous off- the- track clout as a savvy businessman whose empire includes myriad personal endorsements, racetracks and teams. He can control the mood of a room with a lighthearted and measured tone from behind a microphone as effortlessly as he can wheel a 3,400pound stock car with the gentle flicks of a steering wheel.
Though there were obviously physical differences in Tuesday’s appearance — the enormous walking boot on his right foot, the large stitches in his knee, the wheelchair that ferried him on stage and through several TV interviews afterward — Stewart’s mental acuity was as sharp as ever in explaining why Haas’ version of events “wasn’t as dramatic as he made it sound.”
Haas’ courtship of Busch began the day after the Brickyard 400 and kicked into overdrive the week Stewart was hurt and laid up in a hospital bed in Iowa for four days, leaving him out of the loop. When Stewart learned of the deal three weeks ago, Busch was three days from being offered a contract to be sponsored fully by Haas’ machine tool company.
Stewart, whose team expanded to a third car with Danica Patrick this season and will add Kevin Harvick in place of Ryan Newman next year, initially wasn’t sure it was wise to absorb the massive undertaking of growing to a fourth car with Busch until he was convinced the project was feasible by SHR director of competition Greg Zipadelli.
“I was just worried about the time frame,” Stewart said. “My job is to protect this company, and Greg was the big factor of assuring me that we could do it ... and not hurt the effort that we’ve got with Ryan ( Newman) trying to make the Chase and run for a championship this year.”
That the deal went down in a seemingly haphazard and hasty manner might have been fitting, given the relationship between Haas and Stewart started from unusual origins.
In exchange for his sublime driving talent and the sway of his famous name, Stewart was christened a 50% partner in the team without having to chip in a dime. Haas was serving a prison term for federal tax fraud when the deal was announced, and he didn’t make his first appearance at the track after his release until the 2009 Sprint All- Star Race, where Stewart delivered the team’s first win in NASCAR’s premier series.
It’s a working relationship in progress, and Stewart conceded it’ll be an adjustment as Haas’ profile continues to grow.
“You think about what role he’s played in this company ever since I’ve been a part of Stewart- Haas with him, every year he’s become more engaged,” Stewart said. “For him to take an opportunity like this to find somebody like Kurt and make this happen in such a short amount of time has really been encouraging.”
But it also left some egg on his face. In officially announcing the addition of Harvick and Budweiser in a news conference at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in mid- July, Stewart was adamant that SHR wouldn’t expand to four cars in 2014.
“I knew from Day 1 that Gene wanted this to be a four- car team eventually,” he said. “I had no dream that he had it in mind for 2014 until three Mondays ago.”
If he seemed miffed by that — or Haas’ proclamation it would be his way or “get out of the building” — Stewart didn’t let his emotions betray him in calmly explaining that he’d expect no less from Haas, a magnate known for his maverick streak in building a billion- dollar business.
“Gene is a self- made success story in the CNC industry, and he’s pretty much been a one- man show doing it,” Stewart said. “This is the first time that he’s really had a partner. He just didn’t think about talking to me about it until it got further along.”
But would Stewart have wanted to add Busch so quickly if Haas had involved him earlier — or if he hadn’t been in a diminished state for several days after his accident?
“I don’t know, because we have not been in that position through the last five years,” Stewart said.
And now? “I think we would talk about it a lot more,” Stewart said. “He’s definitely the guy that writes the checks. And if he decides he wants to do something, I’m pretty sure with the fact that he holds the checkbook that he gets the final say of it. But I think he values our opinions now and understands why I was asking questions and respects that a lot more since last week.”
Next time, Haas even might take Stewart’s advice on adroitly handling the news media, which was offered before the Busch announcement.
“He’s like, ‘ I’ll just wing it,’ ” Stewart said. “I’m like, ‘ No, you can’t do that, speaking from experience.’ He called me two days later and ( said), ‘ Man, you were right.’ ”