Haas CNC offered a deal Stewart could not refuse

[admin]

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM

JOLIET, Ill. -- He had never felt any desire to become an owner on NASCAR's premier circuit, never felt any need to entangle himself in the politics of the Sprint Cup tour. He was happy and content overseeing his three racetracks and four open-wheel teams -- until he stepped out of a car he owned after winning the prestigious Chili Bowl midget race in 2007, and everything suddenly changed.

"Climbing out of that car and knowing I had played a part in building that team," Tony Stewart said, "was a feeling like I had never had before."

And a desire to recapture that feeling ultimately led Stewart to Thursday, when the two-time NASCAR champion formally unveiled Stewart-Haas Racing, an entity that will debut on the Sprint Cup Series next season. Stewart is leaving longtime home Joe Gibbs Racing a year before his contract is set to expire, because the powers that be at what's now called Haas CNC Racing offered him a deal he couldn't refuse -- 50 percent ownership in return not for money, but for his ability to win races, court sponsors and turn a struggling organization around.

"It was a huge decision-making process, and obviously something that was not made overnight," Stewart said before a packed media room at Chicagoland Speedway. "Like we told you guys, this was a long process, and not something that was easy by any means. We did weigh our options heavily as to what was out there, and what our options were. And the opportunity to have ownership of a race team was, in my opinion, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don't know if an offer of this magnitude has ever been made in this series to a driver."

It's a deal that began to take shape in December of last year, when Haas CNC officials first contacted Stewart with their staggering offer of a no-buy-in ownership share. This past spring, Stewart took the offer to his current employers at Joe Gibbs Racing, team co-owners Joe and J.D. Gibbs, who were not at Chicagoland on Thursday and thus unavailable for comment. Stewart said they were shocked -- by not only what had been offered to him, but by the idea that a driver who had spent his entire NASCAR career at the Gibbs shop could be on the brink of leaving for somewhere else.

"We always dreamed and we always thought that I would start and finish at Joe Gibbs Racing," Stewart said. "So it was a shock when we went to them. But after sitting and talking with Joe and J.D., I basically said, 'Joe, I've got an opportunity to be in a role like you are.' And I think that's something that at the end of the day Joe respected. And it's hard to not want to see somebody chase their dreams. And that's something that the Gibbs family's always been very good about and passionate about. This was a hard process to go through with Joe. There was a lot of emotion involved at times. But at the end of the day there was understanding."

And for Stewart, there was the irresistible lure of a legacy, something more long-lasting than his driving championships and his reputation behind the wheel. He's had outside interests for the bulk of his NASCAR career, owning racetracks and teams in the World of Outlaws and U.S. Auto Club, with a degree of success -- his USAC teams curerrently lead all three of that sanctioning body's national divisions. But he had always been opposed to Sprint Cup ownership. It would take up too much time, he was too busy, he had no patience for the behind-the-scenes politicking that ownership demanded.

But over time he softened, his temperament becoming more balanced, the success he enjoyed in other forms of motorsports piquing his interest in the big time. Winning that Chili Bowl race in Tulsa, Okla., and seeing his car and all his guys in Victory Lane became something he wanted to experience on a much grander level.

"You talk to drivers who have retired in the last three, four, five years, it's hard to just walk away from this sport. This gives me an avenue when the day comes that I can't drive a racecar or don't want to drive a racecar anymore, I can still be involved heavily in NASCAR. I know what that feeling is like in USAC and the World of Outlaws series, and I really feel like this is something I want to do the rest of my life," he said.

"I'm excited about having this opportunity. I'm excited about the fact that I feel like we can go to Daytona and we have the opportunity to go there and win the Daytona 500 and stand there and climb out of my car with my own guys and my own operation and be there as champions that way. That's an aspect I'm hoping to experience and enjoy."

Winning next year's Daytona 500 would requite an abrupt turnaround of a Haas CNC team that currently has both its cars outside the top 35 in owner points, and has recorded only one top-five finish in its seven-year history. But the team does receive engines, chassis and technical support from Hendrick Motorsports, which has won the last two championships on the Cup level.

And then, of course, there's Stewart, who brings a natural ability to win races along with enough clout to lure sponsors and a name second driver. "We've been in this in sport for a number of years building what we feel like is the nucleus of a winning organization, but quite frankly we haven't finished that journey," said Joe Custer, general manager of a Haas CNC team that will become Stewart-Haas after this season. "Being able to work together and put a deal like this together is a dream for the Haas organization."

Which explains the offer of half of the organization, with no money received in return. "He's got equity into it, whether it's blood, sweat and tears or whatever he's got to put into it," Custer said. "We don't discuss the financial terms of our agreements, obviously. But yes, he's got skin in the game, we've got skin in the game. We are going to do this together."

While the percentage might be unprecedented, the practice is not. Greg Biffle said other teams were offering him ownership shares before he re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing. Ray Evernham proposed ownership to Jeff Gordon when the former crew chief broke from Hendrick Motorsports to spearhead Dodge's re-entry in 2001. Gordon went to Rick Hendrick, expressed his desire to remain with that organization, and walked away with an ownership share of Jimmie Johnson's car. "It's very rare," Gordon said. "... It's just not talked about as much."

Although Stewart said he signed the contract a few weeks ago, he's bound to his No. 20 car for the remainder of this season. As for sponsors, car numbers and a second driver, Stewart offered no details, saying all that remains a work in progress. While Stewart doesn't own the whole company, "we'll accept his lead" on personnel matters, Custer said. If Haas-Stewart is going to become a contender, it's clear it's going to happen on the strength of Stewart's name, ability and reputation.

"I think this presents a challenge for him for sure," said current Gibbs teammate Denny Hamlin. "I don't think anybody doubts what he has right now, definitely a championship-caliber level team, but he's going to have to work at it over on that other side, especially being an owner. There's more than just driving. I know the issues Joe and J.D. deal with on a weekly basis. It's tough. I really could not imagine going through that and still having the responsibilities of driving."

Stewart believes the pieces are in place. "I really feel like when you look at this program, we have support with Hendrick engines, Hendrick chassis and Hendrick technical support. So with those variables I feel like that we have the variables in place to go out and be competitive right away," he said.

"At the same time, we know it's a rebuilding process and it's going to be an adjustment period. How long is this adjustment period going to take? We don't know. But at the same time I think the important thing is that Joe and I have looked and we said this is where we want to be. We've set where we want to be and getting our cars in the top-five in points or top-10 in points and knowing that we have cars that are capable of winning championships."

That's a very long way from where Haas is now. But Greg Zipadelli, Stewart's current crew chief at Gibbs, has no doubts. "I think that if he doesn't start off with the success he's used to or wants then when he does get it, it's going to be much more fulfilling knowing that he took it from what it is to hopefully what it will be for him," he said. "There's a lot of great support with his ties over there. I truly don't believe that they'll have a lot of struggle. He's very, very talented. I'm sure there are a lot of good people in this garage that would love to go work for him and because of that I think it will be a lot more easier to start and have success."

But in the meantime, there's a season to finish. Stewart is 12th in points, his hopes of making the Chase in his final year with Gibbs hampered by a string of rotten luck. But the organization means enough to him that when the time came to break the news to the guys back at the shop, Stewart did it personally, addressing the team Wednesday at its headquarters in Huntersville, N.C.

"I wondered how it was going to feel," he said. "I wondered how everybody was going to react. At the end of my talking to the group, everyone clapped. And when I came off the stage and they broke for lunch, there were people that stood in line to shake my hand and said, 'We wish you the best of luck, we valued working with you for 10 years.' And that's something that made me feel really good."

[rookie]

I hope He's not looking for love in all the wrong places.