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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

2014 Team Spotlight Review: Stewart-Haas Racing

Stewart-Haas Racing 2014 Review


By Richard Tix


2014 Season Stats
Wins: 6
Top 5: 23
Top 10: 41
Pole: 9

2014 was the start of a new era at Stewart-Haas Racing. One driver out (Ryan Newman) and two new ones in (Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch). That's a whole lot of personalities when you team up with Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick. Some thought, myself included, that some story lines may come of those personalities, but for the most part that wasn't the case in 2014.

The big story line ended up being Kevin Harvick and his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. It was a dream season for the #4 team, but the same can not be said for the rest of SHR. Smoke never truly made it back to form, Kurt underachieved most of the season, and Danica didn't seem to take a very big step in year two.

  • 2014 couldn't have gone too much better for Kevin Harvick. For the first time in his career he will be known as a Cup Champion after getting on a hot run in the new 2014 Chase. Throughout the season he was one of the fastest cars week to week so it was not a huge surprise to see him become a first time Champ. At the end of the season he ended with 5 wins, 14 top 5's, 20 top 10's, and 8 pole awards on his way to the title.
  • Kurt had a rough season, yet statistically may have had the second best season for a Stewart-Haas driver. That's says a lot about the drivers at SHR right now. Was it just a bad season? Or is Kurt past his prime? It would seem after 2013 it would be just a bad year on Kurts part and maybe he is due for a bounce back. He ended 2014 with a win, 6 top 5's, 11 top 10's, while finishing 12th in the points (because of a new points system). 
  • Stewart's rough 2013 season rolled right over into 2014. Many people figured that Smoke might have a slow start as it was rumored he wasn't 100% after his broken leg in 2013, but I don't think many thought his slow start would linger all year. He ended the season without a win for the first time in his career. Smoke also had 3 top 5's, 7 top 10's, and a pole while finishing 25th in points.
  • I'm going to be up front, if you were judging Danica based on the top 20 drivers it would be disappointing A season total of 3 top 10's is not a stat that jumps off the page. However, Danica means more to NASCAR than a lot of those top 20 drivers do. She helps boost a fan base and broaden the demographic and that can not be quantified in a stat like a top 10 finish. So, I will stick to just reviewing her 2014 season based on her past performance (2013). She took a small step from 2013 in a positive direction, but fans will be looking for a bigger jump in 2015.

Previous Team Spotlight: Richard Childress Racing

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