2015 Team Spotlight Preview: Stewart Haas Racing

SHR 2015 Season Preview

By Richard Tix

2014 Season Review

2014 Season Stats for Returning Drivers

Races: 141

Wins: 6

Top 5: 23

Top 10: 41

Pole: 9

2014 Chase Drivers: 2

If Kevin Harvick wasn't added to this team in the offseason then the view of SHR in 2014 would be completely different. That's because most of the team struggled all season long except Harvick who was one of the best cars week to week and won his first Sprint Cup Championship.

Harvick accumulated 5 of SHR's 6 wins, 14 of 23 top 5's, 20 of 41 top 10's, and 8 of 9 poles. Take away Harvick and you have a very poor team season considering many think of SHR as a top team. The nice thing about winning a Championship? It covers up all those other short comings the team may have had.

The hardest thing for me to put my finger on is how Harvick was so much better than Stewart and Kurt last year. Part of it was Harvick was just better, but it seemed like the other three drivers never had the speed Harvick did.

Now, I don't want to take anything away from Harvick, but it seemed like Stewart wasn't 100% all year and then had too many issues distracting him, same with Kurt. If SHR figures it out again like they did early in 2014 watch out because Harvick and Stewart will be on a mission.

It's not an easy task to repeat in NASCAR but Harvick could have a real shot if SHR gets the new package figured out before everyone else.

Kevin Harvick

• Not much to say here that hasn't already. Harvick had one heck of a first season with SHR in 2014 and will look to continue it in 2015. He is in the middle of his prime and still should have some years left to get Championship number two.

Tony Stewart

• I have to believe he wasn't 100% all year in 2014. Stewart isn't young anymore but he still has a lot of fight and desire left, meaning 2015 might be a big year for him. He looked good to go at this years Media Tour so I think he gets back to his winning ways in 2015.

Kurt Busch

• Kurt, not Smoke, was the other driver in the Chase last season. That was all due to his awesome win at Martinsville in 2014, but that racing never translated to other tracks last year. He will need to figure it out in 2015 or he could be one of the more disappointing acquisitions in NASCAR for SHR.

Danica Patrick

• 2014 was Danica's second full season at the Cup level. Again, she entered the season and most fans expectations were not through the roof since she is still learning on the job. She did take a small step in the right direction last year, but year three will be important in the development stage. Also, she is entering her last year under contract with SHR, but both sides have stated they would like to reach a deal. Hopefully the thought of having that hover over the season doesn't hinder her development in year 3.

2014 Driver Spotlight Review: Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick 2014 Review

By Richard Tix

2014 Preview

Season Grade: A+

Kevin Harvick spent 13 seasons, 466 races, and 135,115 laps with Richard Childress Racing before joining Stewart-Haas in 2014. That's 23 career wins, 100 top 5's, 209 top 10's, and 6 Poles all with one team. 

In 2014 he made a big move and left his long time team behind for his buddy Tony Stewarts team, SHR. Some wondered how the transition would go, myself included, but after watching Matt Kenseth make the move to JGR in 2013 and winning 7 races most thought it was possible for him to run well. 

"I think that Harvick will step into SHR just fine to start 2014. The past two seasons he has got off to a good start within the first ten races. In 2013 Harvick wasn't great, but he was very consistent to start the season (other then Daytona) so I don't see any reason that with a good team behind him and good parts his team can start off smooth. I only wonder about the long run at SHR. Will someone feel that they are not getting the best equipment? With the possibility of Danica and Kurt being left on the back burner while Owner and best bud get the best equipment will someone get upset?" -From the 2014 Kevin Harvick Preview

Looking back at my preview its crazy that I brought up equipment. Not that there is any indication Kurt Busch didn't have the stuff that Harvick had, but it was Harvick that ended up running the best with what he had, so was there anything there? I highly doubt it, but its interesting to look back at. I did think he would have a slow start at SHR (full disclosure), but that was anything from the truth.

Harvick stepped right into the #4 and won at Phoenix early on. Actually, Harvick dominated that race and proved how fast he could be with this team. The main issue early on was his bad luck and some bad pit stop mistakes. Harvick didn't find consistency early because it seemed like late in the race something would happen that set him back (Blown tire, slow pit stop, wrong place wrong time).

Going into the Chase that seemed like it would be a major concern, and then news broke that the #4 and #14 pit crews would swap places for the Chase. That worry seemed to go away and so did some of the bad luck.

Havick ended up winning 5 races (tied a career high), 14 top 5's (3rd highest career mark), and 20 top 10's (tied for 3rd in his career). The most interesting thing about the 2014 season is that Harvick put together 8 poles. In his career before SHR he has 6 total career Pole Awards in 13 seasons. So, he was consistently fast all season and seemed to figure out the new qualifying format early and often.

Oh, and Kevin Harvick also became a first time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion in 2014. Not a bad career move for "Happy."

• Want to look back at his Championship Season? Take a look at 2014 Chase Highlights

Modern Day King of Bristol

Kyle Busch vs Kurt Busch

The Bristol Debate

By Richard Tix

The days of Cale Yarborough and David Pearson are long gone. The days of Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, and Rusty Wallace have passed. It now could be the Era of the Busch Brothers at Bristol. Since 2002 Kurt and Kyle Busch have won at Bristol Motor Speedway a combined 10 times. That is 10 times in 24 races, which is an astonishing 41.66 percent of the time.

After letting that sink in, take into account since leaving Penske Kurt hasn't had the same kind of quality out of his cars that he once had and is now moving to a new team (Add onto this though, Kurt has had a very slow start at SHR). But when Kurt took steps backwards, Kyle came and stepped in to keep the family name alive at Bristol. Also, neither has won in the last 5 races at Bristol. So has there era ended at Bristol? Or are they just getting going? NASCAR Behind the Wall will take a look at both drivers career at Bristol thus far, and speculates which one will take the crown in the brotherly battle.

Kurt Busch

Really, Kurt's dominance at Bristol came when he was with Jack Roush. He won 4 of his career 5 races at BMS with Roush and the remaining one was in his first year with Penske. So has Kurt lost his touch? It is so hard to tell because for the past two seasons he has been in an outcast car, small team, with lesser parts. Last year he still managed to finish 4th in the first stop at Bristol with Furniture Row. Now he moves on with Stewart-Haas Racing and a new fresh start. This could be the turn around to make this sibling rivalry finally come full circle. (It's interesting to note the whole SHR team has had a slow start in 2014. Other than Kevin Harvicks Phoenix win everyone has struggled).

Kurt's Bristol days were from 2002-2006 when he won 5 races, had 5 top 5's, 8 top 10's, and an average finish of 7.11 in 9 races.

Kyle Busch

Unfortunately for NASCAR fans, Kurt's hay day at Bristol ended right around when Kyle's started in 2006. With Kyle we can talk about his full career at Bristol. He hasn't moved teams as much (Hendrick for his first 3 years, Gibbs the remaining) and he hasn't hit too many low points here.

But as was mentioned, Kyle's Day at Bristol started in 2006 and is still current (even though he is in his longest drought at Bristol in his career, 5 races). Since 2006 (16 of his 18 career starts here) he has an average finish of 7.31, 5 wins, 8 top 5's, and 12 top 10's.

Head to Head

After taking a look at the separated, lets put those stats together and start to get a look at who may end there career the King of Bristol (between the Busch Brothers, not NASCAR History). Kyle has proven he has been consistently good at Bristol for longer, because we can add in all of his starts at Bristol (except his rookie year/we also threw out Kurt's Rookie year because neither ran well and too be fair).

Even if we take Kyles best 9 consecutive races (because Kurt's best stint came in a 9 race stretch) he still has the better stats as seen in the table.

Best 9 Race Stretch in Career at Bristol
Driver	Years	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Average Finish
Kyle	2007-11	5	6	8	0	4.66
Kurt	2002-06	5	5	8	0	7.11

Either way you look at it, both drivers have run very well at Bristol during the best parts of there career here. Kyle does seem to edge Kurt in this stretch run. What about when we look at there overall careers?

Career Statistics at Bristol
Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Average Finish
Kyle	18	5	8	12	1	9.9
Kurt	26	5	7	14	1	14.0

Still after looking at the career stats it seems little brother has an edge over big bro at Bristol. Maybe some of this has to do with moving from team to team. Maybe some of it has to do with Kurt's Outlaw ways which have sometimes lead to team headaches (Not that Kyle is an angel). 

NASCAR Behind the Walls Take:

After taking everything in and thinking about it, #NBTW is pretty excited for the next 5 to 10 years of Bristol racing between the Busch Brothers. Now that Kurt Busch has a new home with SHR he may regain his one time dominance but Kyle wont give an inch. I think that Kyle will get back on track in 2014 and win at least one of the two races at Bristol and continue his edge over Kurt. There are some other factors like Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, and maybe some young guns who want to prove themselves against The Busch Brothers. But one thing is sure, these two brothers know how to wheel it around Bristol with the best of them. 

What do you think? Let it be heard on Twitter! Who be better in 2014 at Bristol? Will either one win this year here? Who will end up with the better career at Bristol?

**Update: NASCAR is heading back to Bristol for the second time. This article was before the first Bristol race in 2014. The article must have been a bit of a jinx as Kyle finished 29th and Kurt finished 35th, both not on the lead lap. But, both did spend some time up front. Kyle lead 73 laps (which was third most) and Kurt led 28. So, neither brother dominated like this article may have suggested, but they were a part of the race. If it happens again this time around I may have to just toss this article out the internet window, but until then lets see if one of them takes back the reigns.**


Bristol Weekend Articles (Race One):

• Bristol Preview
• Bristol Entry List
• Bristol TV/Race Schedule
• Cooling Down

SHR's Rough Start

By Richard Tix

Week one is in the books on the NASCAR 2014 season. Daytona's Speedweeks is on of the longest race weeks of the season as fans gear up for the new season. During speedweeks NASCAR teams are also looking to get back up to speed and find there grove during the first race.

Well, 2014 didn't start out the way Stewart-Haas Racing would have liked. During the opening days of speedweeks Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick had to swap out engines after they both blew during practice. Under NASCAR rules both drivers had to fall to the back of the Budweiser Duels and the Daytona 500.

Then came the Daytona Duels where Danica, Kurt Busch, and Smoke both had there nights end in wrecks. Not the start SHR was looking for.  This trend just seemed to continue all week for the whole team.

Heading into the Daytona 500 on Sunday the team looked to turn things around but no such luck. Tony Stewart ran into trouble and seemed out of the race very early. He limped around the track for 174 of 200 laps after heading to the garage at one point and finished 35th.

Danica Partick didn't have an amazing run going, but was hanging around for awhile until she got caught up in a wreck. She only ran 145 of 200 laps finishing 40th, but did lead 2 laps during a pitting rotation. That's just the two members of SHR that were on the team in 2013, SHR also signed two new drivers for 2014.

Considering the first two drivers I mentions, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch had great days on Sunday (SHR Fresh Faces). Kurt Busch actually lead 15 laps during the Daytona 500 and ran up front for a good portion of the race. Kevin Harvick spent most of the day lurking in the field close to the front (never lead a lap) and waiting to pounce. Unfortunate for both there day ended before they had a chance at the win.

Kurt Busch ran into some bad luck down the stretch and after being involved in one wreck (That had his rear right quarter panel flapping in the wind) he also was caught up in the last lap wreck and finished 21st.  Kevin Harvick stuck around until the end and stayed out of the mess until the last crash that ended the race. Harvick still ended up finishing 13th (Which is better then last year when he was involved in an early wreck).

Considering all the hype around the new SHR team I don't think anyone expected the team to come out with an average finish of 27.25, zero top 10's and only one top 15. NASCAR runs a long season, so it is definitely no where close to too late to get going, but it is a small red flag.

Too many team finishes like this to start the season could set off all the personalities on this team so its a story worth watching. One thing's for sure, SHR is ready to put Daytona behind them.


What do you thing? Will SHR bounce back in Week 2? Who will be the first to speak up if they continue to struggle later this year? Lets hear it Twitter!

**Update 3/11/14- SHR's struggles have continued through the first three races. Kevin Harvick did break through with a dominate win at Phoenix, but that seems to be the lone bright spot for this team. This past week at Las Vegas Danica Patrick was the top finisher coming in at 21st. So far the team has dug a hole, but with the new points system it isn't too late to get out.**

New on NASCAR Behind the Wall

• Power Rankings after Daytona
• Daytona 500 Stepping Stone- Article on Dale Earnhardt Jr
• NASCAR Rookie Report: Week 1
• 2014 Phoenix Schedule
• Phoenix Driver Entry List

NASCAR Team Spotlight: Stewart Haas Racing

Stewart-Haas Racing 2014 Preview

By Richard Tix

The 2014 season will bring a new feel to the SHR Garage with new Fresh Faces joining the team. This upcoming season Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick will be joining up with Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick to try and create a dream team (or a nightmare team). These guys can drive, but will the personalities jump to the forefront and distract them?

2013 Team Stats *Only current members included. (Harvick and Kurt) Excludes Newman

• Wins: 5
• Top 5: 25
• Top 10: 46

Tony Stewart

• Smoke's season was cut short after he broke his leg in a Sprint Car crash. Before the bad break (pun intended) Smoke looked to be poised to go on another Summer run. Instead he finished with 1 win, 5 top 5's, and 8 top 10's in 21 races. He will start 2014 2 wins short of career win #50 and will look to get back on track early.

Kurt Busch

• Some fans may not like him because of his past, but they cant say with a straight face the man cant drive. In 2013 we saw just that, a speptical of driving. Kurt made a small team somewhat relevant but never got over the winning hump. However, you have to applaud what he did; 11 top 5's and 16 top 10's. Now he gets another shot with SHR in 2014 and maybe a trip or two back to Victory Lane.

Kevin Harvick

• Harvick, a lifer at Richard Childress Racing, has moved out and move into SHR with his buddy Tony Stewart. Will this move be a good thing? Or will he miss his security blanket of being with the same team for his whole career? Anyways, his last year at RCR was pretty good. He finished 3rd in the standings with 4 wins, 9 top 5's, and 21 top 10's.

Danica Patrick

• 2013 marked Danica's Rookie season and it started with a bang! She won the Daytona 500 Pole and finished 8th, but that was her peak on the season. That 8th place finished ended up being Danicas only top 10 finish of the year as she struggled to learn each new track. She will use 2013 as a measuring stick on how well 2014 is going for her.

Previous Team Spotlight: Joe Gibbs Racing

Driver Spotlight: Ryan Newman (Preseason Addition)

Ryan Newman's 2014 Preview

By Richard Tix

Let's set the time back a few years...

Year 2008, and Ryan Newman is on his way out the door at Penske. In the past 3 seasons (08, 07, and 06) Newman has had 1 win, 11 top 5's, and 30 top 10's. Newman seemed to have hit a rut and would be joining Stewart-Haas Racing at the perfect time. Could he turn it back around and get back to his early years?

Let's now turn it back to the present...

Newman seems to be back in a rut, but this time Newman has been consistent. Every season with SHR except his first he has had one win. He has averaged 6 top 5's, 15.6 top 10's, and made the Chase 3 times in his 5 years at SHR.

As hard as it was to imagine at first (Smoke and Newman are pretty good buddies) the team planned to set ways with Newman after the 2013 season as Newman made the Chase and proved to be the most consistent driver on the season for SHR (to be fair Smoke go hurt at the time he normally gets hot).

In 2014 Newman will be set to start fresh at Richard Childress Racing in the #31 Chevy. Newman is hoping a change in scenery will help him bounce back to the once promising career he had (He had 8 total wins in 2003). We have seen team changes work out for the best in the past, most recently with Matt Kenseth this past season. They can also be the last stop in a drivers career if it doesn't work out. So the next few years will be important for Ryan Newman and RCR. With so many young guns waiting in the wings in NASCAR's lower ranks, it will be interesting to see which Cup veterans keep pace so they can keep there jobs with top level teams.

So what do you think? Let me know on Twitter! Will RCR help Newman contend again? Will this be Newman's last quality ride? Will Newman find a way to get multiple wins for the first time since 2004? Should SHR kicked him to the curb?

Let the count down to Daytona Continue!

A look at previous Driver Spotlights:

• Clint Bowyer
• Tony Stewart
• Matt Kenseth
• Jeff Gordon
• More Driver Spotlights