Tony Crew #14 Car History Racing Blog
 
Moved to SHR in 2009 after 11 years with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR)…First began with JGR’s No. 44 NASCAR Nationwide Series team as second gas man and Tony Stewart’s motorcoach driver in 1998...Served as gas man for the No. 20 JGR Sprint Cup team with Stewart from 1999-2008…Before joining JGR, worked with Ranier-Walsh Racing as the transporter driver and gas man for the No. 20 car of Greg Sacks (Sprint Cup) and the No. 15 car of Stewart (Nationwide Series)…Prior to Sprint Cup career, worked as a mechanic for a variety of World of Outlaws teams.
Came to SHR on Dec. 1, 2008 after spending the 2007-2008 Sprint Cup seasons as a front-end mechanic on Clint Bowyer’s car at Richard Childress Racing…Broke into NASCAR after several seasons as a mechanic in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series with drivers Sammy Swindell and Jac Haudenschild…Began racing career working on a variety of cars at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
Came to SHR in 2009 from Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates’ NASCAR Nationwide Series team, where he served as a front- and rear-tire carrier in 2007-2008…From 2005-2006, was front-tire carrier for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 21 Nationwide Series team… Also has worked on pit crews at Michael Waltrip Racing and Ultra Motorsports…Motorsports career began at Tucson (Ariz.) Raceway Park where he worked on Super Stocks and Super Late-Models.
Came to SHR in January 2009 after one year at Dale Earnhardt Inc.…Worked in commercial trucking industry before entering NASCAR.
Has been at SHR (formerly Haas CNC Racing) since 2003…Worked with Sabco Racing from 1999-2001 and remained with the team when it merged with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2001…Left Ganassi after the 2002 season…Began in dirt racing working on Modifieds and Sprint cars.
Began at SHR on Jan. 1, 2009 after two years at Hendrick Motorsports… Spent 2008 season as the race engineer on the No. 5 Sprint Cup car driven by Casey Mears and the 2007 season as race engineer for the No. 5 Nationwide Series cars driven by Mears, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin…Spent more than six years at Roush Fenway Racing as a shock specialist, car chief and setup plate specialist for drivers such as Martin, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray… Spent the 2000 season at Galaxy Motorsports with driver Wally Dallenbach.
An employee of Hendrick Motorsports’ engine department who is assigned to the No. 14 team via SHR’s technical alliance with Hendrick…Began working in racing as a teenager and worked on Late-Models for several years before joining Hendrick in 2007.
Has been a tire-carrier at SHR (formerly Haas CNC Racing) since July 2004 after graduating from the 5-on-5-off program at the Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) facility in Mooresville, N.C.…Joined SHR full-time in September 2004 after graduating from the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville…Racing career began as a teenager at Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine, where he drove and prepared cars in the 4-cylinder “Rebel” class.
Joined SHR (formerly Haas CNC Racing) in 2006 after working as a jackman and suspension expert for a variety of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams…Graduated in 2002 from the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C.
Joined SHR in February 2003 and has served as both a front- and rear-tire changer for the team…Prior to his time at SHR, spent four years at Dale Earnhardt Inc., and changed tires for cars driven by Steve Park, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Martin Truex Jr., in each of NASCAR’s top three series…Spent 1997-1998 seasons as an engine tuner at Fischer Engineering…Prior to his time at Fischer, spent three years at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in the engine department…Also while at JGR, changed tires for NASCAR Nationwide Series car driven by Tony Stewart.
Spent six years at Hendrick Motorsports before joining SHR in January 2009…Served as tire specialist for the No. 24 team of Jeff Gordon from 2003-2007…Spent 2008 as a mechanic on Gordon’s team…Worked at Evernham Motorsports from 2000-2002 as a tire specialist on the No. 19 car driven by Casey Atwood and Jeremy Mayfield...Worked for various NASCAR Nationwide Series teams in the late 1990s before moving to Sprint Cup.
Hooters Pro Cup Series with driver Shane Huffman, who won the 2003 championship on the strength of eight wins…Began career working on a variety of cars at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Tri-County Speedway in Hudson, N.C.…Graduated in 1996 from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte with a degree in mechanical engineering.
Joined SHR in November 2008 after nearly seven years at Penske Racing where he worked as a tire-changer and mechanic on Ryan Newman’s car…Spent 2000-2001 seasons at MBV Motorsports as a tire-changer and mechanic for Johnny Benson…Worked at Petty Enterprises from 1997-1999 as a tire-changer and mechanic on cars driven by John Andretti and Buckshot Jones…Began NASCAR career at Dave Marcis Racing before moving to Stavola Brothers Racing…Got into racing by working on Street Stocks and Late-Models in Wisconsin.
Joined SHR in November 2008 after two seasons as a transporter driver for Dale Earnhardt Inc,…Prior to his time in racing, spent many years in the commercial trucking industry.
Came to SHR after spending 2008 as Sprint Cup crew chief for Bobby Labonte at Petty Enterprises…Spent 13 years at Hendrick Motorsports, working first in the chassis shop before moving to the setup plate for the No. 24 team of Jeff Gordon in 2001…Spent 2002-2003 as head of the setup plate for Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 team…Began traveling with the No. 24 team in 2004 as a mechanic before becoming car chief for the 2006-2007 seasons…While car chief for the No. 24 team, helped Gordon to eight victories, nine poles and a runner-up finish in 2007 Sprint Cup point standings.
Began working at SHR in May 2008 after four years at Kevin Harvick Inc., where he worked as a mechanic, gas man and tire-carrier...Also has worked at Morgan-Dollar Motorsports and Ultra Motorsports…Racing career began at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and Orange County Speedway.
Joined Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in November 2008 from Hendrick Motorsports…Rose from team engineer with the No. 48 Sprint Cup squad in 2003 to engineering manager for the Nos. 5 and 88 Sprint Cup teams…Interim crew chief for the No. 48 team during the first four races of the 2006 Sprint Cup season...led driver Jimmie Johnson to victory at Daytona 500…Johnson went on to win the Sprint Cup championship in 2006…Spent 2007 Sprint Cup season as crew chief for Casey Mears, leading the young driver to his first career Sprint Cup win in the prestigious Coca-Cola 600.
Joined SHR (formerly Haas CNC Racing) in 2004 after graduating from the 5-on-5-off program at the Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) facility in Mooresville, N.C....Has been a tire-changer for the team since 2004…Graduated from First Assembly Christian School in Concord, N.C., and attended East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.
SHR is his first full-time Sprint Cup experience…Came to SHR in June 2008 after spending three and a half years with the NASCAR Nationwide Series teams of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates …Worked for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Nationwide Series teams from 2003-2005 after working for Ganassi from 2001-2002… Began in NASCAR with Sabco Racing in 1999 after working in the ARCA Series in his native Georgia in the mid-1990s.
Has worked at SHR (formerly Haas CNC Racing) since June 2004 and has toiled in a variety of engineering roles with the team…Graduated in June 2004 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) with a degree in mechanical engineering…Racing career began as a teenager working on a variety of cars at South Boston (Va.) Speedway.
Began at SHR on Jan. 1, 2009…Spent the last three seasons as spotter for Matt Kenseth...Prior to that spent more than 10 years as spotter for Dale Jarrett and was on the spotter’s stand for Jarrett’s 1999 Sprint Cup championship, two Brickyard 400 wins (1996 and 1999) and two of his Daytona 500 wins (1996 and 2000)…Spotted in Nationwide Series events for Bobby Labonte, David Green and Dale Earnhardt.
 

November 16, 2009

Stewart Happy to See Phoenix in Rearview Mirror

Old Spice/Office Depot Driver Caught Up in Mid-Race Accident, Finishes 25th

Date: Nov. 15, 2009
Event: Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500k (Round 35 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 8th/25th (Running, completed 310 of 312 laps)
Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Tony Stewart’s drive in Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway went from a possible top-10 performance to a disappointing 25th-place result when he was caught up in a multi-car accident on lap 171 of the 312-lap race.

It was triggered when Dale Earnhardt Jr., spun coming off turn four of the 1-mile oval, and Stewart’s No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala SS was among a gaggle of cars that were trapped in the ensuing melee. Nine cars in all were involved, with Stewart suffering significant damage to each corner of his racecar, including a busted front splitter that took three pit stops to repair.

Despite the bleak outlook and the subsequent time spent on pit road, crew chief Darian Grubb and his team were able to work on the No. 14 machine quickly enough to keep Stewart on the lead lap.

However, eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson was setting a blistering pace, and he soon lapped Stewart, not once, but twice. The battered Old Spice/Office Depot Chevy was no match for the clean lines of Johnson’s No. 48 ride, but that was the case with just about every entry in the 43-car field, as Johnson dominated the event by leading four times for a race-high 238 laps.

As Johnson sprayed champagne in victory lane and celebrated his 47th career Sprint Cup victory, his seventh of the season and his fourth at Phoenix, Stewart’s crew loaded his crumpled racecar onto the team’s transporter for the long haul back to Kannapolis, N.C., headquarters for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

Stewart’s SHR teammate, Ryan Newman in the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS, fared only a little better. He was also caught up in the lap-171 accident, but didn’t suffer as much damage as Stewart. Still, it dropped him off the lead lap and delivered a 20th-place finish.

Johnson, the three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion, has all but assured himself of making NASCAR history by becoming the only driver to win four straight championships. His 108-point lead over second-place Mark Martin is nearly insurmountable, for Johnson needs only to finish 25th or better in the season finale Nov. 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Even with the frustrating outcome in the season’s penultimate race, Stewart remained fifth in the standings and is now 285 points behind Johnson. Newman maintained his ninth-place standing and is 411 markers out of first.

Enjoying a much better time in the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500k was Jeff Burton, who finished 1.033 seconds behind Johnson in the runner-up spot to score his best finish of the season. Denny Hamlin finished third, while Martin and Martin Truex Jr., rounded out the top-five. Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon and David Reutimann comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were four caution periods for 23 laps, with six drivers failing to finish.

Only one race remains on the 2009 schedule, and the top-12 drivers who made up this year’s Chase for the Championship currently rank as follows:

1. Jimmie Johnson (6,492 points) +/-0
2. Mark Martin (6,384 points, -108) +/-0
3. Jeff Gordon (6,323 points, -169) +/-0
4. Kurt Busch (6,281 points, -211) +/-0
5. Tony Stewart (6,207 points, -285) +/-0
6. Juan Pablo Montoya (6,203 points, -289) +/-0
7. Greg Biffle (6,171 points, -321) +/-0
8. Denny Hamlin (6,140 points, -352) +/-0
9. Ryan Newman (6,031 points, -411) +/-0
10. Kasey Kahne (6,016 points, -476) +/-0
11. Carl Edwards (5,972 points, -520) +/-0
12. Brian Vickers (5,826 points, -666) +/-0

The season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway starts at 3:15 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 2:30 p.m.

-TSC-

 
 
 
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