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 23, 2009

Stewart’s Chances of Winning Go South in South Florida

Office Depot/Old Spice Driver Leads 43 Laps, but Finishes Disappointing 22nd in Season Finale at Homestead

Date: Nov. 22, 2009
Event: Ford 400 (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 5th / 22nd (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Tony Stewart’s chances of ending the 2009 season with a victory appeared quite good as he led twice for 43 laps early in Sunday’s season-ending Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

However, the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) saw his opportunity for victory go south at the South Florida track when he became involved in two separate incidents with Juan Pablo Montoya. The result of those incidents was some crinkled sheet metal and a disappointing 22nd-place finish.

After starting fifth, Stewart remained in the top-five for the first 116 laps around the 1.5-mile oval, including two stints at the front of the 43-car field during laps 33-52 and laps 63-85.

However, while racing down the frontstretch on lap 116, Montoya’s car ran into the back bumper of Stewart’s Chevrolet, causing minor damage to the rear of the Office Depot/Old Spice machine. One lap later as the duo exited turn two and ran down the backstretch, the left-front of Stewart’s car made contact with the right-side of Montoya’s No. 42 machine, which caused Montoya to slap the SAFER Barrier on the outside retaining wall in turn three.

Stewart suffered damage to his left-front fender and was forced to pit for minor repairs before restarting 25th on lap 127. Montoya, meanwhile, had to take his car to the garage for more extensive work.

Shortly after the incident, it appeared all was not lost for Stewart and Co., as he charged his way back to 11th by lap 156. But as Stewart worked his way back toward the front, Montoya’s crew worked to fix his car, and he ended up rejoining the race, and as it would turn out, reigniting his on-track skirmish with Stewart.

Montoya and Stewart made contact once again, this time exiting turn four on lap 157 when Montoya slammed into the back of Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet, sending it spinning off the corner and through the strip of grass that separates the racing surface from pit wall.

Stewart was unable to keep it off the fence, and his car suffered damage to the front splitter and left-front fender. While the Office Deport/Old Spice crew was able to make repairs, Stewart fell one lap behind the leaders and any chance he had at victory was over.

Stewart eventually earned his way back onto the lead lap via the lucky dog rule on lap 217, but his car was in no shape to crack the top-20.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS and Stewart’s teammate at SHR, finished 23rd.

Denny Hamlin beat Jeff Burton by 2.632 seconds to win the Ford 400 and score the eighth victory of his Sprint Cup career, his fourth of the season and his first at Homestead.

Finishing third was Kevin Harvick, while Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and A.J. Allmendinger comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 31 laps, with four drivers failing to finish the 267-lap race.

Both SHR drivers were represented in this year’s Chase for the Championship. Stewart ended the year sixth in the standings, 343 points behind recently crowned champion Johnson, who won his record fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title. Newman finished the year ninth in points, 477 behind Johnson.

The final Chase standings for the 2009 season are as follows:

1. Jimmie Johnson (6,652 points) +/-0
2. Mark Martin (6,511 points, -141) +/-0
3. Jeff Gordon (6,473 points, -179) +/-0
4. Kurt Busch (6,446 points, -206) +/-0
5. Denny Hamlin (6,335 points, -317) +3
6. Tony Stewart (6,309 points, -343) -1
7. Greg Biffle (6,292 points, -360) +/-0
8. Juan Pablo Montoya (6,252 points, -400) -2
9. Ryan Newman (6,175 points, -477) +/-0
10. Kasey Kahne (6,128 points, -524) +/-0
11. Carl Edwards (6,118 points, -534) +/-0
12. Brian Vickers (5,929 points, -723) +/-0

The 2010 Sprint Cup season kicks off Feb. 5-14 with the traditional Speedweeks at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The 52nd Daytona 500, the first point-paying race of the season, is scheduled for Feb. 14 and will be broadcast live on FOX, MRN Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.

-TSC-

 
 
 
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