Stewart-Haas Racing used spring Martinsville race as springboard

MARTINSVILLE — Since the Goody’s 500 on March 29, Stewart-Haas Racing has become a force to be reckoned with.

Prior to the spring race at Martinsville, driver-owner Tony Stewart had recorded three top-10s, but the good runs were mixed in with finishes of 26th and 17th. His first hired driver, Ryan Newman, recorded his first top 10 finish the week before by finishing seventh at Bristol, but that was his first finish better than 27th.

On that Sunday, Stewart cruised to a then season-high third and Newman fought back from the rear of the field for a dramatic eighth-place. It was the first time both Stewart-Haas Racing drivers finished in the top 10, and it set a tone for the rest of the season.

“It was a good feeling to get our first top-five here,” Stewart, who went on to win four races in 2009 and was the top seed in the Chase for the Cup, said. “It’s been an awesome year. Obviously to come here that early in the year and get our first top-five was a big momentum boost for the whole organization.”

“The same day we got our first top-five here I think Ryan ended up eighth but he charged from the back twice to do it,” he said. “Even though he didn’t get the lime light at the end of it he probably had more of an impressive day with his run then we had with ours. I think we both left here with the feeling that we had two great race teams that were able to be competitive and be able to fight back and have good runs.”

For Newman, who has 14 top-10 finishes and five top-fives this season, Martinsville is the place where his 2009 season really got going.

“I made a statement to Bobby Hutchens in the truck less than an hour ago,” Newman said. “I said ‘This is the place where it started.’ To me, it was the turning point for the whole organization at Stewart-Haas Racing. We got two cars in a good finishing position and showed what we were capable of to everybody. Whether it was Charlotte, or Martinsville or any place else it doesn’t really matter; this is just as important to me as any other race track. There was no trying to make a statement; it’s just that we made a statement.”

“That was a big step for us in the spring to get that top ten finish,” he said. “We’ve had some ups and downs since then, but whether it is your first year together as a team or your first year as a driver the first part of the year, it’s nice to come back to these tracks the second time around and apply the things that you learned. That is the way you make your game plan and do your homework, basically, because all you do is really just based off the past and problem-solving that you’ve done.”

Both drivers were eager to return to the track where the season really got going. The eagerness to get back to the smallest track might have something to do with their idea that they have both had success there. Stewart has two wins there and Newman feels that a talented driver stands a better chance beating the juggernaut teams at a short track than they do at other speedways.

“I definitely look forward to coming back to Martinsville,” Newman said. “I’ve always said that, for me, for whatever reason, the drivers have a little more impact on the final result than the bigger racetracks. I like that part, I like it quite a bit.”

“This is a fun track to us, one we look forward to coming to each year,” Stewart said. “I’m just excited about it. We didn’t have a very good practice this morning but we’ll sit back and it is Darian Grubb’s strength to sit in there after practice is over and try to dissect all the information and come up with a game plan. Hopefully, we’ll get a little better practice in tomorrow and not get rained out.”

Despite all his early success as an owner, Stewart is content with what he has now and isn’t looking to advance his entrepreneurship this off-season.

“I hoping to have a little bit of an off-season and actually have a life after the next five weeks are over,” Stewart said. “This winter was a long winter for us getting ready for what we’re doing this year and this year has been a long season so I think we’ve got enough right now. We don’t have plans for anything new next year.”