Stewart-Haas move to Ford provides opportunities for both parties
Is Stewart-Haas Racing Ford’s rebound?
Ford has struggled in recent years at NASCAR’s top level. Sure, it’s got a top-tier team in Team Penske, but outside of the two Penske cars, there’s no title contender in the Ford stable. Roush Fenway Racing hasn’t won a race since 2014, Carl Edwards’ final season with the team. Richard Petty Motorsports’ only win as a Ford team came in 2014 in a rain-shorted Daytona race. Front Row Motorsports won in 2013 at Talladega.
Outside of catching restrictor-plate lightning in a bottle in the last 5 years, Ford has had very little to show for its investments in NASCAR.
The move to lure Stewart-Haas Racing to the camp for the 2017 season is clearly an effort to change those fortunes and position Ford as a deep powerhouse in the Sprint Cup Series. During Sunday’s Daytona 500, 20 cars were Chevrolets. Assuming no other manufacturer movement for the 2017 season, the defection of Stewart-Haas drops Chevy to 16 cars on the grid and gives Ford 14. The blue oval is no longer outflanked.
“I think that was the one thing that really caught our attention was how dedicated [Ford is] and the amount of resources that they’re willing to put forth to help us all accomplish the goal that both sides want to accomplish in all this,” SHR co-owner Tony Stewart said. “That was very impressive. The technology layer is huge. I feel like they’re giving us something that we really need right now that’s going to help us down the road.”
Things were going very well for Ford not that long ago. All five of Roush Fenway’s cars made the Chase in the 2005 season. That dominance helped spur cries for the four-team maximum put in place for all Cup teams.
In the six years before 2005, Ford won three championships (Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch). Since 2005, Ford cars have made the Chase 26 times (out of 122 spots). And haven’t won the title, though Edwards tied with Stewart in 2011.
The move to add Stewart-Haas will improve that percentage greatly. Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer should be considered heavy favorites, if not locks, to make the Chase in 2017. As of now, you can only say that about the Penske cars of Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.
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“This is just going to be another addition,” Ford Performance global director Dave Pericak said. “We’re not eliminating or reducing support of any of our current teams. We are going to make available to Stewart-Haas the exact same level of support. We’re continually increasing that support each and every day. We’re in this to win it and we’re in this to get back in that winner’s circle, so everyone will get the support that they’ve been getting, and Stewart-Haas will be in addition to that.”
Is the acquisition of Stewart-Haas necessary if Roush Fenway is still excelling? It’s a fascinating question. Ford’s downturn in performance is directly tied with Roush’s decline. And it’s also not hard to wonder where the manufacturer would be in NASCAR if it hadn’t gotten Penske to sign after Dodge got out of the sport.
And while the move should benefit Ford, it also stands to entrench Stewart-Haas as one of the cornerstones of NASCAR. While the NASCAR world of technical alliances has become a necessary evil, it’s hard to be considered a true powerhouse when you’re getting equipment from another top-tier team.
“We’re gonna be adding a lot of personnel to our organization, doing our own chassis program, and we’re excited about it,” Stewart said. “We see this as a lot of growth for Stewart-Haas Racing. It’s not just changing OEMs, it’s a great opportunity for us to kind of get out of the shadows and, to some degree, get off the coattails, to a certain degree, and really get out on our own and I think that’s something everybody here at SHR is really excited about and proud that we’re finally in a position to do this and branch out in this way.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
