Ford upgrades NASCAR lineup
Adding Stewart-Haas to roster puts Ford on par with its rivals.
DAYTONA BEACH — Ford’s courtship of Stewart-Haas Racing was nothing short of clandestine.
N o m a t t e r h o w F o r d crunched the numbers, it was at a signifificant defificit in c ar count. It hindered the manufacturer’s ability to win a championship — Ford last won a Cup title in 2004 — and new leadership recognized an immediate need to add a top-tier team.
With sights set on the Ford brass quietly went to work on luring a lifetime Chevrolet team to a rival manufacturer. It was never going to be that easy, but the Ford duo of chief technic al officer Raj Nair and global director Dave Pericak didn’t know the lengths they’d have to take to court the team.
“The fifirst time we visited, we had to stop in some lady’s front yard and change our clothes,” Nair told The Associated Press. “She’s looking out the window like she’s going to call the police.”
SHR held the meetings in its Formula One shop, which is detached from its NASCAR building. SHR offifficials made it clear early how serious they were about secrecy.
“When we would go in, they said, ‘Look guys, don’t be driving a Ford. Don’t be wearing branded stuff,’” P e r i c a k r e c a l l e d . B u t we’re wearing branded stuffff because we’re meeting with other teams, as well. So we are literally changing shirts in this lady’s yard just to get into the building.”
Ford pulled off a deal, luring stalwart Chevy guy Tony Stewart into the blue oval brand and signifificantly upgrading its existing lineup.
The team gained 2004 champion Kurt Busch, the last driver to win a Cup title for Ford, 2014 champion Kevin Harvick, along with Danic a Pat r ick and Clint Bowyer, the replacement for retired driver Stewart.
The new partnership puts Ford at 13 entries in a 40-car fifield, and a fifighting chance against Chevrolet and Toyota. Ford had just eight wins last season — seven came from the Team Penske duo of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano — and only three drivers in the 16-driver playoffff fifield.
In Chevys a year ago, SHR drivers combined for six wins and three spots in the playoffffs. Toyota, meanwhile, had 15 wins and fifive slots in the playoffffs.
Confifident its roster is now on par with its rivals, Ford Performance has lofty goals for its NASCAR program. So far, everything has gone to plan on the list of goals set by Nair. He wanted new production cars, and succeeded with the GT350, the Raptor, the Focus RS and the Ford GT. He wanted his sports car program to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year to celebrate Ford’s 50th anniversary victory, and Ford made it happen.
The switch isn’t simply changing brands for Stewart-Haas. The team had been aligned with Hendrick Motorsports and got its chassis and engines from the Hendrick group. There also was engineering support and, at times, shared information by the organizations.
The move means SHR is now building its own cars and getting its horsepower from Roush Yates Engines.
“I feel like it’s an appropriate time for us to get out on our own and cut the cord,” Stewart said.