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Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman started the
2009 season with a lot of questions of
what the new team could accomplish.
While Stewart got off to a good start,
coming to Martinsville 7th in points,
the 39 team with Newman has struggled,
entering Martinsville 27th in the
points.
Stewart continues to lead the
Stewart-Haas Racing driver lineup in the
championship point race, as his
third-place finish kept him seventh in
the standings after race six of 36.
Newman made a big gain with his
sixth-place run, vaulting nine spots to
18th in the standings. Stewart is 161
points behind series leader Gordon while
Newman is 334 points out of first.
"We had a good day today. I'm happy for
the Old Spice/Office Depot guys and I'm
really happy for Ryan and the U.S. Army
guys," said Stewart as he proudly wore
his owner hat. "I don't know that it's
really gelling, because we've just been
like this from day one. It's just kind
of figuring things out. Ryan's learning
a new package, I'm learning a new
package, and it's learning what each of
us wants.
It appears to this writer that there is
still more work to be done by the 39
crew as they lost positions on every pit
stop at Martinsville. Newman was quick
to make up those spots on the track, but
one has to wonder what might have
happened. Qualifying was rained out,
relegating Newman to a 27th place start,
for a driver that has averaged an 8th
place start in 15 races at Martinsville,
starting that far back at a track where
passing is so hard was a disadvantage
from the start. Despite starting in the
back he meticulously moved his way up to
the top ten, only to be dropped back
after each pit stop. After the final
caution on lap 474, he came out 10th,
and fought to catch up to and finally
pass Dale Earnhardt Jr. to get to 7th
behind Mark Martin. A four lap, side by
side battle with Martin ended on the
last lap when Newman finally got by to
take the 6th position at the flag.
Stewart appears confident in the SHR
organization and remains upbeat about
their success during their first season.
"It's coming. It just takes time. It's
like we say every Monday in our
competition meeting. We've just got to
build a database first. Once we get that
established, then I think the second
time we come around, we're going to be a
little better yet."
At the pace SHR is improving, Tony
Stewart in the 14 car appears to be a
safe bet to make the Chase. With Newman
and the 39 car in 31st in points just
two weeks ago, the idea of a Chase berth
was not even remotely a consideration.
However, if the team continues to show
the same commitment and improvement that
has been displayed over the past two
races, they may very well be the first
team to make the Chase after such a slow
start since the Chase began. |
