Stewart Haas Racing Team
Stewart Haas Racing (formerly known as Haas CNC Racing) is a NASCAR racing team based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, which runs Chevrolet Impalas. The team is owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, and runs the #14 Office Depot Chevrolet Impala driven by Stewart and the #39 United States Army Chevrolet Impala driven by Ryan Newman. The team receives engine and technical support from Hendrick Motorsports.
The car which is now the #14 debuted at the 2006 Coca-Cola 600 as the #70 with Johnny Sauter driving. He ran in the top-ten for most of the day before a blown tire caused him to wreck. The 70 made another attempt later in the season at the Brickyard 400, but did not qualify. It was announced that the 70 would race full-time in 2007, with Yellow Transportation moving up from the Busch Series and Johnny Sauter driving. Sauter and the team worked their way into the Top 35 in Owner's Points after the first five races (which guarantees them a spot in each race), but missed the Food City 500 at Bristol, yet still had top ten runs at Phoenix (9th) in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 and the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 (5th). Jeremy Mayfield was chosen to be the 2008 driver. After the seventh race of the season, Jeremy Mayfield fell out of the top 35 in owner's points, so he and Haas CNC parted ways. Johnny Sauter, along with Jason Leffler, Tony Raines, and others finished out the 2008 season.
For the 2009 season, the team switched to the #14 with Tony Stewart driving. Office Depot (moving from the #99 team) and Old Spice (brought by Stewart) came aboard as primary sponsors, with the number chosen in tribute to his racing hero, open wheel legend A. J. Foyt. Even though the #70 finished outside of the Top 35 exemption rule, Stewart had the past championship provisional to utilize for the first five races of 2009 if he needed it. After five races, the team was solidly in the Top 10 in owner points. Stewart won the 2009 Sprint All-Star Race, which was the first win for Gene Haas. Stewart a few weeks later, brought Stewart-Haas racing their first points paying win at Pocono Raceway. At the 2009 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, Stewart would win his second race under the Stewart-Haas banner.
The Haas Busch Team made its debut at Kansas in October 2003 as the #00 Haas CNC Chevy in the Busch Series. After starting 11th, Jason Leffler finished 16th despite wrecking during the race. After a pair of 11th at Charlotte and Phoenix, Leffler had his first top-five, starting 14th and finishing 4th. The team would go full-time in 2004. After a slow start, Leffler would finish out of the top-15 twice: a 34th at California and a 17th at Bristol. Leffler also grabbed a pole at California, and a win at Nashville. It was both Leffler's first win and Haas' first win. Despite being third in points, Leffler was released after signing with Joe Gibbs Racing's Cup program for 2005. His immediate replacement was Blake Feese, who had 7th place start at Kansas. However, he struggled in that race and all 4 races he ran for Haas. With Feese struggling, Gene looked for another driver, even as he moved Bootie Barker to the NEXTEL Cup Series operation. After Tony Raines finished tenth at Phoenix, Justin Labonte, took over for the balance of the season. Haas merged with Labonte Motorsports for 2005.
Justin Labonte ran 2005 in the #44 United States Coast Guard Chevy. However, he had limited success. He was 7th at Talladega and 10th at Charlotte in the fall. Despite a 17th place finish in points, Labonte was released and once again Haas was searching for a new driver. Meanwhile, Sauter had a more eventful year, from being disqualified for an illegal carburetor following the O'Reilly 300 to getting a hometown victory in dominant fashion.
In 2006, Johnny Sauter drove the #00 Yellow Transportation Chevy were the team finished 8th in the final point standings. A late-season surge for Sauter resulted in the #00 Busch Series team moving up to the Cup series as the #70 team, and the team's Busch Series equipment were sold to Jay Robinson Racing.
Stewart Haas Racing Team Video
