Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team Stewart-Haas Racing today announced it has entered a partnership with Ford Performance to begin at the start of the 2017 NASCAR season. The multi-year agreement means that as of next year’s Daytona Speedweeks in February, the four-car SHR squad will be racing a Ford Fusion powered by Ford engines prepared by Roush-Yates.
“We are thrilled to be able to add a championship-level team like Stewart-Haas Racing to our Ford NASCAR program,” Raj Nair, Ford’s executive vice president and Chief Technical Officer, said in a prepared statement. “Tony Stewart and Gene Haas have the same passion for winning that we do, and bring a strong stable of drivers and personnel that fit into what we’re trying to do in the sport.”
The deal means SHR drivers Danica Patrick, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch will no longer be Chevrolet athletes. Clint Bowyer, who will replace Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car once the 44-year old retires at the end of the 2016, will also be making the transition from Chevy to Ford. The team will continue in its partnership with Chevy for the rest of 2016.
SHR will join other Ford teams on the NASCAR grid in flying the Blue Oval next year including Team Penske, Roush Fenway Racing, Wood Brothers Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports and Front Row Motorsports. Ford says the addition of SHR to their roster will increase their chances of success going forward.
“We have said very clearly that we are not in NASCAR just to race, but to win races and championships,” Ford Performance global director Dave Pericak said. “We believe the addition of Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017 will give our program a major boost in terms of being in contention for both drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships every year.”
Comments
Where is GM going? First they are dropping the Chevy SS, now SHR has abandoned ship. Whats next Hendrick going to Honda. Must be trying to copy Dodge. In two years will be on the sidelines watching everybody else race.
Chevy has dominated for 10 years now in NASCAR,, stop your crying wow wow,, Chevy cant be on top for ever,, with SHR ,, switching over to Ford in 2017 ,,it levels the playing field ,,now I think there will be 16 Chevy’s and 15 fords on the track and 9 Toyota ,,it use to be something like 22 Chevy’s and 12 fords for the longest time,, and with a Penske with the only chance of winning with a two car team ,, + Ford has built a new performance center for NASCAR ,,, and Tony Stewart don’t want to be on Hendricks coattails anymore,, and Tony Stewart would like to put Ford back on top and he like to be the first one to do it,, the show that he has the top team in NASCAR ,,
I wonder if tony’s problems over the years have anything to do with this.
The reason he doesn’t do anything anymore is that he’s to fat and can’t handle being in a race car for so long without having a burger and beer
Well there is a lot more to this than these stories post.
First off SHR has been getting most of their tech and parts from Hendrick. while Hendrick was being fair to them they could get a better deal from Ford and do more in house for an advantage of using their own stuff. Ford had to pay up on this as they really need teams as they only have two full time cars that were really competitive from Penske.
Second This just did not just happen. I suspect that Tony retirement may have played into this. Gene Hass owns the company and Tony is a minority owner. They have been butting heads over adding the other teams and over the F1 distraction. Tony being a die hard Chevy guy may just not have wanted to be part of this and retire. He has already said he was tied of the politics and trying to figure out the new cars again.
Third I wonder how long Roush will remain in the series or with Ford. They are now on the outside looking in with Ford.
Finally this could really help Childress as more money may get funneled to them and their engine deal with Chip may even grow from the added money.
Chevy is not leaving the series and they will replace the SS and we should see something on the track next summer being tested to clue us in on what they will race. Hendrick will remain the prime team and the other teams will do just fine.
This was a deal where money is tight and if someone like Ford who is desperate for more top drivers and teams will offer a ton of money someone will take it.
I really was puzzled about Tony leaving the series but now it all makes sense.
This will not be the last move here.
If Chevy wanted more teams all they have to do is move JR motorsports up with more funding as add more Hendrick cars.
Very good points Scott.
To add to this, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of SHR drivers bailed and returned to Chevy in near future. Harvick especially being one of them.
If JR Motorsports moves up, Dale Jr. would have to drive for its team (being an owner) thus leaving an open spot at Hendricks.
Odds are JR would never drive a cup ride for JR motorsports should they ever move up. Drivers driving for their own teams seldom work out well.
I think he would do as his father and build a team and oversee it while driving for someone else.
Hendrick owns something like 49% of the team now.
Even moving JR motorsports up is a long shot as that is still a lot of work and money and sponsorship are scarce in all race series today.
JR will be at Hendrick till he retires as Rick and he will remain relevant to each other as long as both are alive. Rick is a great guy and has a special relationship with some people and JR is one of them just as Jeff did and Kenny Schader.
I expect all the drivers to stay in place at SHR. Tony will be the only one to leave and I question will he remain part of the ownership. Tony may just move on. He and Hass have not seen eye to eye and that is part of this whole deal. I am sure it was Carl that made this switch not Tony.
Carl is one of the richest people in race world wide. He owns most of the team and makes most of the calls. When Kurt Bush was brought in it almost sent Tony walking then.
Tony is a racer and would just be as happy turning laps at Eldora in a Sprint car as anything else. He has won two championships and has enough money to be ok the rest of his life.
I have noted that many drivers of late are looking to retire early. Jeff has done it. Kevin Harvick had a 5 year plan and he has accomplish most of what he set out to do and some think when his contract is up when he turns 43 he may retire.
These guys were around when Earnhardt died and they saw how he was set for life and died before he could and enjoy team ownership and other things like racing the Corvettes at LeMans. Yes SR was going to retire at the end of 2001 or at least really considered it and was wanting to race for Pratt and Miller in the Corvettes. Talks were planned when he died as he wanted them and they were very interested in him.
This was just business as money is money and you can not afford to not take it if it is offered. Roush Yates will supply the engines so this may be interesting.
More changes will happen because of this. We normally do not get these till May but they are starting early this year.
One thing for sure Hendrick will be Chevy for as long as they want them.
Personally, I wish Tony Stewart would organize some sponsors and owners and start a new racing series. IMO, Nascar has been in a downward spiral, for quite some time. The attendance and TV ratings show this as well and I think there is an audience out there for looking for something else? A racing series where the “on-track” competition is priority. Probably never happen, but if it did, I would watch.
Well all racing is hurting. Starting a new series would be as big of a mess as IRL vs CART.
I think the drivers group that is started should pressure the series for some changes to get things like they used to be. Most of the loyal fans are PO’d over the chase format.
There is no way a driver sitting out nearly half the season should win a championship.
I would just make winning a big point win and let them have at it the guy that wins the most and is most consistent should win the championship.
I have been a Earnhardt fan JR/SR for 35+ years and even if he was out I would not want him to win a short season championship.
They have gotten the cars better and back more in the drivers hands but there is still some work to do. Lowering cost will be important and keeping ticket prices and team cost down for better sponsorship deals will be important.
It is sad but some of the best racing was in the 80’s and so few today ever saw it live. Even the 60’s were something to have seen as those guys were tougher than nails. Few today could hang with Cale or Pearson or Turner.
I would not recommending blowing this up but there is still work to be done.
I wish they would cut down on the 1.5 mile tracks and bring back Wilksboro and add Mid Ohio and Road Atlanta. The Nexus cars have put on a hell of a show the last couple years at Mid Ohio.
next nascar chevy will b the malibu. it looks like it was designed in the wind tunnel
They kinda all have heavy wind tunnel design influences nowadays.
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2015/03/could-the-chevrolet-malibu-make-a-return-to-nascar/
🙂
It may get it by default. It was not designed as a stock car but they may have nothing else to fit the series. Also the Bu can use the marketing.
The car would need some work as the trunk lid need more of a flat surface as the way it is now down force on the stock shape is not going to be good. You need a place for the air to pool in front of the spoiler to create down force the more flat area the better the down force. That will have to be negotiated with NASCAR as changes the other cars have had.
Testing will start around July and we should have a clue then.
I think Cadillac should field an entry in IndyCar entry to give more exposure to the brand. Also a DTM entry for when they return focus on the European market.
That will be a sad day,I for one am a fan of Nascar ,Because of Chevys. I am currently a fan of SHR, but won’t be after 2017. I too like Scott3 believe they are doing it because of big Money offer.Hell the only winning Fords are the Penske team . I think Harvick will leave when his Contract ends . As for the next Chevy in NASCAR, It will be a new IMPALA SS !
Ford making a return to f1 is another reason that shr, switch.
I think moves like this just show how disloyal and pathetic people really are, I like people who pick a brand and stick with it not follow the money offer.
If they wanted to step out on their own the I’m sure HMS would of let the build their own cars going forward and still provide engines for them.
They jumped for the money which is sad!
The fact is it takes money to build their own chassis. It takes a great investment to do so and that is a lot of money.
To improve as a team they need to bring it in house and already hired a good guy from Hendick to do so,
It is not just about loyalty but the fact these are companies that need to remain competitive to win to keep any where from 500-1000 people employed.
Race teams that do not work to remain competitive and to bring money in fade away. Even some great teams have vanished over the years due to the lack of money. Anyone remember Yates racing/ Everham Racing etc. Even Petty and Roush have old off controlling interest of their teams to survive. Sabates Racing?
Where is DEI Racing today? Sold out and gone due to the lack of money coming in. All these teams cut a ton of employees and lost a lot of jobs.
It pains me to see any team go under or leave Chevy in this case. But I understands the business of racing and to put food on the table for many you at times have to make decisions like this to just be relevant to remain competitive and to be there in 5 years. Few teams can control their destiny like Hendrick and Gibbs anymore and they have to do what is going to be best for them in the long run.
I am hoping this if anything will garner Childress more support as they have considered making changes due to the fact they have been not as well funded as they once were under Earnhardt. They used to be number one with GM but of late they have been number 3-4 at best.
As the old saying goes the best way to make a million racing is to start with two million. Today you can adjust it to 5 million.
Harvicks contract is up at the end of this year with SHR and hasn’t signed a new one yet. As much as i want to see him with chevy, i just don’t see it happening. There are 2 other contracts up this year with Chevy teams and thats Menard in the 27 and Mcmurray in the 1. Im sure menard will be replaced with Childress’ grandson Ty dillon. I don’t think Ganassi will resign Mcmurray because his performance isn’t that great, even with their new tech alliance with hendrick that started 2 or 3 years ago. If Ganassi can offer harvick something good enough i can see him staying with Chevy but thats a long shot. We still have quite a long time to see how this plays out…
Menard I expect is safe as he brings in money. Dad pays for his ride and that is how he stays relevent. The Cat car could be the one at risk at Childress. But I am not sure how that contract was written. It may come down to who brings in more Menards or Cat.
At Chips it may be interesting. Just depends on what sponsorships he has or has to offer. With the move of the Bass Pro to the Truex car could that be a signal they would want him in Chips car? Hard to say. Jamie does well on super speedways and has paid his way with a win here and there.
May will be interesting.
Not sure the Ford thing will make Harvick retire or move. He has no team he owns anymore so he has no outside ties to GM anymore. It may just come down to if he wants to race anymore or not.
I think it’d be very wise for chip to throw an offer. That team needs some good help and yes Jamie is good on the plate tracks but those are total crap shoots. I know Harvick could easily bring over Busch beer and jimmy johns. Chip needs to make a big move also.
As Tony Stewart plainly said, this was a business decision. Ford came calling with a huge check and they decided to go with it. This enables SHR “do their own thing” and become the #1 Ford team. They own 4 Nascar “charters” (more than any other 2017 Ford team) meaning they automatically “qualify” for all races for the foreseeable future. Sponsors like knowing they will automatically be “in the field” every time. This move insures long term viability of the organization, what’s so wrong with that??
Look what at what happened when billionaire Rob Kauffman decided to stop paying the bills at MWR? The entire operation quickly folded and 200+ lost their job. The departure of NAPA as a big sponsor was also a considerable factor but that was somewhat of self inflicted wound by the organization, for their own “strategy”.
Ultimately, to be successful, you better have plenty of sponsors, and/or a billionaire owner like Hendrick or Haas. In this case, if Gene Haas decides to leave the picture, SHR still has a chance to not only survive, but succeed as well.
Well Gene is competitive and wants to bring it all in house. I think he was more behind this in the long run. He calls the shots at the team and has over ruled Tony several times.
Tony may have equal billing on the team but it is Gene that pays the bills.
You are correct Gene pulls out the team is dead. But even the move to Ford will not change this.
Drivers are well off but team owners are mega rich or corporations anymore with the large teams.
Keep in mind Gene can afford to put a F1 team on the track pretty much out of his pocket. Not many people can do that. Yes he is that rich.