Tony Stewart drives in a learning curve

[Schwartz Fan]

Tony Stewart drives in a learning curve
By David Poole -

Tony Stewart says he's learning that there's more to building a Sprint Cup race team than signing some papers and leasing a new building.

“It's just kind of figuring out,” said Stewart, who is seventh in the points standings six races into his first season in Stewart-Haas Racing's No.14 Chevrolet. “I'm learning a new package and we're all learning what each other wants. Every week when we make changes, we know how much it affects us …(and) it makes it a little easier.”

Some changes, though, come easier than others.

After working with crew chief Greg Zipadelli at Joe Gibbs Racing for a decade, winning a pair of championships along the way, Stewart is now working with Darian Grubb. While Stewart has faith in Grubb's abilities, the level of trust and confidence he had with Zipadelli is not something that appears magically.

Stewart said after finishing third last week at Martinsville that what he and Grubb went through before and during the race was a big step forward.

“I think we changed like six or seven things before the race,” Stewart said. “It's just having that confidence and knowing that from his input and his feel, my input and my feel, knowing how much we need to make those adjustments to be good.

“Then there were times during the race he was making changes that I questioned, but they were better and made the car work. He's really good. The thing is, he's very sure of himself. He's very sure of his decisions.”

What Stewart is still working on though, is the fact that as a driver he's sure of what he wants in his car as well. Knowing when to trust Grubb's views over his instincts behind the wheel can be a challenge for Stewart.

“I have to remember that I am working with a different package in terms of the chassis and set-up,” Stewart said. “I can sit there and question him, but then I realized that is why he is on the pit box. He knows that car a lot better than I do.

“So you go out there and you see what happens, and it works. Every time you go through a situation like that, you gain that much more trust in him. That might have been the first time in these first six races that he suggested a change that I didn't think was the right way to go, but the next time it happens I won't even think about it.”

Stewart said the solid start for his team, combined with back-to-back top-10 finishes for teammate Ryan Newman at Bristol and Martinsville, are gratifying but not totally surprising.

“When we looked at this deal with all of the resources we had available to us and the shop and all of the other variables, when you looked at it on paper you felt like it was supposed to work,” Stewart said. “We've got two good drivers, two great crew chiefs and a lot of good people. A lot of the tools are in place.

“But still, you're going up against Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing – some pretty big, good teams. For a new group of guys like ours to have this success early, in a way we are surprised.”

Although Stewart drove Toyotas with the Gibbs team last year, even though that team used Chevrolets before that, returning to the Chevy with the new team hasn't been simple. Since Stewart-Haas gets chassis and other support and shares information with Hendrick Motorsports, things are significantly different.

“Everywhere we've been this year has been a different feel than what I was used to last year at Gibbs,” Stewart said. “So it's not so much trying to find what I'm used to. What they have at Hendrick has been successful for them. So it's taking the time to say it doesn't necessarily have to feel this way and trying to learn this and see how this works for me.

“Then you go by the stopwatch and if it feels good and if the times stay good then you learn a different feel. You don't get closed minded. You have to be open-minded about the fact that just because it felt like a certain feel the previous time you were somewhere it may not feel that way this time to be really fast. You have to be open minded.”

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