Stewart-Haas Racing Logo

Alliance Provides Danica Patrick and No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Guaranteed Starting Spot in 54^th Annual Daytona 500

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Jan. 31, 2012) – Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has entered into a collaborative partnership with Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) where TBR will field the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Impala for all 10 of Danica Patrick’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2012.

The alliance guarantees a starting spot for Patrick in her Sprint Cup debut – the 54^th annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 26 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

TBR’s No. 36 car, which finished the 2011 season 33^rd in points, becomes the No. 10 for 2012. For the 26 races where Patrick is not scheduled to drive, David Reutimann will pilot the No. 10 car. TBR has sponsorship inventory available for these 26 races.

“Tommy Baldwin Racing has proven to be a very strong organization and it’s a good fit with Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Matt Borland, vice president of competition, SHR. “It’s a Chevrolet team led by a racer who knows every inch of a racecar. That kind of technical expertise, along with a company mindset that is similar to ours, provides the ideal environment for Danica to learn and succeed.”

TBR was formed in 2009 and has matured from a single-car team to one that in 2012 will field two Sprint Cup entries and a NASCAR Nationwide Series entry. TBR is owned by Tommy Baldwin, who as a crew chief secured five victories, including the 2002 Daytona 500 with driver Ward Burton.

“We’re very proud of what we’ve established at Tommy Baldwin Racing, and the opportunity to partner with Stewart-Haas Racing and aid in the development of Danica Patrick is a testament to all the hard work we’ve put in over the years,” Baldwin said. “Danica will have a great teammate in Dave Blaney, who has been instrumental in getting our race team to where it is today. And with David Reutimann driving the No. 10 car in the races where Danica is not, the team will remain in a strong and competitive position throughout the year.”

The agreement means TBR will also work with GoDaddy.com, the world’s largest Web hosting provider and Patrick’s longtime sponsor.

“Go Daddy is a first-rate sponsor,” Baldwin added. “Look how they’ve supported Danica over the last six years. Go Daddy is a sponsor that knows how to get things done right.”

Baldwin will maintain a hands-on presence with the No. 10 car and will work closely with Greg Zipadelli, who serves as SHR’s director of competition. Baldwin and Zipadelli have similar backgrounds, as both grew up in the Northeast – Baldwin in Bellport, N.Y., and Zipadelli in Berlin, Conn. – and made a name for themselves as successful crew chiefs within the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour before rising up the ranks as crew chiefs in the elite Sprint Cup Series.

“Working with Tommy will be like old times,” Zipadelli said. “We both grew up together and competed against each other in Modifieds and we did the same thing when we got to Sprint Cup. To finally be able to work with each other and help Danica Patrick make a successful transition from Indy cars to stock cars is a challenge we’re both looking forward to.

“Partnering with Tommy and his team provides Danica with the foundation she needs to succeed. With a guaranteed starting spot, we can go into each weekend and simply learn. It’s all about getting her comfortable in the car, and with the variety of tracks she’s running, seat time will be incredibly valuable. A guaranteed spot in the race ensures that she’ll have the opportunity to make as many laps as possible.”

Patrick’s 10-race Sprint Cup schedule is as follows: 

• ·         Feb. 26:     Daytona 500
• ·         May 12:     Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
• ·         May 27:     Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway
• ·         Aug. 25:     Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
• ·         Sept. 2:      Atlanta Motor Speedway
• ·         Sept. 16:    Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.
• ·         Sept. 30:    Dover (Del.) International Speedway
• ·         Nov. 4:      Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth
• ·         Nov. 11:    Phoenix International Raceway

One more race is still to be determined, with the plan being to assess Patrick’s development as the season progresses and then choose the remaining venue based on need and competitive reasoning.

“Our goal with Danica’s schedule is to try and maximize her 10 races so that she’s as prepared as she can possibly be for a full-time Sprint Cup schedule in 2013,” said Stewart, co-owner of SHR with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest machine tool builder in the western world. “There are short tracks, intermediate 1.5-mile ovals, and some unique tracks like Darlington and Phoenix. The point is to expose her to as many challenges as possible so that she’ll know what to expect in 2013.”

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned by three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. The team fields two entries in the elite Sprint Cup Series – the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart and the No. 39 U.S. Army/Quicken Loans Chevrolet Impala for 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman. Based in Kannapolis, N.C., Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 140,000-square-foot facility with more than 160 employees. For more information, please visit us on the Web atwww.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing and on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng.

About Tommy Baldwin Racing:

Veteran NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew chief Tommy Baldwin formed Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) in 2009, where he saw opportunity amid a declining economy. With a stringent budget and a small, but talented, group of team members, Baldwin built a Sprint Cup team from humble beginnings to one that now competes fulltime and is a top-35 mainstay in the series’ owner point standings. The Mooresville, N.C.-based team will field two Sprint Cup entries in 2012 – the No. 10 Chevrolet Impala for Danica Patrick and David Reutimann, and the No. 36 Chevrolet Impala for Dave Blaney – along with one NASCAR Nationwide Series entry for Ryan Blaney via the No. 36 SealWrap Repair Chevrolet Impala. For more information, please visit us on the Web atwww.TommyBaldwinRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TBR.HBR and on Twitter @TBR_Racing.

About Go Daddy:
Go Daddy is the world’s largest domain name provider, Web hosting provider and new SSL provider, focused on helping small businesses grow larger. Go Daddy provides dozens of cloud-based services and is the largest worldwide mass-market hosting provider by annual revenue according to Tier1 Research (Mass-Market Hosting Report-Winter 2011) and is the No. 1 provider of net-new SSL certificates for 2011, according to the Netcraft, LTD Secure Server Survey. To learn more about the company, visit www.GoDaddy.com/PR.

Source: True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

SPEED Performer of the Year Logo

CHASE RUN ELEVATES SMOKE AS 2011 SPEED PERFORMER OF THE YEAR 

            Racing legend Mario Andretti presented his namesake trophy to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart on SPEED Center last night, acknowledging the three-time champion’s Chase run as the difference maker among a very impressive field of finalists for the annual SPEED Performer of the Year presented by ACE®.

“This is an awesome moment in my career,” Stewart said on the program. “I grew up in Indiana watching this guy a lot. Winning any award is an honor, but winning one with Mario’s name on it is very special.”

Five of this year’s seven finalists received first-place votes, including Stewart, runner-up Casey Stoner; AMA Supercross/Motocross champion Ryan Villipoto; last year’s SPEED Performer of the Year, Sebastian Vettel, and USAC/WoO phenom Kyle Larson.

“I get to see the best of the best and, Tony, you are in that company,” said Andretti, who actually noticed Stewart’s calm demeanor during the Chase and texted the driver, “I smell championship.”

The award, now in its sixth season, is presented annually by SPEED to the racer who puts a premium on winning races, shines on motor sports’ biggest stages and does it all with a measure of sportsmanship and class.

The 2011 SPEED Performer of the Year was selected by a panel including racing legends Andretti and Dan Gurney, “Wind Tunnel” host Dave Despain, veteran broadcasters Varsha, Ralph Sheheen and Leigh Diffey, SPEED.com writers Robin Miller and Tom Jensen, versatile racers Tommy Kendall and Dorsey Schroeder and a select group of SPEED motor sports producers.

The trophy, a true work of art created by bronze sculptor Elie Hazak, stands 38 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds.  It features eight cars, including six of the most important in Mario’s rise to superstardom, as well as an array of artistic symbolism that captures the essence of the trophy’s namesake.

Mario Andretti Trophy winners and runner-ups: 

• 2006 – Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR. Nicky Hayden, MotoGP
• 2007 – Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR; Donny Schatz, WoO
• 2008 – Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR; Tony Schumacher, NHRA
• 2009 – Tony Schumacher, NHRA; Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR
• 2010 – Sebastian Vettel, F1; Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR
• 2011 – Tony Stewart, NASCAR; Casey Stoner, MotoGP

About SPEED™

SPEED, anchored by its popular and wide-ranging coverage of NASCAR, is the nation’s first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle. Now available in nearly 84 million homes in North America, SPEED, a member of the FOX Sports Media Group, is among the industry leaders in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services, including SPEED2, a groundbreaking new broadband network featuring live, streaming and on-demand events complementing offerings of the linear network. For more information, please visit SPEED.com, the online motor sports authority.

About FOX Sports Media Group

FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) is the umbrella entity representing News Corporation’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets under Chairman & CEO David Hill.  Built with brands that are capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FSMG includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships.  FSMG now includes FOX Sports, the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; Fox’s 19 regional sports networks, their affiliated regional web sites and FSN national programming; SPEED and SPEED2; Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus; FUEL TV; and Fox College Sports.  In addition, FSMG also includes FOX Sports Interactive Media, which comprises FOXSports.com on MSN, whatifsports.comand scout.com, reaching almost 30 million unique visitors monthly.  Also included are Fox’s interests in joint-venture businesses FOX Deportes, Big Ten Network and STATS, LLC, as well as licensing agreements that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network, FOX Sports Skybox restaurants and FOX Sports Grills.

Source: SPEED, Press Release

No 39 WIX Filters Chevy Impala SS driven by Ryan Newman - Stewart-Haas Racing

WIX® Filters, a member of the Affinia Group family of brands, announced today plans to be the primary sponsor for Ryan Newman of Stewart-Haas Racing for four races during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ season.

WIX Filters will debut its primary sponsorship of Newman and his No. 39 Chevrolet at the season kick-off Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 18. WIX will be Newman’s primary sponsor for three additional NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events this year – at Phoenix International Raceway on March 4, Darlington Raceway on May 12 and Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 19.

“Ryan Newman, Stewart-Haas Racing and their fans bring tremendous enthusiasm and excitement to the racing season,” said Mike Harvey, brand manager for WIX Filters. “We can’t wait to be onboard with them again in 2012. Our partnerships with Stewart-Haas Racing and Ryan have been some of our most successful in racing thanks to the support offered by the team and the way Ryan’s fans have embraced our brand.”

WIX has been the Official Filter for Stewart-Haas Racing since the team’s creation in 2009. In three starts with WIX Filters on the hood of the No. 39, Newman has three top-10 finishes – a sixth-place effort at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2010, a third-place finish in last season’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway and a fifth-place effort at Michigan International Speedway in August 2011.

“I’m excited to have WIX Filters back as a partner in 2012,” said Newman. “They have a great support program, find cool ways to get fans involved and most importantly provide us with superior filters to protect our engines.”

WIX will chronicle race week events with photos, videos, interviews, giveaways and more through social media, including Facebook (www.facebook.com/wixfilters, Twitter (@wixfilters) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/thewixfilters).  

Since 1939, Wix® Filters has been an innovator in filtration products. WIX designs, manufactures and distributes products for automotive, diesel, agricultural, industrial and specialty filter markets. Its product line includes oil, air, cabin interior, fuel, coolant, transmission and hydraulic filters for automobiles, trucks, off-road equipment and manufacturing applications. For more information, visit www.wixfilters.com.

Affinia Group Inc. is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket products for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With approximately $2.0 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.

Source: WIX Filters, Press Releas

A general view of the Stewart-Haas Racing media day during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 23 in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

“From Columbus, Indiana, the three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, entering his 14th year on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala, Tony Stewart.

“From South Bend, Indiana, a winner of 15 races and 49 poles in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, entering his 11th full year of Sprint Cup racing, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army / Quicken Loans Chevrolet Impala, Ryan Newman.

“From Roscoe, Illinois, the first woman to win a Major League open wheel race in a North American series with her win in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Indy Japan 300 at the twin ring oval in Japan, entering her first year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a ten race schedule, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.Com Chevrolet Impala, Danica Patrick.

“Now their crew chiefs.  From Spartanburg, South Carolina, the crew chief for Tony Stewart, the No. 14 Office Depot, / Mobil 1 team, Steve Addington.

“From Daytona Beach, Florida, the crew chief for Ryan Newman, and the No. 39 U.S. Army / Quicken Loans team, Tony Gibson.

“And from Berlin, Connecticut, the director of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing, and the crew chief for the No. 10 GoDaddy.Com team, Greg Zipadelli.

“The glue that keeps all of this together, from Haslett, Michigan, the vice president of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing, Matt Borland.

“Excellent.  Thank you, everyone.

“Tony Stewart, driver/owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.  We’ve said it once, we’ll say it a lot.  You’re now the three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion.  First off, how’s the view from the top of the mountain, and more importantly from behind the wheel of that Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet?”

TONY STEWART:

“I’m scared of heights, so I don’t try to get up too high.  But, no, it’s felt good this winter.  It’s definitely been a short off season, but had a lot of changes, obviously, having Steve Addington on board and having my great friend, Greg Zipadelli back on board. We’re very excited about it.

“It’s been a short off season, but we’re having fun watching the changes of Stewart-Haas Racing and how it’s going to help us be better this year.”

MODERATOR:

“Ryan, you came off another strong chase performance, and a pretty historic day where you led Stewart-Haas Racing to a one-two qualifying effort, and a one-two finish at New Hampshire, and Quicken Loans coming on board and joining the U.S. Army, as well as a host of sponsors, as well as Aspen Dental which was secured over the weekend joining Outback Steakhouse, WIX Filters, Tornados and Haas Automation, how pumped are you for the 2012 season to begin?”

RYAN NEWMAN:

“Really excited.  It’s a great list of sponsors, and obviously to have the U.S. Army back, one of our founding partners with the team at Stewart-Haas, it’s a great feeling.  To have Quicken Loans, and like you said the whole list of them – with Outback Steakhouse, new sponsors to the sport, and then Aspen Dental, new sponsors to our team – just really look forward to having an opportunity to get each and every one of them a shot at victory lane.”

THE MODERATOR:

“Danica, the year that stock car racing takes center stage is finally upon us, and after balancing IndyCars and stock cars last year, it’s all stock cars all the time, including this Memorial Day weekend.  For the first time you’ll be in Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600 instead of Indianapolis for the Indy 500.  So what’s it going to be like for the GoDaddy girl?”

DANICA PATRICK: 

“I don’t know.  You tell me.  I’m very fortunate to be in this position with this team and these people.  I’m very fortunate.  I’ve been wanting to race stock cars full time for a little while here, and it’s happening.

“We’ve added another challenge with the Coke 600 or Coke 6,000 as I’ve been told.  It’s quite long.  So I just want to thank everyone for making it happen at Stewart-Haas, and thank GoDaddy for supporting me the whole way through.  I even have my own GoDaddy microphone.  That’s pretty clever.  So life is good.”

THE MODERATOR:

“We’ll reintroduce the folks behind these drivers, starting off with Steve Addington.  Steve, welcome to Stewart-Haas Racing.  How has the transition been as you sort of rejoin the family that you once knew at JGR?”

STEVE ADDINGTON:

“It’s been awesome.  To come in and work with a group of guys like Tony Gibson has made the transition of just asking me or telling me everything that I need to know and give me the information that I need to get started and where I need to look for stuff.. Matt Borland’s got a great group in the engineering department and those guys have been very, very welcoming in getting me started and seeing where we’re at and see what direction we need to get going.”

THE MODERATOR:

“Tony Gibson, crew chief for Ryan Newman, you’ve been at Stewart-Haas Racing since the beginning.  Can you talk a little about how Stewart-Haas Racing went from a relatively unknown that people really didn’t know what would happen to, to an organization that consistently wins races and contends for a championship and finally won a championship this past year?”

TONY GIBSON:

“I think it’s just being surrounded with good, old fashioned racing people.  You know, Stewart’s just an old redneck guy that loves to race and will drive everything.  Everybody at our place, we just love racing.  We grew together and things happened probably a little faster than most expected.

“But when you put a bunch of guys together that all they want to do is win and perform and run up front, things like that happen, partnered up with Chevrolet and they make things easy too.  They give us all the things we need to improve our race teams and our company.  We have great sponsors.

“So when you put all that in a Bowl, it’s got success written all over it.  Really fortunate to be associated with Stewart-Haas Racing from the beginning and great drivers.  Like I said before, Ryan’s one of those guys you want driving, because he’s going to give you 110% whether you’re two laps down or leading a race by half a lap.  Doesn’t matter, you get the same effort out of him.

“So it’s a privilege to be hooked up with him, and Matt Borland.  I’m looking forward to working with Steve and Greg and Danica, new people in our organization that are going to help us grow and be better.  Already we’ve seen huge gains in our company since they’ve come on board.  Looking forward to it.”

THE MODERATOR: 

“Excellent.  And Greg Zipadelli, you’re reunited with Tony, but in a different way, as the competition director here at Stewart-Haas Racing.  But still not far away from that pit box as Danica’s crew chief for this ten race schedule.”

GREG ZIPADELLI:

“Yeah, it’s a great opportunity for myself.  Next chapter in my life, maybe stepping back a little bit as a crew chief goes.  I was excited to find out I was going to have the opportunity to do ten races and kind of help put this deal together.

“We had a really good test.  I have enjoyed working with Danica.  A good group of guys.  I can’t say enough about the people at Stewart-Haas.  The heart and the passion that every individual that I’ve met that works there is truly amazing.  Very warm welcomes.  Everybody has been very good to work with.

“They have done so much to help me make the transition.  The people in the shop, Tony Gibson and his guys preparing cars for us, Matt Borland in engineering, a phenomenal place.  We’re very, very excited about the future there.”

THE MODERATOR:

“Matt Borland, the vice president of competition wore many hats in 2011, oversaw a lot of change, and also oversaw a lot of success.  How did you manage it all?

MATT BORLAND:

“I think it’s pretty easy.  You look up here and we’ve got three new people up here along with all the people that have been here, each one brings a different talent and experience level to our program.  We’ve got Steve who comes from Penske and Gibbs and a lot of new fresh ideas, things to look at, things to try.

“We’ve got Greg that’s come on board and he’s got new ideas from JGR that are all things we can try and try to make our stuff better than it’s been.

“Danica comes on board, another driver with open wheel background.  So she’s got a lot of new ideas, new thoughts and new ways of thinking about things, and that just helps everybody come up with new ideas, new thoughts, new processes and hopefully out of that we’ll get a lot of wins and a lot of poles.”

THE MODERATOR:

“Well said.  We’ll open it up to questions.”

Q.  I guess sometimes I miss things, but I don’t think I missed this, Danica.  That’s news that you’re running the Coca Cola 600?  Where does that leave the Indy 500?  I assume you won’t try a double.  Is that a difficult decision to race in that event this year?

DANICA PATRICK:

“No, you didn’t miss it.  I’m going to do the Coke 600.  I’m not going to do the Indy 500.  I hope to do it in the future, the Indy 500, that is.  Maybe it will be a double.  But at this point in time after a lot of conversations, it’s just going to be the Coke 600.  It’s going to be a big challenge, but I’m looking forward to it, and especially a hometown like Charlotte for NASCAR.”

Q.  How did you make the decision?

DANICA PATRICK:

“The decision?  Well, it was just something that didn’t work out as far as the business side of things.  It just didn’t work out.  I’m hopeful to do it in the future, but for this year, it just didn’t happen.”

Q.  With the fuel injection system, how does it affect this race strategy?  And, I think you still get your engines from Hendrick Motorsports.  Is there still space left for your own modifications and changes to get ready for the race?

TONY GIBSON:

“As far as the engines we get from Hendrick, they do a fantastic job, first of all, and they have done a great job of getting prepared for the EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) stuff this year.  They’ve done a lot of testing.  They’ve really kept us involved in it, and we’ve done a lot of stuff with Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas.

“We get the engines from them.  When they come, we put the headers and transmissions and stuff on it.  But their engine tuners come over in our shops twice a week, three times a week.  So we don’t actually build them, but they keep us in the flow of things.  We’re hands on with it.  They’re very open about it.  They want our ideas and especially from those guys.  Borland on the engineering side making harnesses and stuff for us that go in and sink in with the Hendrick side of it.  They’re very welcome to our ideas.

“So on that side of it, it’s been a great partnership, and pretty smooth so far.”

Q.  Matt, can you talk about the whole development of Stewart-Haas Racing, and people talk about the projects you have going on back there.  Can you talk about how you’ve seen the evolution of Stewart-Haas Racing?

MATT BORLAND:

“Yeah, Gene Haas and Joe Custer started Haas back in 2002.  They put a great program together and when Tony came on board, he added a whole other level of capabilities to the program.  It’s allowed us to get a lot more people, get a lot more    what is the word I’m looking for?  We have a lot more people to do a lot more things to be more specialized at what we’re looking at and refining things.

“I think the biggest thing that’s come about with that is we’re able to dive down into the details of the program.  With the cars the way they are now, there’s not huge gains to be made.  There are small gains to be made in a lot of areas.  So it takes a group of very strong people that can go and try to find all those little things.

“To Tony Gibson’s point, to have a bunch of racers that that’s all they want to do.  They want to race.  They want to beat everybody.  They want to find those little things that gets them that much better than the next team out there.”

Q.  Ryan, your whole team comes back intact.  You have a lot of new sponsors associated with the 39 this year.  Are you in the best position in terms of your career with Stewart-Haas than you’ve ever been before in the last couple of years there?

RYAN NEWMAN:

“From a sponsorship standpoint, without a doubt.  We’re really proud to partner up with these new sponsors.  Like I said in my opening, sponsors that haven’t been a part of NASCAR at all, like Quicken Loans and Outback has a little bit of history.

“But just from our standpoint, when you have great sponsors, you’re allowed to get the great people and do the great things.  Without a doubt, the sponsorship is a big part of that.

“So, yes, from that standpoint, no doubt.  From a team standpoint, it’s great to have all our group back.  We had a great run to get into the Chase.  Our Chase was a bit of a struggle for us as a team.  But those are the things that you get through them, work on them, build them, and make yourself stronger as a team and an organization for the next years.

“Tony can attest to this too, you can win a championship one year, doesn’t mean you’re going to win it the next year.  You have to work really hard.  Other teams, when you win, you build fire and desire within them.  So you have to have that same fire and desire within yourself to go back and do what we did as an organization last year.

Q.  Tony, the spotlight’s going to be bright on your team this year.  Not only are you the defending champion, but with the addition of Danica Patrick and with Ryan, how best is the team able to deal with that?  From the very beginning, there is a lot of attention given to your team.

TONY STEWART:

“Yeah, we’re not worried about that.  It’s a good thing with our partners on board.  It helps us from the marketing side and the sponsorship sides to make sure we’re fulfilling what our partners need.

“When it comes time to being at the racetrack and doing what we do on the track, this group of people up here are really good at focusing on the task at hand.  I think we’re all up for the challenge.  It’s a good way to start the year.  We came off of a great finish to the year last year, and we got a lot of new exciting partners on board this year, and a new teammate that’s going to be fun to work with.  And a teammate that’s always fun to work with over on this side.

“We’re excited.  We’re probably as excited to start the year as I can remember being in a long time.”

Q.  This is a special championship.  What did you do personally to celebrate it?

TONY STEWART:

“Stayed at the shop until the Wednesday of Christmas.  I didn’t really do anything, to be honest.  Like I said, with the addition of Steve and Greg and Danica, we wanted to make sure that we were kind of there to make sure that everybody was getting started off in the right direction.  I wasn’t really there for anything more than moral support.

“These guys are the guys that make it all happen, for sure.  But honestly, I didn’t really do much of anything.  I went and raced a couple of times through the winter here, but for the most part, it’s been business as usual.” 

Q.  Can you assess the different dynamics in the shop with the addition of Danica, and Zippy, and Steve Addington, and then the fact that Tony won the championship last year, the mood of the team and the dynamics in the shop?

MATT BORLAND:

“I think in general, the dynamics are very positive, very excited.  Like Tony was saying, everybody’s looking forward to Daytona, looking forward to a great new season.  As well, there are so many influx of new ideas this year, that we’re able to look at so many different things and find hopefully some more gains that will elevate us even better than we were last year.

“It’s been very positive.  All the people on the team are pumped up and excited.  It’s a great deal right now.”

Q.  Tony, you won your third championship last year, five of 10 Chase races, and in a driver / crew chief relationship that you ended up changing, how much pressure does that put on the guy to your left when he walks in the front door? 

TONY STEWART:

“You’re asking the wrong guy.  You need to ask him.  I feel just fine.”

STEVE ADDINGTON:

“I do too.”

TONY STEWART:

“I think he’s thinking he’s on vacation now.  Just saying.  It’s kind of like what Tony Gibson was saying earlier.  We’re just low key, down to earth racers and hard core racer that’s want to race.  That is the attitude that Steve has coming in here.

“And as far as from my side, I’m not putting any pressure on him.  I’m looking forward to going out and racing again.  We both know there is going to be a period of getting to learn each other, and just little things that we’ll have to get sorted out to where we get into that weekly routine.

“Daytona’s not going to be… that ten day period’s not going to get it done.  It’s going to take more of that.  It’s going to take getting through Phoenix and some of those races to really get in tune with each other.  But he’s been easy to work with so far.

“We’ve been able to work with him directly at Gibbs.  So we kind of know him a little bit.  I think it’s going to be pretty laid back, and we’re going to have a lot of fun.  I don’t think it’s a big stress situation for either one of us right now.”

MODERATOR:

“Steve, do you want to chime in on that as well?”

STEVE ADDINGTON:

“No, look at what the organization did.  One guy’s not going to make the big difference.  I’ve got to keep the communication with him going as far as the race car’s concerned, and having that supporting cast, the people that are around you through the organization makes you successful.  That’s what I’m looking forward to.

“Everybody that I’ve run into or worked with in the organization, I’ve worked with them at some point or beside them at some point that they’ve welcomed me with open arms.  Asking me everything that I need to go racing with them, and that’s it.  You’ve got the supporting cast there that’s going to be successful.”

Q.  Tony, could you explain to fans how life changes and how life doesn’t change after becoming a champion for the first, second, and third time?

TONY STEWART:

“It hasn’t changed at all, honestly.  I think the first time it changes a little bit because you’ve accomplished that goal.  But after the first one, it really doesn’t change your life so much the second and third one.  Like I said, it’s kind of been business as usual.  We’ve enjoyed the whole off season with the team, and it’s been fun being at the shop to see how excited the guys are.  Guys that three years ago had never won a race, and now they’re celebrating their first championship together.

“It’s been fun to be at the shop around those guys and see how excited they are to have Danica come on board and Zippy and Steve.  It’s been fun to watch everybody have fun in the off season.  You’ve got these two guys to the right that are always keeping you on your toes and making it fun, too.

“So we’ve just got a great group of people that have made it fun, and it really hasn’t changed my life any.  Like I said, I probably took less time this off season to go enjoy myself than any other time.  But I’ve had fun doing what I’ve been doing.”

Q.  Tony Gibson, the last 30 years we’ve had two owner/drivers win the championship, Tony and Alan Kulwicki.  You worked with both of those drivers.  Can you talk about what similarities there are between them and what differences there are?

TONY GIBSON:

“I think the differences may be the engineering side of it.  Kulwicki was more like Newman on the engineering side of it.  But he loved the race.  He loved all about racing, and all about winning.  In his heart it was win, and the grass roots of racing whether it was in Wisconsin doing the late model stuff or in a Cup car.

“Stewart has that same desire.  He has in his heart all he wants to do is race.  Every time he’ll text you he’s at a racetrack somewhere racing, and that’s all he wants to do.  So the difference is probably maybe on the schooling.  I don’t know where you went to school at.”

TONY STEWART: 

“High school.”

TONY GIBSON: 

“He went to high school.

“When it comes to strapping the belts down and putting a helmet on and taking the green, it’s all with your desire to win.  Him and Alan, as far as I’m concerned, had the same desire to win and that’s why they’re both champions.

Q.  Tony, will you divide up your time now any differently between the Cup side and the short track team now that you’ve got more people?  You’ve got more people to supervise.  Are you asking more people to supervise to give you more time for your other ventures? 

TONY STEWART:

“No, it’s pretty much business as usual.  We’re adding more to the program, so you want to make sure that you’re keeping that time to make sure that everybody’s where they need to be and making sure that everybody is comfortable with what we’ve got.  So as far as the time that I divide running the short track stuff versus what we’re doing here, it’s pretty much the same balance.”

Q.  Tony, the economy has been down the last couple of years, but it seems to be doing a bit of a rebound.  You guys have been doing well signing on new sponsors.  Can you talk about your efforts signing new sponsors and the economy of your team?

TONY STEWART:

“I’ll be honest, I’m really, really proud of our marketing team.  Mike Verlander has done a great job introducing some new partners in the sport.  I think it’s one thing from day one when we brought Tornados on board with Ryan’s car, and now Quicken Loans and Aspen Dental to bring new partners like this into the sport and introduce them to NASCAR is something that I take a lot of pride in.

“Like I said, it’s our marketing stuff that’s done it.  I can’t take the credit for it, but I’m really proud of them.  It’s been a tough economy, as we know.  But to show these new companies that there is this value in NASCAR is something that we’re proud of.  I think Tornados has had a great experience .  I think it’s been the same way for Quicken so far.

“We finished up the year last year with them, and I think they enjoyed the first trip in the sport.  Looking forward to having Aspen Dental on board.

“I’m really excited about it.  It’s the best position sponsorship-wise that our company has been in, and we still have races to sell.  But it’s the best position that we’ve been in since I partnered up with Gene three years ago.  So we’re really excited about it.

“I think it’s a sign that hopefully things are starting to turn around and work their way back up now.”

Q.  For Tony, Zippy, and Danica, what is a reasonable expectation or goals for this season?  Danica, when you answer, if you could also address the Nationwide Series.

DANICA PATRICK:

“I think that first starting out with the Nationwide stuff, very much it depends on the individual weekend itself.  There are still some tracks that I haven’t raced at before, so probably a little bit different expectations for those.  But for the most part, solid top-10.  Getting into the top-five more consistently through the year would be a goal, and I’d like to get to victory lane.

“As far as the Cup stuff, I think that it would be good if they answered as well on this.  But I’d like to know what I should expect.  But I think that at Daytona, the cars are very fast as you guys can see, and as we saw already at the test.  So I feel good about that race.  I feel good about… I mean, I was lucky enough to get to run with Tony in the Nationwide race last summer, and that went pretty good.  So I feel good about Daytona.

“I think there is a real chance if luck falls our way to perhaps win.  I think that’s a real chance.  I mean, a guy like Trevor Bayne last year showed that.

“So those are the expectations for the first race, but then beyond that.  I don’t know.  Top-20 or so, I guess, would maybe be a good goal.  I feel like longer races are good.  I like long races.  I feel like I learn, I get more comfortable out there and we keep tweaking on the car and making it a little better on each pit stop, so I’m hoping that plays into my favor with the length of these races.”

GREG ZIPADELLI:

“For myself, it’s just good solid days.  Give her as much track time as we can, and support, and just trying to teach her as much as we can about this sport and this series for the following year.”

TONY STEWART:

“I’m excited about it.  From my standpoint, I crashed everything I drove from the Nationwide cars, and it – on the Cup side – it got better obviously.  But looking at it, these ten races for her this year, for me it’s just finishing the races and getting the track time.

“In the short amount of time that I’ve worked with her, she’s so good at processing information and what she learns on the racetrack.  She can explain it to you right away and very accurate.  I think her feedback is excellent.

“Just getting the time on the racetrack and, I guess are from my standpoint, I’m not worried about the finishes at the end of the day.  It’s just finishing the race, getting the laps and getting that experience in the car.  Five hundred mile races are long races, especially in the Cup series when you’re dealing with a 3,400 pound car.  It’s a learning process.

“I think the success at the end of the year won’t be judged by where the finishing position is at the end of the day as much as what she’s taken away from race weekend.  So that’s what my goal is for her.”

THE MODERATOR:

“A couple other story lines that are definitely worth asking these folks in their one –on-one sessions.  Danica Patrick in the Super Bowl.  While the New England Patriots and New York Giants are making a return to the Super Bowl in two weeks, so does Danica.  This will be the eighth straight year GoDaddy has run a Super Bowl ad campaign, and the sixth in which Danica has starred.

“So all told, Danica has appeared in ten GoDaddy Super Bowl ads dating back to 2007, giving her the title of most commercials of any celebrity in the history of the event.

“Not to be lost on television, Tony Stewart spent part of his off season doing a little acting himself.  He made a guest appearance on ABC’s ‘Last Man Standing’ with Tim Allen.  That episode is slated to air Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. Eastern.

“Tony is also running the season opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race.  He’ll be in the No. 33 Oreo 100th anniversary Chevrolet Impala.  He’ll be looking for his fifth straight win in that event, and his seventh in the last eight season opening NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Daytona.

“Again, from a sports business story, I know we’ve touched about it a little bit, in addition to all the sponsors that have returned to Ryan Newman in the No. 39, new to the sport, Quicken Loans, Aspen Dental, Outback Steakhouse coming back to NASCAR, all affiliated with Ryan and that No. 39 team.”

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 23 in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Danica Skipping Indy, Will Run Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway In May

Instead, Patrick revealed during the opening stop of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway that she will be behind the wheel of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 27.

“I’ve wanted to race stock cars for a little while here and it’s happening,” Patrick said. “We’ve added another challenge with the Coke 600, or Coke 6,000 as I’ve been told.”

The decision, Patrick said, was mainly a business decision. Patrick has raced in the past seven Indianapolis 500s, earning a best finish of third in 2009 while driving for Andretti Green Racing.

“I hope to do it in the future, the Indy 500 that is. Maybe it’ll be a double,” Patrick said, referring to the Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500 double that her Sprint Cup team owner Tony Stewart, John Andretti and Robby Gordon have done in the past.

Patrick is scheduled to run up to 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events this year for Stewart-Haas Racing in addition to the full NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports.

Pressure is On Tony Stewart and Steve Addington in 2012
Members of the media got their first look at the new driver/crew chief combination of Tony Stewart and Steve Addington Monday and the pair already look like they’ve been working together for years.

But still, the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Stewart admits they have a lot to learn about each other.

“We’re just a bunch of low-key, down to Earth racers, hardcore racers that just want to race. That is the attitude Steve has,” Stewart said. “I’m not putting any pressure on him (Addington). I’m looking forward to going out and racing with him.

Steve Addington, the new crew chief of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

If Addington was concerned about any potential learning curve, he certainly didn’t show it.

“One guy isn’t going to make a big difference,” said Addington, who moved to Stewart-Haas Racing from Penske Racing. “I’ve gotta keep the communication with him going as far as the race car is concerned. Having that supporting cast, the people that are around you and throughout the organization, that is what makes you successful.”

Another new piece of the puzzle at Stewart-Haas Racing is Greg Zipadelli, Stewart’s former crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing. Zipadelli joins Stewart-Haas Racing as the organizations new competition director and will also serve as Patrick’s crew chief during her 10-race venture into Sprint Cup.

Stewart Eyes Seventh Daytona Nationwide Win
Tony Stewart will attempt to win his seventh NASCAR Nationwide Series race on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 25. This year Stewart will drive the No. 33 Oreo 100th Anniversary Chevrolet fielded by Richard Childress Racing. Stewart has won the last four NASCAR Nationwide season openers at Daytona and hopes to add a fifth-straight victory next month.

Aspen-Dental to Sponsor Newman; Outback Steakhouse, Quicken Loans Join SHR 
Stewart-Haas Racing announced Monday that it reached a multi-year agreement with Aspen Dental, one of the largest networks of dental-care providers in the United States, as a new sponsor for Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet.

The Syracuse-based dental care provider will be the primary sponsor for Newman in 2012 for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Daytona in July and New Hampshire in September and will serve an associate sponsor at other events.

Stewart-Haas Racing announced in late 2011 that it would add Outback Steakhouse and Quicken Loans to its stable of sponsors for 2012.

New Crew Chiefs Settling In At Joe Gibbs Racing

Darian Grubb, the new crew chief of Denny Hamlin's No. 11 FedEx Toyota, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Darian Grubb, who won the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship with Tony Stewart, was hired to replace Mike Ford as crew chief for Denny Hamlin on the No. 11 FedEx Toyota.

“I’m really excited to join Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 11 FedEx team,” Grubb said Monday. “We’re having lots of fun, we’re having lots of meetings. We’re kind of setting the course for what we want to do. We want to go out there and be competitive.”

Elsewhere, crew chief Jason Ratcliff was promoted from the JGR NASCAR Nationwide Series operation to replace Greg Zipadelli as crew chief of the No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota driven by Joey Logano.

“J.D. (Gibbs) gave me the opportunity about seven years ago to come over and work on the Nationwide program,” said Ratcliff. “It has been great for seven years and I knew it would have to be a really special deal to move beyond that.

“They’ve given me an opportunity that fits well with a great driver, with great sponsors like Home Depot and Dollar General, and a team that is eager to go out and win races,” Ratcliff added.

The one driver at Joe Gibbs Racing that didn’t get a new crew chief is Kyle Busch, who will again partner with Dave Rogers for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Quotes of the Day
Tony Gibson, crew chief for Ryan Newman in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, on working for the last two owner-driver champions (Tony Stewart and Alan Kulwicki) in Sprint Cup competition: “He (Kulwicki) loved to race. It was all about racing and all about winning. … Stewart has that same desire. In his heart all he wants to do is race.”

Darian Grubb, on transitioning from working at Stewart-Haas Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing: “The hardest part of the transition so far has been getting my three-year-old son to say Denny Hamlin is his favorite driver.”

Source: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Press Release

Danica Patrick unveils her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for the 2012 season with team owner Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: NASCARMedia

An Interview With:

TONY STEWART and DANICA PATRICK

KERRY THARP: Joining us now is Danica Patrick. She drives the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing. Danica, it’s great to see you back here at Daytona. You’re going to be making your Sprint Cup Series debut in the biggest race of the season. Talk about that, being able to come to the biggest platform and the biggest venue that we race, and it’s a place where you actually got your NASCAR start a while back. Talk about being here racing at Daytona.

DANICA PATRICK: Well, it’s good to be back. It’s not been too long of an off-season, that’s for sure. But I made the most of the weeks that I had, so it’s good to be back, and the car seems pretty good so far, pretty fast. Not too different yet as we’re just running out there by ourselves at this point in time. But it’s going to be really exciting. Obviously it’s the biggest race of the year. I’d really like to run well, and I don’t just want to be here, I want to run well.

I think at a place like Daytona there’s that opportunity. I think I’ll probably have slightly more realistic expectations for some of the other ones, but for this one at Daytona I think there’s a real opportunity.

Audio: 2012 NSCS Preseason Thunder Press Conference with Drivers Tony Stewart & Danica Patrick

Q. What is on your to-do list today with Zipadelli? What do you guys want to accomplish short-term?

DANICA PATRICK: Well, today is just run on our own and seeing how fast we can get the car to go. And then I think tomorrow we’ll work on bump drafting. And I heard Tony say he’s going to let someone else go do it first with the new rear spoiler and spring. So that’s fine with me. I said I think I want to be the one getting pushed so that I don’t want to be the one that takes out my boss. That would be bad. I said you can push me first.

KERRY THARP: Speaking of Tony Stewart, he joins us now. Tony is our three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. He, of course, won the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in fine fashion with a walk-off victory at Homestead Miami Speedway.

Tony, talk about winning the championship. You’ve had, I guess, I don’t know how many days to maybe decompress, if you do such a thing.

TONY STEWART: Two.

KERRY THARP: Two days. But now you’re at Daytona, and certainly it’s a race that you would love to win, the Daytona 500 here in about 45 days. Talk a little bit about coming in as the defending series champion and then trying to win at Daytona.

TONY STEWART: Well, obviously the end of the year last year was — still almost like a fairy-tale for us, storybook ending obviously. But this is our biggest race of the year. It starts today. Well, it started the day after Homestead actually for the crew guys, and today is the first day that we get to get an idea of the rewards for their hard work and see these cars on the racetrack and see what kind of speed they have. It’s an exciting time for the crew chiefs, the car chiefs, all the engineers, all the people that build these cars. Today is a really big day for all of them and what they’ve done during the off-season to get ready for the 500.

Our sport is unique obviously having our biggest race the first race of the year. But it’s very fitting at the same time because this race, we have more time during the off-season to prepare for this race than we do the others. You bring cars here that you have the extra time to just make them that little bit nicer than you normally have time to do.
It’s exciting to be back, and looking forward to it. It’s been fun to get back in the car today and get running around. Normally I’m hiding from the racetrack in testing, but it was fun to come back this morning and get back in the car and get rolling around again.

Q. Danica, in the last month, I guess, it was decided that you’ll be paired with Zippy at least for the time being. How long will it take for you to get a good relationship with him, and what sort of differences, if you’ve even had a chance to see, are between he and Tony, Jr.? And then for Mr. Stewart, why did you think that Zippy would be a good fit with Danica?

DANICA PATRICK: His accent is not as thick as Tony, Jr. I understand every word he says. We get along great. I feel really comfortable with him so far. I feel respected, and I feel like he’s been very patient. Even the little things, getting here this morning and just kind of adjusting a belt a little bit and adjusting a throttle a little bit, he doesn’t look at me like I’m inexperienced and I should be comfortable right away or it should be right or the throttle doesn’t feel right or I should get used to it and be used to it. He investigates and says no problem, let’s get it right, and makes me comfortable with that kind of stuff.

Obviously we haven’t worked together with the whole how the car feels and how we’re going to change it and that kind of stuff, and especially here at Daytona, that’s probably — we’re probably not going to get a lot of that. It’s not that kind of a track. But I can say so far I feel very comfortable and I feel very fortunate to have him to work with to have that experience. So thank you, Tony.

TONY STEWART: You know, I think for us it was a scenario where we were trying to get Zippy hired as a competition director, but it really was a perfect opportunity for us because it’s hard to get a really good crew chief hired to only run ten races a year in the first year. So to have somebody like Greg that has been working with Joey and has been a crew chief for the last 13 straight years, he can come into this scenario, and he’s brought — the last two guys he had both were rookies when they came in. So he’s familiar with this and the process of getting a rookie adapted to the car and knowing what to do to make them comfortable.

So for us from a company standpoint it made sense to have him since we had him in house anyway to be able to apply him over there in a crew chief role and at the same time the practicality of it, of him having that experience of working with new drivers, makes it a smart decision for us to have somebody like him that can work with Danica and know what those — know how to go through those learning processes and how to help with that. So it really is a — we get the best of both worlds with it.

Q. Danica, for you, some drivers talk about working with a new team like being the first day at school, butterflies that go with that, nerves that go with that even though you’ve been in the car a lot. And Tony, it’s somewhat reminiscent of 12 years ago, you coming to test with Zippy the way you did in 1999. Talk about that, and what’s it like to see Zippy on your side again in your team colors working for you?

DANICA PATRICK: It is a little like first day. I think that with racing you do have an opportunity to meet some of the people just at the track in general, and then of course making a seat and getting comfortable and fitting everything, you get a chance to meet everybody. I can’t say I remember everybody’s name yet. Somebody said hello to me last night, and they’re like, Hey, don’t just walk by. There’s so many people, I don’t know who everyone is yet. I’ve got a lot of people to learn.

But I do — just like probably like going to the first day of school, you want to make a good impression, you want to do a good job. And probably missing pit in on pit road and having to back up is probably not what you want to do at school. I didn’t want to trip like that. But it’s probably not that big of a deal. It’s finding your way around, finding my locker literally. There’s no combination for it, of course, but it is a locker that I needed to find, getting in sync with that.
They said they were going to Olive Garden to get some lunch and would that be okay, and I was like, well, I guess I usually have a sandwich. So anyway, just getting familiar with all the little things and getting comfortable and setting everything up so when I hop in throughout the year it’s simple and straightforward.

TONY STEWART: You know, it’s nice having Zippy back. I got to work with him for ten years, so seeing him at the track here today was the first big reminder of kind of going back to what it was like to start with him in ’99. I know we’re excited to have him back, and it’s — we’re not working in the same capacity together that we did for ten years, but he’s right there next door, and it feels like home again. So I’m pretty excited about it.

Q. (No microphone.)

TONY STEWART: It’s odd, I got a sandwich for lunch.

DANICA PATRICK: What kind of sandwich did you get?

TONY STEWART: I just got a ham sandwich.

DANICA PATRICK: I like a turkey sandwich. They’re going to get some slick meat for me to put in the fridge. I learned what slick meat was. I don’t know, I called it sliced deli meat, right, some deli meat and some cheese and some bread and mustard.

Q. Danica, when you were here in ’09 for that ARCA test, I know you said you had trouble figuring out how to get your hair into your uniform and get in the car and little things like that. Did the day feel more natural, like business as usual for you? And after that I wanted to talk about your infatuation with the honey badger.

DANICA PATRICK: It did feel a little bit more comfortable, yeah. I’m really kind of glad that the first time that I’m in a Cup car is here at Daytona where I can get the fit right and get all the little things right so that when we go to a track that’s a little bit more challenging from a driver’s perspective that stuff is all good to go and there’s no concern or no distraction with those things. So it’s nice to be here to run for the first time and feel comfortable in having been here before. But like I said, it’s a pretty straightforward track for a driver.

And the honey badger, it was last year, I think, somebody showed me this video of the honey badger, and the commentator on it was very, very funny. Anyway, the honey badger, he doesn’t give a crap, he takes what he wants. And that’s how I’m going to be this year, like a honey badger. But I feel like it’s a little diluted with the football player that has the honey badger nickname, too. He’s No. 7, as well.

Q. LSU, Tyrann Mathieu.

DANICA PATRICK: I bet he’s not feeling like a honey badger. I bet — anyway, the video is great. He eats a poisonous snake and he falls asleep and wakes right back up. The video is funny, so I encourage you all to watch that. I think Randall something is the commentator or the name on the YouTube video.

I don’t know, it’s a mindset. I even have a honey badger picture on my screen saver on my phone to inspire me. It takes what it wants.

Q. Have you been able to kind of wrap your arms around the emotion of entering this series full-time, and does it compare to anything else that you’ve done in terms of just starting out? Again, if you can just kind of tell us emotionally kind of where you’re at in terms of how you feel about entering the big stage.

DANICA PATRICK: I’m really excited and I’m really happy. And that’s it. I mean, yeah, there’s nerves. There’s a lot of things that are unknown, especially with running the full-time Nationwide championship, wanting to do really well in that, and wanting to make a good impression in the Cup races that I’m doing. But overall I’m feeling comfortable, as comfortable as I could imagine myself in this situation, and just really excited and really happy and glad to be where I’m at.

Q. Tony, have you decided if you’re going to give Danica your owner points or if you’re still looking for points, or is she just going to have to qualify her way into the 500?

TONY STEWART: I think we’re still trying to figure that equation out, but the good thing is looking on the sheet today, the car seems to have good speed right off the bat. I’ve got the utmost confidence that even in the worst case scenario that we’ve got the right driver that can get this car in the race, no problem. But we’re working through that and trying to get that finalized and trying to figure out our options to make sure we give her the best opportunity to get in the Daytona 500 and get her all the experience that we can get her.

Q. With these rules changes, what kind of racing do you think we’ll see, because race fans don’t like tandem racing. What do you think will come out of this test?

TONY STEWART: We haven’t ran together yet, so it’s hard to tell until we get out there and actually do it. I don’t know if anybody is even planning on trying to do any two-car pack running today. I think you’ll see some of that tomorrow.
I don’t think we’ll honestly have an accurate answer for you until we actually get a chance to get on track and actually run together and find out what the cars are going to do and how they’re going to draft with each other.

DANICA PATRICK: Is it true that fans don’t like it at all? I know I’ve watched some of the races that I’m not in and I think it’s kind of interesting. I’m not saying it’s normal; it seems kind of weird for sure. But I don’t know, I watch it and I think it’s kind of exciting. You never know what’s going to happen. I don’t know, I was just asking.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

Source: NASCAR, Press Release

Greg Zipadelli - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Dec. 16, 2011) –

Zipadelli comes to SHR from Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) where he served as crew chief for the No. 20 team since 1999. It’s where the 44-year-old from Berlin, Conn., began a 10-year tenure with Tony Stewart, the co-owner of SHR along with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation.

From 1999 through 2008, Zipadelli was Stewart’s crew chief, with the duo winning Sprint Cup titles in 2002 and 2005 while claiming 33 victories and 10 poles. When Stewart left JGR following the 2008 season to form SHR, Zipadelli stayed and spent three years as the crew chief for Joey Logano, where he helped deliver Logano’s first career Sprint Cup victory on June 28, 2009 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

“We’re very proud to have Greg Zipadelli join Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Stewart, the three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion. “Greg and I have a long and successful history together. I know him and he knows me, and we both know what it takes to build race teams.

“We took our time in searching for a competition director because it’s an important role with a lot of responsibility. Greg knows all that goes into the job, understands the importance of teamwork and communication across all levels of the organization, and is ultimately someone I have a great deal of trust in.”

The addition of Zipadelli to the SHR family is a reunion on two fronts – Stewart, of course, but also with Steve Addington, who spent 2004-2008 at JGR and is now Stewart’s crew chief at SHR with the No. 14 team. (Tony Gibson serves as crew chief for the No. 39 team and driver Ryan Newman.)

“Joe Gibbs always says that you win with people, and Tony Stewart is a winner,” Zipadelli said. “We won a lot together at Joe Gibbs Racing, and it was a sad day when he left. But Tony had an unbelievable opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing, and he’s obviously made the most of it. To become a part of what he’s already built, but to do it in a new role with a new set of responsibilities, was a challenge I wanted. I really appreciate Joe and J.D. Gibbs for all that that they’ve given me over the years and for allowing me to seize this opportunity.”

Zipadelli’s career began humbly. His first job in racing was working on a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour car owned by his uncle at age seven, and by age 14, he was preparing racecars for his family-owned Sherwood Racing Team.

By the time he was 20, Zipadelli was a championship-winning crew chief, leading Modified Tour driver Mike McLaughlin to the series title on the heels of five wins and 15 top-five finishes. When McLaughlin moved up to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East with prominent New England car owner Mike Greci, Zipadelli followed and the tandem recorded five wins between 1990 and 1993.

McLaughlin departed Greci’s operation at the end of the 1993 season, but Zipadelli stayed with the team and worked with a handful of drivers in 1994 and 1995. Zipadelli’s perseverance paid off in 1996 when driver Mike Stefanik joined the team. While no wins were recorded that year, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes made way for a championship season in 1997. Stefanik marched to the series title that year riding a wave of consistency with two wins, 14 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, giving Zipadelli his second NASCAR touring series championship in less than a decade.

With two championship rings before age 30, Zipadelli headed south in January 1998 to join Roush Fenway Racing’s Sprint Cup operation as the chassis specialist for the No. 99 team of then driver Jeff Burton. As Burton won two races, earned 18 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes and finished fifth in points, Zipadelli’s talent was noticed.

In late 1998 when team owner Joe Gibbs began laying the groundwork for a second team with Stewart behind the wheel, he tabbed Zipadelli to be the No. 20 team’s crew chief. Now, after 13 highly successful years at JGR, Zipadelli’s career ascension continues with his new role as competition director at SHR.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned by three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. The team fields three entries in the elite Sprint Cup Series – the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart, the No. 39 U.S. Army/Quicken Loans/Tornados/ Outback Steakhouse/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman, and the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Impala for Danica Patrick. Based in Kannapolis, N.C., Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 140,000-square-foot facility with more than 160 employees. For more information, please visit us on the Web at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing and on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng.

- Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

NASCAR Preview 2012 Presented by Sprint

Stewart, Stenhouse Jr., Dillon To Sign Autographs At Inaugural Fan Festival In January

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. (Nov. 29, 2011) – With the completion of the 2011 NASCAR season, planning for the NASCAR Preview 2012 Presented by Sprint season preview fan event is in high gear. Driver appearances by the newly crowned 2011 champions in the three NASCAR national series have been confirmed for the fan-centric, all-day event located inside the Charlotte Convention Center on Saturday, Jan. 21.

Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and first-time national series champions Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (NASCAR Nationwide Series) and Austin Dillon (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) are scheduled for two-hour appearances that include driver autograph and on-stage question-and-answer sessions.

The NASCAR Preview 2012 Presented by Sprint is a new addition to the annual calendar. Reminiscent of popular season preview events of the past, the festival-like event will feature driver and show car appearances, simulators, games, prizes and a host of other fan-friendly and interactive activities.

The event is part of the three-day NASCAR Acceleration Weekend from Jan. 20-22 in Charlotte, N.C. that gives race fans an unprecedented experience through a combination of events and activities featuring the legends of the sport and stars of today.

NASCAR Acceleration Weekend kicks off Friday, Jan. 20 with the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for the Class of 2012, which features Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Dale Inman, Richie Evans and Glen Wood. Following Saturday’s NASCAR Preview 2012 Presented by Sprint event will be the unveiling of the Class of 2012 exhibits in the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Sunday, Jan. 22.

For many fans, the highlight of the weekend will be the opportunity to meet their favorite NASCAR driver. Stewart and other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will sign autographs in the Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center starting at 9:15 a.m. on Sat., Jan. 21. Beginning Saturday at 7 a.m. in the Charlotte Convention Center Ballroom, wristbands will be distributed to a limited number of fans. Recipients must have an event ticket to be eligible to receive a wristband.

Driver Appearance Times

3:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. – Tony Stewart

11 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Austin Dillon

Additional driver appearances from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, plus the four living NASCAR Hall of Fame members inducted the previous night, will be announced at a later date. Appearance times are subject to change.

Tickets to NASCAR Preview 2012 Presented by Sprint start at just $10. Experience the entire weekend at a discounted rate: Ticket prices range from $10 for individual event admission to $299 for a VIP weekend package that includes the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and are available at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

For additional information, visit www.NASCARAcceleration2012.com.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for one of North America’s premier sports. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in 20 languages. In the U.S., races are broadcast on FOX, TNT, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2, SPEED and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. NASCAR fans are among the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport. NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as two international series. Also part of NASCAR is Grand-Am Road Racing, known for its competition on road courses with multiple classes of cars. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., NASCAR has offices in eight cities across North America. The next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway will air Feb. 26 on FOX. For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.nascar.com. Follow NASCAR on www.facebook.com/NASCAR or on Twitter: @NASCAR.

About NASCAR Hall of Fame

Conveniently located in uptown Charlotte, N.C., the 150,000-square-foot NASCAR Hall of Fame is an interactive, entertainment attraction honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR. The high-tech venue, designed to educate and entertain race fans and non-fans alike, opened May 11, 2010 and includes artifacts, hands-on exhibits, 278-person state-of-the-art theater, Hall of Honor, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, NASCAR Hall of Fame Gear Shop and NASCAR Media Group-operated broadcast studio. The venue is opened 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. seven days a week and has an attached parking garage on Brevard Street. The five-acre site also includes a privately developed 19-story office tower and 102,000 square-foot expansion to the Charlotte Convention Center, highlighted by a 40,000 square-foot ballroom. The NASCAR Hall of Fame is owned by the City of Charlotte, licensed by NASCAR and operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. www.NASCARHall.com and Twitter: @NascarHall.

- NASCAR, Press Release

Crew Chief Steve Addington - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Nov. 28, 2011) –

The Spartanburg, S.C., native is only the third crew chief Stewart has had during his 13-year Sprint Cup career, and it comes just a week after Stewart captured the 2011 Sprint Cup title.

“I know Steve well and I know how he goes about setting up a racecar,” said Stewart, who worked with Addington from 2005 through 2008 during his time at Joe Gibbs Racing. “My comfort level with him is already strong. He balances the technical part of our sport with the real-world experiences we get at the track, and that will allow for a smooth transition as we prepare to defend our title in 2012.”

Addington has served as crew chief for Bobby Labonte (2005), J.J. Yeley (2006-2007), Kyle Busch (2008-race No. 33 of 2009) and Kurt Busch (2010-2011) during his ongoing Sprint Cup career. Twelve wins were scored with Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing and four wins were notched with older brother Kurt during his most recent tenure at Penske Racing.

Prior to rising to the elite Sprint Cup ranks, Addington spent 15 seasons as a crew chief in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, 11 of which came with driver Jason Keller where the duo won 10 races, 11 poles and scored 69 top-five and 122 top-10 finishes.

“Tony and I are a lot alike and we’re able to push each other,” Addington said. “I saw how he worked when we were at Gibbs together and I’m not surprised at all at the success he’s created at Stewart-Haas Racing. He expects a lot and he knows a lot. His talent behind the wheel is obvious, but his ability to motivate and get everyone to believe that whatever goal they set is attainable is something every crew chief wants, and I plan to make the most of it.”

Addington has proven he can win with all kinds of drivers at all kinds of tracks. From the quiet and low-key drivers of Keller and Mike Bliss, whom Addington worked with in the Nationwide Series, to the competitive personalities of Kyle and Kurt Busch, Addington has steered his pilots to victory, and he’s done so at every conceivable type of racetrack – superspeedways, road courses, intermediates and short tracks.

“Steve has proven himself everywhere he’s been,” Stewart added. “Our expectation when we unload each weekend is to win, and that’s Steve’s expectation, too. Getting there is never easy, but we’ve both been around long enough to know what it takes to be successful.”

Addington replaces Darian Grubb, who served as Stewart’s crew chief since the inception of SHR in 2009.

“Darian was a very important part of the success we’ve had at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Stewart said. “I’m very proud of everything he helped accomplish, especially this year when we all rallied to win the championship. He’s a great person and I know he’ll continue to be successful in this sport.”

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned by three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. The team fields two entries in the elite Sprint Cup Series – the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart and the No. 39 U.S. Army/Quicken Loans/Tornados/ Outback Steakhouse/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman. Based in Kannapolis, N.C., Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 140,000-square-foot facility with more than 160 employees. For more information, please visit us on the Web at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing and on Twitter at @StewartHaasRcng.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

Tony Stewart emerges from his No. 14 Chevy in Victory Lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway after winning the Ford 400 and claiming his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship on Sunday, Nov. 20. - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen, Getty Images

HOMESTEAD, Fla. –

Stewart took his fourth and final lead of the race with 36 laps remaining and finished a little more than one second ahead Carl Edwards. Stewart won a points tie-breaker with Edwards, five victories to one, overcoming a three-point deficit in the finale’.

“What an incredible championship run Tony put on this year,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President of performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Winning a record five of the 10 Chase races and overcoming a deficit in the final race is the very definition of a champion. But, he had been there before and he handled that pressure like the champion that he is.”

After going winless in the first 26 races of the season, Stewart won the first two races of the Chase, at Chicago and New Hampshire, and later added back-to-back victories at Martinsville and Texas before closing the season with the win at Homestead.

Stewart, who previously won titles in 2002 and 2005, becomes the eighth driver in series history to win three championships. Chevrolet now has won 28 driver’s championships, including each of the last seven. Stewart started the streak in 2005, and Jimmie Johnson won an unprecedented five in a row from 2006-2010.

Buck Baker won Chevrolet’s first driver’s championship in 1957.

Tonight’s victory was the 44^th NSCS win for Stewart. He led four times for a total of 65 of the 267-lap race that was delayed by rain three times. Fighting back from adversity that sent him to the back of the field twice as a result of repairs made on pit road by the Darian Grubb-led crew, Stewart passed 118 cars on the way to Victory Lane and the Championship.

“After the way those first 109 laps went today, said Stewart from Victory Lane. “I could not be more proud. We had the problem early and had the hole in the nose, everybody on this Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy team did a great job of getting it back going, then we had the contact with (David) Reutimann and had to come back in and fix it again. I told them “Man, it is really going to make these guys mad when we come back twice and still kick their butt”. It was optimism and trying to keep the guys pumped up and then to come out here and actually do it, is awesome.

“We just fought. This Office Depot/Mobil 1 team is just incredible,” said Darian Grubb, Stewart’s crew chief. “We just didn’t give up. We kept fighting. We went out and earned this championship and showed we’re true champions.”

Four-time NSCS Champion Jeff Gordon drove the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet to a fifth place finish in tonight’s race. The strong run moved Gordon up to eighth in the final standings. He garnered three wins during the year.

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, finished eighth in tonight’s race to finish third in points with four victories during the season.

Clint Bowyer, No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, finished sixth and Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet finished 10^th to give Team Chevy five of the top-10 finishers in the race.

Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, finished sixth in points after a lengthy stay on pit road and a spin on-track put him six laps down to the leaders relegating him to the 32^nd finishing position.

With his 11^th place finish tonight, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, finished seventh in the final standings.

Ryan Newman, No. 39 US Army Chevrolet, was the 12^th place finisher in the season finale and stands 10^th in the final standings to give Team Chevy six of the top-10 drivers in the final top-10 standings.

Carl Edwards (Ford) finished second in tonight’s race. Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota) finished thrid and Matt Kenseth was fourth to complete the top-five finishers.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

FORD 400

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE QUOTES

NOVEMBER 20, 2011

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER AND 2011 SPRINT CUP CHAMPION: WHAT ARE YOU THOUGHTS AND FEELING RIGHT NOW STANDING HERE AS A THREE TIME CHAMPION AND THE FIRST CAR OWNER CHAMPIONS THAT WE HAVE HAD IN ALMOST 20 YEARS? “After the way those first 109 laps went today, I could not be more proud. We had the problem early and had the hole in the nose, everybody on this Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy team did a great job of getting it back going, then we had the contact with (David) Reutimann and had to come back in and fix it again. I told them “Man, it is really going to make these guys mad when we come back twice and still kick their butt”. It was optimism and trying to keep the guys pumped up and then to come out here and actually do it, is awesome. It is an honor to be in the same category with Alan Kulwicki, but Alan did it all on his own and I have a great co-owner with Gene Haas and Joe Custer helped put all this together with Rick Hendrick and Just could not be more proud of our guys and our organization. Everybody Ryan Newman, my teammate, everybody on the US Army/ Tornados Chevy just an honor to be here tonight.”

YOU MADE A COUPLE OF MOVES OUT THERE THAT WERE AMAZING, TALK ABOUT THOSE MOVES?

“That shows how bad I wanted to win this thing. During the season you give guys a little more room than that, but when you are going for a championship, you can’t hold anything back. I was racing around good guys when I did that all night and we just could not leave it on the table, we had to go on the restarts. That was a strong suit for us all night. We took off that one restart I think 12^th and came off the corner 5^th or 6th on the outside. It is just an awesome night when your car drives that good and you can go get it done like that.”

THOSE LAST TWENTY LAPS CARL (EDWARDS) STARTING CLOSING IN, AND THEN YOU STARTED TO PULL AWAY; DID YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT THEN? “Yea, I made sure that if we got in traffic that I had a little something in my back pocket to go with. We took care of it, we knew he was going to have to run hard to catch us and going to have to abuse his tires and if we just ran our pace, when we got to traffic or if he closed in anymore that we could go when we needed to.”

YOU ARE NOW IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS GUYS LIKE PEARSON, WALTRIP, LEE PETTY, ALL HALL- OF –FAMERS, A THREE TIME CHAMPION YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? “It is an honor, that is an impressive group to be with and just an honor to have the opportunity to be a part of that with those guys and like I said if it were not for Gene Haas and Joe Custer and everybody at Haas Automation, Darian Grubb, we would not have had this opportunity. Just very proud to have got a group of guys that believed in us when we started and Office Depot is the first company and then to have Mobil 1 to come on board this year, just truly, truly an honor to be here with these guys.”

THE THIRD ONE AND I AM SURE THE MOST SPECIAL: “Yea and you owe me a six-pack for this too!”

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET – 2011 NASCAR SPRINT CUP DRIVER’S CHAMPION:

“I made sure that if we got in traffic that I had a little something in my back pocket to go with. We took care and we knew that he was going to run hard to catch us and was going to have to abuse his tires and if we just ran our pace that when we got to traffic or if he closed in anymore that we needed to go when we needed to.”

YOU ARE NOW IN THE SAME CATEGORY WITH GUYS LIKE DAVID PEARSON, DARRYL WALTRIP, CALE YARBOROUGH, LEE PETTY; ALL HALL OF FAMERS. YOU’RE A THREE-TIME CHAMPION. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? “That’s an honor. That’s an impressive group to be with. It’s just an honor to have the opportunity to be a part of that with those guys. Like I said, if it wasn’t for Gene Haas and Joe Custer and everybody at Haas Automation and Darian Grubb, we wouldn’t have had this opportunity. So I’m just very proud that I’ve got a group of guys that believed in us when we started this. Office Depot was the first company and then to have Mobil 1 come on board this year was just, we’re truly, truly honored.”

TWO OF NASCAR’S HEAVYWEIGHT’S GOING TOE TO TOE AND HEAD TO HEAD IN THE FINAL LAPS, AND YOU WON IT AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP. WHAT’S YOUR EMOTION RIGHT NOW? “Oh, thank the Lord for this one, buddy; man I’m telling you, it’s been a tough summer and a tough fall for us and you’ve got to believe in something; and the man upstairs held this rain off just long enough for us to get this job done. Thanks to all the fans who stuck it out all weekend here at Homestead. Oh, my! I don’t care how long it rains; I’m going to be up all night tonight! For Office Depot for Mobil 1 for Chevrolet for the U.S. Army for Tornados and Quicken Loans and GoDaddy and Ritz and Oreos and Coca-Cola; just everybody who is a part of the Stewart-Haas program; Mac Tools, we couldn’t do it without you guys. This is just unbelievable. We said all week we’d just go out and win the race and we didn’t have to worry about what he (Carl Edwards) did and that’s what we did. If this doesn’t go down as one of the greatest championship battles in history, I don’t know what will.”

IN THE FIRST 100 LAPS, YOU HAD TO GO FROM BACK TO FRONT TWICE. THREE AND FOUR-WIDE PASSES ON THE RESTARTS AND THEN THE GAMBLE ON FUEL. HOW CONCERNED WERE YOU THAT MAYBE THERE WERE JUST TOO MANY OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME AFTER ALL YOU WERE HAVING TO BATTLE TONIGHT? “There is one thing I learned when Gene Haas and Joe Custer gave us this opportunity and our good buddy Rick Hendrick and I couldn’t do it without you bud and everybody at Hendrick Engines and Chassis. And Darian Grubb, and everybody on this team has just dug deep and never given up and this is an awesome night. Eddie Jarvis and everybody at Stewart Haas Racing. I’ve got the best team in the business and it’s just awesome. I’m so grateful to be able to do this for Gene Haas because this man has invested a lot in this sport and for him to have the faith in me to do this; it takes a lot to do what he’s done and I’m glad I can get this done for him.”

THAT NO. 14 BELONGED TO YOUR HERO AND FRIEND, A.J. FOYT, WHO SAID YOU COULD TAKE THE NUMBER BUT DRIVE IT WITH THE TENACITY OF A TEXAN. TONIGHT YOU WON A CHAMPIONSHIP THE WAY HE WON THEM, UP ON THAT WHEEL AND REFUSING TO LOSE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO TAKE THIS NUMBER, HIS NUMBER, BACK TO A CHAMPIONSHIP STATE? “I guarantee you I’ll probably talk to him tonight and he’s still going to tell me what I did wrong today (laughs). But I’m so proud. A.J. has always been one of my heroes and he’s been very supportive of this when we did this. When I asked him if it would be all right if I took his number, he was the one who gave me his blessing and it meant the world to me.”

WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU SAW CARL EDWARDS BACK THERE, KNOWING HE WAS GOING TO DO EVERYTHING HE COULD TO TRY TO CATCH YOU? YOU HAD TO WIN THE RACE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?

“Those guys have done an awesome job all year and my buddy Ricky Stenhouse won the Nationwide Championship yesterday and Jack (Roush) got the Owner’s Championship so I didn’t feel bad taking this one away from them tonight. But he’s a great competitor and a great guy and we’ve been giving him a rough time this week. But it was all in an effort to do what we did tonight and win this championship. But it shows how classy a guy he is. He was the first one to me over there. And he said, ‘Promise me one thing that you’ll enjoy this and I hope it’s you and me in this position again next year.’ So that just shows how much class he’s got. He’s a great guy.”

DARIAN GRUBB, CREW CHIEF, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET:

YOU SAID EARLIER TODAY THAT NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN YOUR TEAM, YOU’VE JUST GOTTEN THE BREAKS TO GO YOUR WAY IN THE CHASE. TONIGHT YOU MADE YOUR BREAKS; YOU FOUGHT BACK FROM DIFFERENT CHALLENGES AND GAMBLED ON FUEL. HOW DID YOU DO IT TONIGHT?

“We just fought. This Office Depot/Mobil 1 team is just incredible. We just didn’t give up. We kept fighting. We went out and earned this championship and showed we’re true champions.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 US ARMY CHEVROLET, FINISHED 12^TH: WHAT A DAY FOR STEWART-HAAS RACING: “Yea, it was pretty good on one side of it. Really proud of Tony (Stewart) and his guys. They delivered in the Chase when they needed to and obviously it kind of came out of nowhere. Really proud of them, really proud of everybody; all our partners at Stewart-Haas Racing. Thank you to Chevrolet for all they do. And the US Army. It’s amazing. It’s kind of bittersweet when it’s not you, but it is awesome when it is your teammate.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11^TH: ON HIS RACE AND SEASON: “The race was ok. I would have liked to have finished in the top-10 and we had a good enough car all day to run there. But, I don’t know, the rain made our car just not handle the way we needed it to at the end. It was great at the start of the race. We got to handling kind of poorly there the last half of the race. But we still managed to do ok. We’ve been learning somethings that I think are important that I think are important for next year. Everything is pretty positive right now.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET, FINISHED 5^TH: ON HIS RACE: “When the sun went down it didn’t work as well for us. We were good when it was slick and when the grip came, somehow the balance…………and this happens to us a lot and when the balance changes from the cooler track temperatures it seems to shift us into an area that we have a hard time adjusting. But it was a great day, a top-five, great year. We had three wins, got number 85, and came up short in the Chase but we look forward to next year and battling it out for the Sprint Cup.”

THE WAY THE CHAMPIONSHIP ENDED WITH TONY AND CARL ITS JUST GOOD FOR OUR SPORT ISN’T IT? “It’s great for the sport and I think Tony is just one of the all-time greats and he proved that over these last ten races and especially tonight. And it showed Carl what he is made of as well. I think that is awesome.

Look at the people standing up………..they stuck around to see how this one was going to unfold. You thought he was down and out and then he came back and you really thought he wasn’t sitting in the best position and he had to stretch the fuel and everything. And gosh if he didn’t do that too. That is amazing.”

WAS IT AS FUN OUT THERE FOR YOU AS IT WAS FOR US WATCHING? “This is a great racetrack. It offers so many different grooves, and you are slipping and sliding around, which is our kind of race track. It changed for us a little bit when the sun went down. We were not quite as good as we were when the sun was out. We had to make some adjustments, but just a great effort by this Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet team. In the pits they were awesome, and we adjusted, we got it better there at the end and started working our way back to the front. Great top-five finish to end the season. I just have to thank Drive to End Hunger, DuPont, Pepsi Max, Quaker State, and Chevrolet, everybody that makes this a great team. Thank Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the guys. They just worked so hard this year, they are a great team; I can’t wait for next year. Congratulations to Tony Stewart, my gosh, what an amazing run he had in these final ten races. He has done some incredible things in his career, but I am guessing that this one is going to top them all. He did it in a fashion that everybody dreams of doing.”

CERTAINLY YOU WANTED TO WIN THE RACE, BUT A TOP-FIVE FINISH IN THE LAST RACE OF THE SEASON HAS TO FEEL GOOD GOING TO THE OFF SEASON LOOKING FORWARD TO 2012: “Well, we have never won here. We have a lot of top-five’s so we added to that. At times I thought we had something for Carl ( Edwards) when Tony ( Stewart) got up there, I said “ Uh-oh” he had a little bit extra that me and Carl did not have and he took that and went on to win the race.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com .

- Team Chevy, Press Release

Tony Stewart next to the 2011 NSCS Championship Trophy - Photo Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images for NASCAR

Stewart’s win put him in a tie with Edwards in the points standings, but with his five wins over Edwards’ one win for the season, Stewart broke the tie-breaker to capture his 3rd career series championship.

Along with his 5th series win of the 2011 season, Stewart also received his 44th series career win, his third series win at Homestead-Miami Speedway; as well as, his and team co-owner, Gene Haas, their first championship as an owner.

Following Stewart and Edwards to the drop of the checkered flag were Martin Truex, Jr., finishing in third, Matt Kenseth fourth, Jeff Gordon fifth, Clint Bowyer sixth, Kasey Kahne seventh, Kevin Harvick eighth, Denny Hamlin ninth and Jeff Burton rounding out the top-ten finishers.

RACE NOTES:

Average Speed: 114.976 MPH
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 29 Mins, 00 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.306 Seconds
Lead Changes: 26 among 15 drivers
Cautions: 8 for 54 laps
Attendance: 73,000

Unofficial Top-Twelve in the Points Standings: 1. Tony Stewart – 2403 (Series Champion With 5 Wins) 2. Carl Edwards – 2403 (0 Points Behind the Champion – 1 Win)  3. Kevin Harvick – 2345 (-58) 4. Matt Kenseth – 2330 (-73) 5. Brad Keselowski – 2319 (-84) 6. Jimmie Johnson – 2304 (-99) 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 2290 (-113) 8. Jeff Gordon – 2287 (-116) 9. Denny Hamlin – 2284 (-119) 10. Ryan Newman – 2284 (-119) 11. Kurt Busch – 2262 (-141) 12. Kyle Busch – 2246 (-157).

Next Up: The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season.

2011 NSCS Ford 400 Race Results

(i) Ineligible for Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie

Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET, participated in the Championship Contenders Press Conference in Miami, FL.

SHANNON SPAKE: Now the fun begins. Congratulations for being the two who made it to this point and supplying one of the best championship Chases yet.

Tony, you won the title twice. Only eight drivers have won it three or more times. What would it mean to be in elite company? I would imagine this year would be special knowing you’re the one writing the checks.

TONY STEWART: It’s definitely an awesome opportunity for us. Still very appreciative that Gene Haas for even giving us this opportunity to not only drive for him but be a co-owner with him. At the same time it’s a pretty cool opportunity this weekend to be the other side of the bookend of Jimmie’s dynasty, to be the only guy that could win a NEXTEL Cup championship, a Sprint Cup championship, and a Winston Cup championship, being the first time since Allen Kulwicki as an owner/driver. That would be probably be the best part of it.

SHANNON SPAKE: You said at one point, We don’t deserve to be in the Chase. If you could have imagined being in this chair with one race to go, what would you have said?

TONY STEWART: I wouldn’t have thought that way 10 weeks ago. We had good racecars. We had the performance. We just weren’t getting the results at the end of the day. Some of them were self-inflicted; some of them were circumstances that got us there. We just didn’t have at that time the consistency that you need to run for a championship like this.

So we got off to a great start at Chicago and backed it up at Loudon, then we had our stumbling block, first one of the year in the Chase, with Dover obviously. But coming back and rebounding from the day we had at Martinsville to win that race, then to have the day we had at Texas leading the most laps and winning the race over Carl, those are the things that got us back in this position.

It’s an awesome position to be in. Three points really isn’t a deficit at this point. We go out and win the race, it doesn’t matter what they do on their side, we still control our own destiny.

We have absolutely got nothing to lose and everything to gain. That makes us a dangerous combination for the weekend.

KRISTA VODA: We’ll now bring Kerry Tharp back up here to start the question and answer segment.

KERRY THARP: We’ll start with questions for Tony.

Q. Tony, you were the last driver to win the championship before Jimmie Johnson’s streak. You could be the next driver to win the championship after Jimmie Johnson. Talk about how unique it is you could bookend both of those.

TONY STEWART: You have to win the first one to win the second one to have that opportunity, I guess.

You wouldn’t think you’d take a lot of pride in being the bookends of a dynasty. But it is a pretty cool position to be in, to know that there’s two guys in the last six years that have won championships, and we’re one of them. It would be nice to be the guy that gets on the other side of that obviously.

I rode home with Jimmie on the plane last weekend. Obviously it’s a disappointment to be eliminated from the Chase. It’s like I told him, I think that for him going to Vegas, to the banquet, they have to really hold their heads up high and be very, very proud.

It’s been an honor to watch him do what he’s done, but they need to be proud of what they’ve done the last five years. It’s probably something that will never happen again in the history of our sport. It’s very difficult to win a championship, let alone back-to-back and five in a row like that.

The competition keeps getting tougher and tougher every year. With this Chase format, you can’t make mistakes and have it pay off. To do what they’ve done has been extremely impressive.

Q. Your battle here has been trademark, you guys haven’t really clashed at all, been respectful towards each other. If it came down to the last lap and the only way around the other guy was to do a bump-n-run, would you dare do that, would you race each other clean?

TONY STEWART: I’d wreck my mom to win a championship. I’ll wreck your mom to win a championship (smiling).

I respect him as a driver, but this isn’t about friendships this weekend. This is a war. This is a battle. This is for a national championship. It’s no holds barred this weekend. I didn’t come this far to be one step away from it and let it slip away, so we’re going to go for it. They say there’s talkers and doers. I’ve done this twice.

Q. Tony, in 2002 and 2005, you had big leads going into the finale. How different a feeling is it and are you possibly more relaxed knowing you’re just three points behind and can just go out and race?

TONY STEWART: It’s been odd. The only part this week that’s concerned me and that I’ve been worried about is the fact that I haven’t been nervous about it. In 2002, 2005, we had big leads, but still you were nervous about it because you knew it could get away. I guess the fact we didn’t think we would even be in the Chase to begin with, it’s taken a lot of that pressure off.

We’re not trying to overcome a big deficit. We’re right there right behind him. For us, like I said, we can finish 43rd this weekend and not be any worse off than we are right now so we don’t have anything to lose. We can throw everything we got at it. If we make a mistake doing it, it doesn’t cost anything. There’s no penalty for us screwing up.

With that does, it takes every ounce of pressure away. We have everything to gain, nothing to lose. Like I said, it’s a dangerous combination to put us in that kind of mode because we’ve been hot lately, we’ve been running good, we’re feeling good, the team is feeling good about everything. You couldn’t ask for a better scenario.

We’ve been in that situation, and when that pressure comes on race day, it’s a little different feeling. Your race always goes a little bit different than what you planned. For us not having that pressure, I think it leads us to have a day like we’ve been having every week the last three or four weeks.

Q. NASCAR’s new points system has truly generated some big-time excitement here at Homestead. You guys are working the championship a little differently, Carl with consistency, Tony with wins.

TONY STEWART: The thing that I’ve been asked a lot about this week and even last week is, they’re like, How can their points system be good if the guy that’s won four races is behind a guy that hasn’t won any races?

The points system is good. It’s easy to look at that and say that it’s not good because of that fact. But what you got to understand is that, unlike other sports where it’s two teams against each other, it’s 43 teams, it’s a 10-race Chase. You accumulate points for 10 races.

The fact we’ve won four races doesn’t mean we should be ahead of Carl. We did not do our job in some of the other races. That got us behind. Because of the new system, having the bonus points for winning, we were able to catch up and gain those points back.

I think it’s proven to be a pretty good system so far. You have two guys within three points of each other going into the last race. I don’t know how you can say it’s bad.

Q. You guys have put on a pretty remarkable show, particularly over the last couple races. What have you learned about each other through this process and how much respect have you gained for each other throughout the process of competing in this Chase?

TONY STEWART: I don’t think the Chase has changed my level of respect for him. I’ve always respected him as a driver and a person. So the fact that you’re racing around him doesn’t change that because that’s what you do every week.

I don’t know that we’ve really learned anything about each other than the fact that we both know we have to be on our game. We’ve forced each other to take what would be a good day and you have to make it great to succeed.

We had Texas where we ran 1-2, the last week where we ran second and third. We’re keeping each other honest, in my opinion. It’s fun to have a championship race like that. You’re not worried about saying, Well, is this guy going to be able to recover? We’re forcing each other to both have good days.

Q. Tony, a week earlier you had said that you had Carl on the ropes. Do you still feel that way? How evenly matched are these teams and two of you as drivers?

TONY STEWART: Yeah, I feel that way. Like I said, whether Ron Jeremy down here believes us or not, we don’t have anything to lose. I mean, we literally don’t. There’s nothing that we can lose this weekend no matter what happens on the racetrack. We just don’t have anything to lose.

So I think when you got a guy that has something to lose, has a little to lose, then you got to worry about that a little bit. But when you’re a guy that has nowhere to go but up, you’re in that same situation and you race the way you always do. I think that makes you potent.

Q. Tony, everybody says there are no team orders out there. We all expect heavily there are. You have a lot of Ford drivers that are out there. You have Ryan, the Hendrick drivers. Any discussions the last week or so to let you guys have positions, let you have a win, anything like that? Do you want it to come down to that?

TONY STEWART: I don’t want it to come down to that. I feel like we can beat him heads up. We’ve raced for this position heads up and I think that’s the way it should end. It shouldn’t be about team orders.

We saw a hint of it last week. The 16 car picked a pit right in front of us. We never had an issue with it. But you know that that can happen.

Like we say, we’re racing for a national championship, so we are prepared that if something develops along that line, we have a countermeasure for the same thing.

But, no, nobody’s planning that way. You want to win this thing straight up. You want to win it because you did a better job than he did, not because somebody else got involved in the equation. That will take away from it.

Q. NASCAR hasn’t had a champion win its finale in 13 years. In both cases, if you win Sunday you win the title. With all the talk about winning lately, what would it mean to you personally and to NASCAR if that happens?

TONY STEWART: Yeah, I agree. It takes all the question of adding points, worrying about tiebreakers, this and that out of the equation when the fans can watch the guy that wins the race win the championship at the same time.

This is probably the best chance of having a championship decided with a win that you’ve ever had.

Q. Tony, have you talked to Foyt in the last couple weeks? If so, what did he say? Did he have any observations about the smack talk going on, whether it works or not? Also have you talked to Darrell Waltrip, the all-time master of smack talk, on whether he thinks it will work for you or not?

TONY STEWART: Foyt has how many championships and wins? How many has Waltrip got? I think they work.

No, I’ve not talked to Foyt. He’ll call me after we win on Sunday. We did speak to Darrell earlier. We both had a pretty good interview with him. It was fun.

It’s like Carl says, it’s like Kid Rock said: It’s not cocky if you back it up. I think we’ve been backing it up the last three weeks. It’s what our intention is.

KERRY THARP: That concludes the formal Q&A with our two championship contenders in the Sprint Cup Series.

Let’s bring back Shannon Spake and Krista Voda.

SHANNON SPAKE: After 10,000 laps and 13,000 plus miles it all ends in Victory Lane Sunday night. We thank you for your attendance.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

About Chevrolet

Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com .

- Team Chevy, Press Release

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver Tony Stewart (right), driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, talks over strategy with crew chief Darian Grubb (left) - Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Nov. 17, 2011) –

That’s because Stewart, the open-wheel phenom who came to NASCAR as a four-time USAC champion and the 1997 IZOD IndyCar Series champion, is on the cusp of earning his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title. And he’s doing it in a fashion no one thought possible – as a driver/owner.

Stewart, who left the comfy confines of Joe Gibbs Racing where he spent a decade in Sprint Cup and won championships in 2002 and 2005, struck out on his own in 2009 to form Stewart-Haas Racing with entrepreneur Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest machine tool manufacturer in the western world. What people thought was crazy three years ago – a driver in the prime of his career taking on the dual responsibility of team ownership – has morphed into the closest championship battle in modern history, with Stewart providing the kind of drama NASCAR CEO and Chairman Brian France envisioned when he announced tweaks to the series’ point structure back in January.

A “Game 7 moment” is how France described his desired season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Well, here we are, with an all-or-nothing race on the docket come Sunday’s Ford 400.

Thanks to a hot streak by Stewart, who has won four of the nine races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, he trails Chase leader Carl Edwards by only three points heading into Homestead.

Only one finish guarantees either driver the championship – a win. If Stewart and Edwards are tied in points at the end of the Ford 400, Stewart earns the championship via the tie-breaker of best finishes, as Stewart’s four victories trump Edwards’ one. This is the closest margin between first- and second-place going into the final race in Chase history, and the third-closest since the inception of the position-based points structure in 1975.

In Stewart vs. Edwards, it’s the Everyman vs. the Cover man, Chevy vs. Ford, grit vs. suave, stubble vs. polished.

Stewart, already a two-time Sprint Cup champion who knows what this weekend is all about, comes into Round No. 36 of 36 poised and confident, despite the three-point margin Edwards has over him.

Perhaps it’s because Stewart has lopped 16 points of Edwards’ once sizeable lead in the last four races. Perhaps it’s because even before coming to Sprint Cup, Stewart had won nine other driving titles. Perhaps it’s because Stewart has 43 career Sprint Cup wins, two of which have come at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval.

No matter, Stewart knows what has to be done and is keenly aware of the stakes. That the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing could become the first driver/owner to win a Sprint Cup title since the late Alan Kulwicki in 1992 is simply added intrigue.

Stewart, after all, is a company man. And in Sunday’s season finale at Homestead, he plans to deliver.

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing:

This battle between you and Edwards is pretty impressive.

“It shows what this Chase is about. It’s a good battle right now. If you’re Brian France (NASCAR CEO and Chairman) right now, I would say he’s giddy. If not, he should be because this is the perfect scenario. It’s the perfect storm, so to speak, going into this last race. That’s what you want. This is about as exciting as it gets – to have two guys who are down to three points with one race to go.

“We’ve both had to fight and fight and fight to get every point we can get up to this point. I think it makes it more gratifying, the results, at the end of the day. I feel like I’m working toward something and I feel like if we accomplish this, we have worked for it, not had it handed to us, not had it given to us. That’s all you can ask for as a driver, is to be in that position.

“I think it’s pretty honorable to be in that situation right now. It’s an awesome championship battle. So, I don’t know how you could ask for more than what we got.”

How much is the experience of having already won two Sprint Cup championships playing into your hands now?

“It’s definitely an advantage, but I’m not going to tell you why because that’s what I’m going to take to Homestead with me. We win this thing, I’ll tell you what the advantage is and why, but not until then.”

You’ve been in two Sprint Cup championship runs before and won both of them. Is this one the most fun?

“I think so. The good thing is we’ve been in this position a lot of times. This isn’t the first time we’ve been in this deal. We have that ability. I didn’t think we belonged in the Chase to start with. I didn’t think we were a factor. What do we have to lose? We don’t have anything to lose. I don’t care about second or third in the points. After you’ve won it, second doesn’t really matter. To me, it’s about going out, getting that championship, doing everything you can to accomplish that goal. We’re not a group that’s going to sit here and say, ‘We’ll take the easy road and settle for second.’ I’d rather finish sixth or seventh in points knowing that we did everything we can to win.”

Can you handicap yourself going into Homestead? How do you and Edwards stack up?

“I think we both have momentum. We both had two really good weeks in a row. I still think our mile-and-a-half program has come a long way this summer. You look at how we ran at Chicago, Kentucky, Charlotte and Texas – we’ve been good on the mile-and-a-halves. I’m excited about it.

“I like Homestead. It’s a place that we had a lot of success when it was flat. We haven’t gotten that win with it banked. I like the way that track races right now. I’m pretty excited about it.

“I don’t know where to handicap it. Doesn’t matter to me. It’s just about getting four more points than he does. That’s all that matters.”

Explain a lap around Homestead.

“You go off into turn one, and when you get into the banking, you lift. If your car is good, you can go and not use any brake, or very, very little brake. You stay one lane off the bottom, past the transition – it’s a little less banking on the lower level toward the apron – so you stay one level above that. As soon as your car settles in you can really just mash right back in the gas and just ride that second level around down onto the backstretch. And then you do exactly the same thing going into turn three. A lot of times in turn three, because of the wind direction there, you can actually go into the corner a lot harder and a lot further, actually turning into the corner before you get off the gas. And it’s the same thing, once that car settles in, you get on the gas and ride it around to the frontstretch. It’s a pretty smooth racetrack.”

With the championship battle between you and Edwards, it means Jimmie Johnson’s run of Sprint Cup titles ends at five. What are your thoughts on his run?

“I think it’s been absolutely remarkable to begin with for Jimmie to put five in a row together. I know this year hasn’t ended up the way he’s wanted, by any means. I think he goes to Vegas (for the season-ending awards banquet) and holds his head up high knowing what they’ve accomplished – the fact that there’s a really good possibility in the history of the sport for eternity that it could never happen again.

“The competition gets tighter and tighter, tougher and tougher. I just think it’s amazing. You understand why people didn’t want him to win a sixth one. At the same time, I’ve said it from day one, how do you knock down a guy that’s going out and doing what he’s supposed to do? If we could trade places with him, we’d do it in a heartbeat, go out and win five in a row.

“I think you’ve got to tip your hat to him. I think that’s something in NASCAR history that I would put my money on that it will never happen again. I just think it’s remarkable at this level to do what he’s done, what that team’s done. I know this year hasn’t ended the way they wanted, but I still think they have to have a lot of pride in knowing they’ve done something in the history of the sport that most likely will never be duplicated.”

TONY STEWART’S HOMESTEAD PERFORMANCE PROFILE

× Race length extended due to green-white-checkered finish.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

Team Chevy Logo

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE

FORD 400

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

HOMESTEAD, FL

NOVEMBER 20, 2011

DID YOU KNOW? The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Coupe accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of 184 mph. Starting at $54,995, including Performance Traction Management and Magnetic Ride suspension, the ZL1 delivers supercar levels of performance and technology for the price of a sports car.

TEAM CHEVY SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow Team Chevy on Facebook and @TeamChevy on Twitter to receive the latest news as well as updates with times and locations of events.

CELEBRATING CHEVROLET CENTENNIAL WITH GREATEST TEAM CHEVY NASCAR RACING MOMENTS: Chevrolet celebrated its 100th anniversary on November 3, 2011. To commemorate Chevy’s centennial, we are highlighting some of Chevy’s greatest NASCAR racing moments. In 2011, Chevrolet captured its unprecedented 35^th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Cup. In October at Talladega Superspeedway, Richard Childress Racing collected its 100^th NSCS win as Clint Bowyer took the No. 33 Chevrolet 100^th Year Chevrolet to Victory Lane.

TEAM CHEVY RACING FOR THE FANS AT LUMMUS PARK-MIAMI BEACH:

• · Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display at the NASCAR Championship Drive in Lummus Park, located along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach between 7th and 9th Streets
• · At Team Chevy Racing Display fans can check out Sonic, Camaro, Corvette Grand Sport and Cruze.
• · For registering at the Team Chevy Racing Display, fans receive a free Team Chevy T-Shirt.
• · Display hours at Lummus Park will be: Thursday and Friday November 17 & 18 – Noon to 8:00 p.m.
• · Activities at the Chevy Racing Display includes NASCAR Show Cars with photo opportunities for fans

TEAM CHEVY IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:

• · Chevrolet has won 35 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Championships
• · Team Chevy drivers have scored 686 wins AND 620 poles in NSCS competition
  • o 2011 wins – 17
  • o 2011 poles – 11

TEAM CHEVY IN THE 2011 CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP:

Team Chevy has six drivers in the standings of the 10- race 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Standings after Race 9 of 10:

• · Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, sits 2^nd in the standings, 3 points behind leader
• · Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, is 3^rd in the points order
• · Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, is 5^th in points
• · Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, sits 7^th in points,
• · Ryan Newman, No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, is 9^th in standings
• · Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, is 11^th in points

TEAM CHEVY AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY: PAT SUHY, NASCAR GROUP MANAGER, GM RACING: “It’s been a great 2011 season for Team Chevy in NASCAR. With just one race to go in each NASCAR Touring Series, we’ve dominated the on-track show. Chevrolet teams have won 35 out of 92 races run so far. We have captured our 35th Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Cup title and our seventh Camping World Truck Series Manufacturers’ Championship. One of three Chevy drivers will be crowned the Camping World Truck Series champion this Friday, and Tony Stewart will be a strong contender on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Driver’s Championship in the Sprint Cup Series. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than this!

“For the Manufacturers’ Championships, a lot of what has brought Team Chevy the multiple years of success that we have enjoyed is teamwork. And that teamwork isn’t just within each team that contributed; it extends to teamwork among our teams, and also between the teams and our own talented group of racing engineers and program managers here at General Motors. Teamwork is the basis for our ‘Key Partners’ approach in all three series, the results speak for themselves.

“Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup finale at Homestead should prove to be very exciting. With just three points separating the top two championship contenders, it’s possible that the Driver’s title could be decided on the last turn of the last lap of the season. Success in terms of wins at Homestead has been hard to come by for Team Chevy. Even though wins have been few and far between, our teams have captured 37% of the top-five finishing positions, meaning that our teams have the speed to run up-front and contend for wins.

“Given the importance of this particular race, I’m confident that we’ll see a Chevy driver competing for the win and will get to celebrate on the champion’s stage with our own Tony Stewart.”

CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY:

• · A Chevrolet driver has won 1 of the 12 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway
• · Chevy has 4 poles at Homestead
• · Team Chevy drivers have scored 22 top-five finishes and 51 top-10 finishes at Homestead
• · A Chevrolet has led 674 laps (21.0% of 3,209 possible) at Homestead
• · Current Team Chevy drivers with wins at Homestead:

o Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet has two (2) wins (both of his wins were in a Pontiac)

TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY:

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET – 2^ND IN STANDINGS: “You go off into turn one (at Homestead-Miami Speedway), and when you get into the banking, you lift. If your car is good, you can go and not use any brake, or very, very little brake. You stay one lane off the bottom, past the transition – it’s a little less banking on the lower level toward the apron – so you stay one level above that. As soon as your car settles in you can really just mash right back in the gas and just ride that second level around down onto the backstretch. And then you do exactly the same thing going into turn three. A lot of times in turn three, because of the wind direction there, you can actually go into the corner a lot harder and a lot further, actually turning into the corner before you get off the gas. And it’s the same thing, once that car settles in, you get on the gas and ride it around to the front stretch. It’s a pretty smooth racetrack.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET – 3^RD IN STANDINGS: “Homestead is one of those race tracks that you don’t know when it is going to stop aging. It seems like every time we return to the track it loses a little grip, which is a good thing. Since they repaved the track a few years back it has become one of my favorites. You can move all around trying to find a groove that works for you. There are a lot of different places where you can make your car work. For me it has been a lot of fun to race on. It’s just unique. You can charge turn one a little bit more than you can at most places, because as you get through the corner, the banking seems to get steeper all the way through, and you have options. You can run the top, you can run the bottom, you can run the middle, or you can split the middle-top or middle-bottom and make your car turn. It’s just a unique race track, and it seems to fit the guys that like to move around and make their cars work in different spots.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – 5^TH IN STANDINGS: “I’m definitely disappointed that we won’t be able to go to Homestead and race for our sixth (consecutive driver’s championship) but that’s motorsports. It’s a very tough business. What we did over the last five years was absolutely spectacular and I’ve just got to thank Lowe’s. I’ve got to thank Hendrick Motorsports, Chad Knaus (crew chief), and this whole race team for giving me everything they’ve had these 10 years. Even though we’re not in position to win the championship now, we’re going to go to Homestead and try to have our best race down there that we can and finish as high as we can in the points. I’ll definitely have more fun and get a lot of sleep going in there. I’ll bet you the No. 99 (Carl Edwards) and the No. 14 (Tony Stewart) won’t. I’ll have fun watching from the sidelines.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET – 7^TH IN STANDINGS: “The way they ditched the banking has made it a real challenge for me. I can’t really get a car to roll through the center and turn well. I haven’t had a car that was quite free enough in all the times being there. As I drive into the banking, it gets tighter and tighter as it loads the right front into the banking. It just doesn’t suit my style. I’m going there with a new crew chief this year and he prepares a car completely different than the guys I’ve worked with in the past. Maybe that will be the difference.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET – 9^TH IN STANDINGS: “We’re feeling a lot better after our fifth-place come-from-behind performance in Phoenix. It hasn’t been the kind of Chase that we had anticipated back in Chicago (beginning of Chase), but if we can end the season with a performance like we had in Phoenix it would make things better for our U.S. Army team during the offseason. You always want to end the season with a feel-good performance. There’s a lot of buzz at our Stewart-Haas Racing shop about Tony (Stewart) and the No. 14 team. The spirit is high, knowing that Tony has a shot at winning the Sprint Cup championship. The (No. 14) team has done a remarkable job in the Chase and the battle between Tony and Carl (Edwards) is great for the sport. I know I’m excited about it and I am sure the fans feel the same way.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET – 11^TH IN STANDINGS: “I like the South Florida area and the track. The variable banking allows us to really search around for a line or a groove that will work, and I think good side-by-side racing comes along with that. We’ve had some good runs here; we just haven’t been able to win. Yet. You have to kind of take that [championship battle] into account. You don’t want to be the individual that costs somebody the championship because you did something dumb racing way back in the pack. But, for me, I don’t care who it is if I’m racing for the win. I’m going to race them hard – just like any other race – if a victory is on the line. We tried some things in Texas that seemed to have us moving in the right direction. We’ll see if we can improve on that this weekend. A solid run can give us confidence and momentum as we go into the off-season and 2012.”

CLINT BOWYER, NO. 33 CHEERIOS/HAMBURGER HELPER CHEVROLET – 13^TH IN STANDINGS: “Homestead-Miami Speedway is a fun race track. Our finishes don’t reflect how well we’ve run there. I think we’ve actually broke twice there. It’s a fun race track and a very important race because we get to crown another champion. It’s going to be really tough (to climb out of the car for the last time for Richard Childress Racing). It’s going to be awkward to be honest. It’s the only thing I’ve ever drove and always been one of Richard’s cars or one associated with him. It’s bittersweet. I owe everything in my career to Richard and it’s going to be tough, but change isn’t always a bad thing. I’m ready for the challenge. I really am ready for this.”

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 DURACELL/MENARDS CHEVROLET – 18^TH IN STANDINGS: “There’s always mixed feels whether you want the season to end or not at Homestead. You kind of want to get going onto next year and get a fresh start but on the other hand, you feel like you have some unfinished business and want to keep working on what you’ve been working on all season. It’s always kind of bittersweet in Miami. It’s been up and down emotionally for our team, but the season itself has gone by pretty fast. It’s hard to believe we’re at the last race already.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – 19^TH IN STANDINGS: “We are always really busy Homestead-Miami weekend. It’s considered my “home track” so we have a ton of guests and events going on. We have our gala with our foundation (Formula Smiles), and it is the fifth year we have done it. It is a really cool event that raises a lot of money, and we always do something different, something cool. On top of that we have the ticket promotion with the track, so I think that is pretty exciting as well. So it is a lot of fun, but there are a lot of things to be done. Plus they even give me time to get in the Target Chevrolet and race (laughing).”

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – 20^TH IN STANDINGS: “Hendrick Motorsports is just an amazing, amazing race team. And what makes it that way are the people who are there. These last three years of my career have been incredible. It was so flattering to me when Rick (Hendrick, team owner) hired me and made me a part of this group of drivers. Jeff (Gordon), Jimmie (Johnson) and Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) have been great teammates and friends of mine. Working with Rick – I’ve gotten the chance to know him on a more personal side. His people skills are incredible and what he’s built with this race team is something he should be very proud of. The fact that, when I look back on the wins in my career, that I had the opportunity to earn five of them with Hendrick Motorsports, is something I’ll always treasure.”

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET – 22^ND IN STANDINGS: “It’s always important to run well at all of the tracks we go to no matter if it’s the first or the last race. It doesn’t matter if we win or finish last. I won’t leave Homestead thinking our finish is how our season will be next year. It’s always better to have a good finish because you feel good leaving the track, but three or four days later you’ve forgotten about it and gone onto the next thing. Homestead doesn’t have a lingering affect. Just because you win at Homestead doesn’t mean you’re going to a great season the next year. The way we ran (at Homestead) last year doesn’t mean we would have a better or worse chance to win the Daytona 500 this year. You’ll know how you’re going to do the following season by the preparation between now and the (Daytona) 500.”

REGAN SMITH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING CHEVROLET – 26^TH IN STANDINGS: “After what happened in Phoenix – being involved in an accident on the second lap – I can’t wait to get back into the Furniture Row Chevrolet. Based on practice and qualifying we were looking for a good run in Phoenix. But it didn’t turn out that way so we have one more race to show our mettle before we head into the offseason. It’s been a breakthrough season for Furniture Row Racing, but we need to get to another level. And a good place to start reaching that goal is to end the season with a strong finish. Having a good result at Homestead will do plenty for team morale during the offseason. No doubt, it’s an important race for many reasons.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET – 27^TH IN STANDINGS: “It is hard to believe that the end of the season is here. I enjoy Homestead-Miami, not only because it means we will have some time off soon, but it is a fun track to race at. We had a really strong car this past weekend at Phoenix, so I hope we can bring that speed with us to Homestead this weekend and end the 2011 season on a high note with our Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. It would really mean a lot to everyone on our team to finish strong and carry that momentum into 2012.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships

Total (1949 – 2011): 35

First title for Chevrolet: 1958

Highest number of consecutive titles: 9 twice (1983 – 1991) (2003-2011)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Drivers Championships

Total (1949 – 2010): 27

First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)

Highest number of consecutive titles: 6 (1993 – 98) & (2005 – ’10)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Event Victories

2010 Race Wins: 18

Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – 2007

2011 YEAR-TO-DATE STATISTICS:

Wins: 17

Poles: 11

Laps led: 4,627

Top-five finishes: 75

Top-10 finishes: 158

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:

Total Chevrolet race wins: 686 (1949 – to date) (2,317 possible = 29.6%)

Poles Won to Date: 620

Laps Lead to Date: 204,863

Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,442

Top-10 Finishes to Date: 7,040

Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date 

GM: 1,021

Chevrolet: 686

Pontiac: 155

Oldsmobile: 115

Buick: 65

Ford: 706

Ford: 606

Mercury: 96

Lincoln: 4

Chrysler: 461

Dodge: 212

Plymouth: 190

Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 39

About Chevrolet

Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com .

 - Team Chevy, Press Release

Tony Gibson and Ryan Newman in garage - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2011) –

Heading into the finale at the South Florida track, Newman’s season record includes: one win, nine top-fives and 17 top-10s.

The last time he scored more top-fives was in 2004 (11) and the last time with more top-10s was in 2003 (22).

In his first two seasons driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, Newman posted five top-fives and 15 top-10s in 2009 and four top-fives and 14 top-10s in 2010.

“From many standpoints it’s been a strong season for our No. 39 team,” said Newman, who will be completing his 10th season as a Sprint Cup regular. “We’ve been more consistent and did some things we haven’t done in the past like putting the Army Chevrolet in Victory Lane. The downside of the season has been our Chase results. We truly expected to be a contender when the Chase began in Chicago.”

Newman has scored four top-10s during the first nine Chase races, including an impressive come-from-behind fifth-place result in Sunday’s event at Phoenix.

“If we can end the season with a performance like we had in Phoenix it would make things that much better for our U.S. Army team during the offseason,” noted Newman. “You always want to end the season with a feel-good performance and we also want to make our Army Strong Soldiers proud of their team.”

Newman would be the first to admit that he hasn’t fared that well at the Homestead high-banked 1.5-mile oval. In nine Cup starts at Homestead, he has three top-10s and an average finish of 19.11.

“The good news about Homestead is that one of my highest finishes (7th) came at last year’s race,” explained Newman. “We stepped up our mile-and-a-half program this year and aim to have another good showing on Sunday.”

Before the Chase began Newman said that it was going to take an average finish of 7.0 or better in the 10 Chase races to win the championship. His average is 17 while the averages of the two contenders Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart are 5.22 and 6.89 respectively.

“We just had too many issues and a streak of bad luck during the Chase,” said Newman. “But there’s a lot of buzz at our Stewart-Haas Racing shop about Tony (Stewart) and the No. 14 team. The spirit is high, knowing that Tony has a shot at winning the Sprint Cup championship. The (No. 14) team has done a remarkable job in the Chase and the battle between Tony and Carl (Edwards) is great for the sport. I know I’m excited about it and I am sure the fans feel the same way.”

Newman gained three positions in the driver point standings — from 12th to ninth — following his fifth-place finish in Phoenix. He is actually tied for eighth in points with Kurt Busch, but Busch wins the tiebreaker.

- DMF Communications for U.S. Army Racing, Press Release