Consistent Stewart-Haas has owner seeing positive

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Leading up to the season-opening Daytona 500, the new car owner kept saying he expected to be competitive coming right out of the box.

He just didn't expect to be this consistent.

Three races into his new gig as owner/driver at Stewart-Haas Racing, Tony Stewart admitted that he is "pleasantly surprised" with how it has gone so far for his No. 14 Chevrolet. Heading into Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Stewart sits eighth in the point standings.

Stewart-Haas Racing

Team Results

Race	T. Stewart	R. Newman
Daytona	8	36
Fontana	8	28
Las Vegas	26	25
Average	14.0	29.7

While he said he truly believed what he was saying prior to the 500 about being instantly competitive, he admitted Friday that he wasn't so sure about being "consistently competitive." Yet he finished eighth both at Daytona and in the second race of the season at Auto Club Speedway in California and ran in the top five much of the day before settling for 26th last Sunday in Las Vegas.

"I think from the physical pieces and parts standpoint, we knew we had what we needed," Stewart said. "It was just a matter of how long was it going to take for the package to gel. I think we're all pleasantly surprised at how quick that's come.

"We went form a superspeedway to a 2-mile track and a 1.5-mile track and we've been good at all three, or at least solid at all three. I think that gives us a lot to look forward to, and that's definitely keeping the team morale and spirits up."

One of the next goals for Stewart is to help teammate Ryan Newman get his No. 39 Stewart-Haas car on the same fast track as his No. 14 ride. Newman has yet to finish better than 25th and is 33rd in points heading into Sunday's Atlanta race.

Newman admitted that coming to a brand-new team was difficult after spending his entire career with Penske racing, an established organization.

"I think Daytona was the most humbling for me -- to go in there as the defending champion and have all the things that happened to us [resulting in a 36th-place finish]," Newman said. "That will destroy your ego and pull your tail so far between your legs that you talk different."

His boss, however, seems to be walking and talking with the same sort of swagger he used to carry during a successful 10-year, two-championship tenure as a driver with Joe Gibbs Racing. And now he can tell the whole truth about what he thought his team's chances were prior to the season.

"We felt like we could be competitive, but I think it was unrealistic to think that we would go three weeks and be that competitive week in and week out -- solid in every session," Stewart said. "I haven't qualified outside the top 14 all year so far. That in itself should tell you that the sky is falling. I mean, I've never qualified that good. From that side, I think it's kind of exceeded my expectations because I've never qualified that well before. I think we expected to have the results, but I'm not sure we expected to be this consistent right off the bat."

He said he also is well aware that it is very early in the season. Both Stewart-Haas drivers qualified well for Sunday's race -- Stewart in 11th and Newman 12th -- but then subsequently struggled in the final practice sessions Saturday. In Happy Hour, Newman's fastest lap speed of 176.487 mph ranked just 21st on the speed charts, while Stewart's fastest lap of 174.840 mph ranked 35th.

"Granted, it's only been three weeks and we could fall on our face this week," Stewart said. "But for three weeks to go to a superspeedway and a 2-mile track and a 1.5-mile track and have good results and good performance each of those weeks, it's something to be proud of."