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After the initial, “Wait … what?” reaction to Stewart-Haas Racing‘s monumental announcement that brought a ruckus to an otherwise tranquil Wednesday in the NASCAR news cycle, the questions of how, why and what now persist.
Around this time next year, SHR will be completing Daytona’s Speedweeks with a four-car flotilla of Fords crossing the start/finish line in the Great American Race. It’s a staggering visual for a team that has been in the General Motors fold for its lifetime, and a driver/co-owner with even deeper Chevrolet ties.
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The answer to how became clearer Wednesday, with Stewart himself describing the timetable that went from simple conversation to a much more accelerated negotiation process in a six-month span. It’s clear from Stewart’s fond words for Chevrolet that the bowtie that had adorned his cars for most of his NASCAR career wasn’t easily loosened, but the passion from each side stoked more passion from the other until the talks took a page from Ford’s slogan book to “go further.”
The other how — as in how a development with such high-stakes ramifications for the sport stayed under wraps for so long — may never be fully answered. For all of the “worst-kept secrets” that play out as expected in such a loose-lipped industry, this was a true undercover operation.
Answering the why is like peeling apart a genetically altered onion engineered to have more layers than normal. The telling quote from Wednesday’s 30-minute teleconference was Stewart speaking about the opportunity to “get out of the shadows and, to some degree, get off the coattails” of Hendrick Motorsports and be more of its own entity under the Ford umbrella. The move will bring Stewart-Haas into a relationship with Roush-Yates as an engine supplier, but the organization will now have the freedom to develop its own chassis.
Doing things his own way — much like his hero A.J. Foyt before him — has always been an endearing Stewart attribute. For a driver/owner who has always operated like a devil-may-care horse that shuns fences, the Ford deal offers incentive that reaches beyond whatever undisclosed financial motivation was part of the agreement.
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The “what now” part may not be fully answered until Stewart-Haas Racing puts four new-nosed Fusions on the track at Daytona next February. The approaching transition has ripples that affect all three manufacturers, chassis and engine partners, plus several affiliated teams — all of whom have their own answers to the “why.”
Whither Hendrick Motorsports, which will be without one of its best customers for engines and chassis next season and which will continue to offer support through this year? And what of Roush-Yates, which will now need to ramp up production for a new four-car outfit with newly formed bonds to the blue oval? And what happens to the manufacturer balance of power once Ford evens the playing field in car count alone with Chevrolet if not also performance with Chevy and Toyota alike?
With both Stewart and Haas relaying reluctance to speak about the move for the rest of the season, the proof may be in that performance 11-plus months from now, rivaling Wednesday’s news as the best-kept secret in the NASCAR garage.