Stewart-Haas Racing

Stewart-Haas Racing is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned by two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Haas Automation, the world’s largest machine tool manufacturer. Currently, the Stewart-Haas Racing team fields two entries in the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 14 driven by Tony Stewart and the No. 39 driven by Ryan Newman. www.stewarthaasracing.com

Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart’s career began with racing go-karts at seven, with his father serving as owner and crew chief. During this time, Tony’s father pushed him to be the best driver he could be. He didn’t necessarily have to be the best driver but he did have to give his best effort. Stewart believes that this is what gave him his drive to succeed. This drive has led to a successful career. Joining the Nationwide Series in 1999, Tony won three races and was named rookie of the year. He went on to win the series championship in both 2002 and 2005. Tony finished in the top ten in every other season besides 2006, when he placed 11th. In July of 2008, Tony announced that he would be joining with Haas Racing to form Stewart-Haas Racing, becoming an owner in the team he would drive for. Many questioned this move since the last time a driver/owner won a Sprint Cup race was in 1998. With a number of wins already, Stewart’s 2009 season has proven that success as an owner/driver is possible.

Ryan Newman

One of the biggest things that sets Ryan apart from other NASCAR drivers is that, in addition to talent behind the wheel, he has a bachelor’s degree in vehicle structure engineering from Purdue University, that gives him an in-depth understanding of his car. Although Ryan’s racing career in his youth was so successful that he was inducted into the Quarter Midget Hall of Fame in his teens, he made education a priority, attending Purdue while competing in all three United States Auto Club Series. In 2002, his first year in the Sprint Cup series, he set rookie records for the most top-ten finishes (22) and the most poles (six) in one season. In addition, he became the second rookie ever to win the non-points All-Star race at Charlotte. This impressive season led him to being named the rookie of the year. One of Ryan’s most meaningful wins was perhaps the 50th Daytona 500 in 2008. The 2009 season is shaping up to be another great one with a number of top five and top ten finishes.

Brad Harris

Soon after starting his first manufacturing job turning pipe flanges in a manual machine shop after high school, it became very clear to Brad Harris, CNC Shop Manager for Stewart-Haas Racing, that he needed to continue his education. During this time, he was introduced to a full CNC aircraft machine shop that was owned by the father of one of his friends. He knew in an instant that that was what he wanted to learn. Soon, he was given a job in that same machine shop and began attending night school. He went on to earn his AA in machining from Fullerton Community College in California and continued on to earn a BS in engineering technology from California State University in Long Beach, working full time throughout school. After spending most of his life in Orange County, California, Brad made a major change seven years ago when he moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Working for Stewart-Haas Racing, Harris says that the best part about his job is the opportunity to see his work perform on a national stage every week.