ONE OF THE UNKNOWNS AS A NEW TEAM WAS THE RELIANCE ON HENDRICK FOR CHASSIS AND TECHNOLOGY AND MOTORS. WERE YOU SURPRISED AT HOW WELL THE FLOW OF INFORMATION WORKED BACK AND FORTH?
STEWART: “It has been consistent from day one. As soon as we made the commitment that this was what we were going to do. And as soon as Darian Grubb came aboard, I think that was the biggest key in making sure that it was a smoother transition. Darian knows the system and the people involved and I think that with that came the trust from their side of knowing they had somebody that they could trust that’s been there for a long time and is passionate about Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing. So I think that made that transition easier and helped make it smooth. But it’s been constant from day one. That’s something that I think they’ve kind of been surprised at what we’ve been able to help them with too and given a different set of input. Ryan and I didn’t come from Hendrick Motorsports so we are totally unbiased and have something else to compare to versus what they’ve been doing for years in and out. I think it’s been good from their standpoint that they’ve had two drivers that are different from their system that are now involved in it.”
WERE YOU SURPRISED AT HOW WELL IT’S WORKED?
STEWART: “Not really. That was part of what weighed into my decision to do what we’re doing here and that’s knowing that we have a good engine package and good chassis package that’s proven. The key to that is making sure that the information is going both directions. It’s not one-way information from them to us or jus us to them, it’s making sure that we keep that constant flow of information and that’s what is helping all of us.”
DENNY HAMLIN HAS BEEN EXPRESSING FRUSTRATION OVER ONE DRIVER OR A HANDFUL OF DRIVERS GOING TO NASCAR BEFORE TALLADEGA AND HE THINKS THEY ENCOURAGED THEM ON THE BUMP-DRAFTING RULE. HE THINKS MAYBE YOU HAVE TO EARN THE RIGHT TO BE RESPECTED AND HEARD BY NASCAR. DID YOU EVER HAVE TO PROVE YOURSELF BEFORE THEY TOOK YOUR OPINIONS INTO CONSIDERATION?
NEWMAN: “I’ve been on both sides of that because whether it’s two years ago or three years ago or now, I think that some of that comes with experience at the race track and some of it comes with your knowledge and how well you are respected in the garage area and who you’re speaking on behalf of, if you’re speaking on behalf of yourself, or your team, or your organization, so you’re going to have both of those things. You’re going to be listened to and ignored and different times. Yeah, it’s the way to my knowledge that NASCAR has been for a very long time.
“Dale Earnhardt Sr. was the one who always comes to mind as far as who they listened to the most in respect to having driving influence. So I think whether he goes to complain or he goes to speak, it’s two different things and that’s just one driver. There are many drivers in the garage area who go into that truck each and every weekend to talk about things.”
STEWART: “Yeah, I think it’s a situation where you’ve got to remember over the past 60 years now, they’ve always had drivers who have wanted to put their two cents worth in. It’s not so much that they don’t listen, but they’ve heard it all before. And that’s their job as the sanctioning body is to sort it all out. A lot of times when drivers go in there, there’s emotion involved in it and that’s the wrong time to go in and talk about things and I think that’s what made Dale Sr. so good about going in and talking. He was able to take the emotion out of it and just lay the facts out on the table. But it’s a situation where I think the longer you’re in the series, and the more experience you have, the more I think that you’re opinion (matters); but they listen to everybody’s opinions and ideas. But at the same time, they have to maintain control over everything. They can’t let us take control of it, and that’s a good thing. They have to do that. But it’s a situation where you have to be able to see it for more than just the one side you’re going in as. When they look at a comment from a driver, they have to look at it from a lot of different angles and how it affects just that one angle of it and that’s something I think can at times be frustrating for drivers because they don’t see that. But that’s the reality of it is that NASCAR does a really good job of being able to just look at it from a lot of different angles and say well, it may impact from this angle but it may be detrimental from this angle. So they have to weigh out all those options every time somebody goes in (the trailer).”
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