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The 2016 NASCAR Cup Series marked a significant shift for Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing. After years of technical support from Hendrick Motorsports, SHR decided to part ways and switch to Ford engines for the 2017 season. Hendrick Motorsports had been a technical aid to the team since its inception.
When Gene Haas founded the team, Hendrick Motorsports supplied them with engines, cars, and technical support. Tony Stewart joined the crew as a co-owner in 2009, and in 2016, they announced the use of Ford cars from the next season instead of the Chevrolets, ending their partnership with Rick Hendrick's team.
The team was set to receive engines from Roush-Yates Engines that year onwards. When Rick Hendrick discussed the move, he admitted that SHR had caught them by surprise. Here's what he said:
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"It kind of caught me by surprise, but in way, I’m not surprised that someone like Ford or another manufacturer would go after them. We just planned we’re going to do everything we can to help them win this year and finish out the year, and then we’ll move on."
"As far as our company goes, we’ve been pretty much taxed to keep up with all the customers we have. I think what we’re going to do now is turn our efforts inward and do more R&D and give us a chance to do more research and development than we’ve been doing in the last couple of years because our guys have been flat-out. We’re going to take a little bit of a breather, and I’m not going to lay off anybody or get rid of any people. All of my folks got jobs because we’ve got plenty to do," he added.
This was an interesting switch as Kevin Harvick, who won the 2014 title for the team, had never driven a Ford before. He had long been a Chevy driver but Tony Stewart had his reasons.
"Our relationship with Hendrick has been changing": Tony Stewart on switching to Ford in 2017
One of the major changes in the workings of Stewart-Haas Racing was that it became more self-sufficient after the switch. Working under the technical guidance from Hendrick Motorsports had left the team in Rick Hendrick's shadows for a long time despite winning the Championship earlier.
While announcing the change, Tony Stewart claimed that their relationship with Hendrick had been changing.
"I feel like our relationship with Hendrick has been changing a little bit over the last year," Stewart said during last week’s Ford announcement. "The technical side of it has changed quite a bit going into this season, so we’ve kind of been working this direction."
Ford powered Stewart-Haas Racing for their remaining tenure in NASCAR. The team decided to cease operations at the end of the recently concluded 2024 season. However, one Haas Factory Team charter would still be present on the 2025 grid.
