For one’s 10th anniversary, it is proper to give gifts of aluminum or tin.
Ryan Newman would like to change one letter of the designated gift of tin, and give his sponsor Haas Automation a “win” in honor of its 10th season as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series sponsor at the same track where it made its debut.
It was 10 years ago this September that Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world and founded by Gene Haas – made its first start as a primary sponsor in the Sprint Cup Series at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The company’s name and red “H” logos adorned the hood and quarter panels for the No. 60 Haas-CNC Racing machine for driver Jack Sprague, also owned by Haas.
While the sponsor’s first outing was lackluster – ending early with a 35th-place finish – it didn’t keep the team or the sponsor from being a regular competitor on the Sprint Cup circuit.
Fast forward to April 2012 and there’s no doubt the sponsor (Haas Automation) and the race team (then Haas-CNC Racing) have come a long way since that first Kansas outing.
Today, founder Haas shares ownership of what is now known as Stewart-Haas Racing with three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart. The merger, which took effect in 2009, has resulted in 16 Sprint Cup points paying wins, a Sprint All-Star race win and a Sprint Cup championship.
And Haas’ company, Haas Automation, serves as one of multiple primary sponsors for Newman and the No. 39 Chevrolet, including Sunday’s STP 400.
Kansas hasn’t been the strongest of racetracks for Newman in recent years. In the past nine starts, he has just one top-10 finish at the 1.5-mile oval. But despite the recent hiccups at the track, Newman does know what it takes to finish up front at Kansas as he has one win (2003) and two runner-up finishes (2001 and 2002).
This weekend, Newman will pilot the same chassis with which he finished fourth at Las Vegas earlier this season. With a proven racecar underneath him and a win already to his credit this year at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Newman has the confidence that his Tony Gibson-led team will rise to the challenge that Kansas Speedway presents. While every mile-and-a-half track has its own characteristics that make it completely unique and change the car’s handling characteristics, knowing he will climb back in a fast racecar will help take one variable out of the equation.
Turning “tin” into “win” is the ultimate goal this weekend. As he sits ninth in the Sprint Cup point standings, Newman would like nothing more than to rebound from a disappointing outing last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and give his sponsor and co-owner something to celebrate at the track where it all began a decade ago.
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