By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor
A huge domino has just fallen for the 2017 season, and beyond. Stewart-Haas Racing, which has been one of the most dominant team in recent year, and has always been a Chevrolet team, will swap to Ford cars and engines for next season according to a Ford press release.
The release states that the Stewart-Haas Racing team has a multi-year agreement with Ford.
Stewart-Haas Racing currently fields the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars for Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick. Stewart, the teams co-owner, announced in the offseason that this would be his last season as a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Clint Bowyer will move to the team’s fourth car in 2017.
SHR has utilized a partnership with Hendrick Motorsports since 2009, which included SHR using Hendrick engines. That partnership will obviously end after this season with SHR moving to another manufacturer. Stewart-Haas Racing will now use Roush-Yates power plants in their cars.
Tony Stewart released a statement in a team release on the news about their race team:
“I am proud of our association with Chevrolet as they helped build our organization into the team it is today. This new partnership with Ford allows us to strengthen our position in the sport and ensures the long-term stability and success for everyone who is a part of Stewart-Haas Racing.”
Co-owner, Gene Haas also made a statement:
“Motorsports is an extremely challenging environment where in order to maintain success you have to constantly innovate. It’s true in NASCAR and it’s true in business. We’ve enjoyed great success with Chevrolet, but this opportunity with Ford allows us to evolve while continuing to compete at the highest levels of the sport.”
A Ford Performance press conference regarding this announcement is scheduled for Wednesday at 11 a.m Eastern-time.
Image: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
