Newman-Haas trying to rise from the mid-pack

[MDS]

For those of you haven't been tracking Newman Haas started trending downward in 2009 when the Milka Duno deal fell through. From what I understand it was supposed to be a two-year deal that would anchor the less money they were getting from Doornbos and McDonalds. Because of that they went into 2009 underfunded, Doornbos beat up some equipment and but they still took a few steps forward. Bear in mind they basically worked 280 straight days in 2008 because of the merger.

Last year they thought they had a deal with Graham and McDonalds put together for 2010, that fell through, then Graham came up with a deal on his own that also evaporated. So then went into the year with next to no funding and horrible moral. When I saw the team at Barber they were were all wearing black and very non-talkative.

There's been a lot of rumors about NHR selling out, and maybe there's some truth in this, but remember this Newman's name isn't on the car just for tradition, his family still owns his share, the Haas family also is more than just Gene. It looks like they've made some changes to push their performance up this year.

They've hired a new PR company that put together this nice website:
http://www.newmanhaasdelivers.com/

They're hiring engineers:
http://www.newman-haas.com/employment_opportunities.html

And they're in talks with some potential sponsors:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-millers-mailbag-1020

Hopefully we'll see a resurgence in one of the most storied teams in all of Indycar history.

[champcarray]

Thanks for sharing the positive news. It would be great to see NHR not only meet the opening bell but be a factor again. Frankly, their association with Mario Andretti way back when solidified my interest in Indy car racing more than anything else. As I look back I thank them for helping create a great series that captured my interest for so many years. And thank Paul Newman for being a thorn in Tony's side for so many years. I loved his fighting spirit!

[Mr. Mister]

Definitely a big turn-around from what was being reported prior to that. Good to see them getting things rolling and making progress toward 2011. :)

[Jag_Warrior]

Being that Newman-Haas wasn't just one of the greatest racing teams in America, but all the world, it's particularly sad to see them falling on such hard times now. A team that has had two World Driving Champions as drivers, and several other racers who were truly world class, shouldn't be struggling like this. But with the loss of the great Paul Newman, and now Carl Haas in failing health, I guess nothing great can last forever.

This sort of reminds me of the situation with Lotus back in the 80's. I hope things turn out better for Newman-Haas than they did for Lotus.

[electron]

... or Brabham or Tyrrell.

or Williams.

this stuff seems to be pretty common.

[jwhite9185]

... or Brabham or Tyrrell.

or Williams.

this stuff seems to be pretty common.

Well i guess you could say that Tyrrell is still going... they even won both the constructors and drivers championship last year!

[Otto-Matic]

Well i guess you could say that Tyrrell is still going... they even won both the constructors and drivers championship last year!

Are you joking or being serious? tough to tell. Connecting Tyrrell to Brawn is a huge stretch, your totallly writing off BAR and then Honda in between. There's no direct link between Ken's one great team and Ross Brawn's one year team expect on a family tree of F1 teams.

[ykiki]

Are you joking or being serious? tough to tell. Connecting Tyrrell to Brawn is a huge stretch, your totallly writing off BAR and then Honda in between. There's no direct link between Ken's one great team and Ross Brawn's one year team expect on a family tree of F1 teams.

Kind of funny - but as Tyrrell was one of my favorite teams growing up, I was just thinking this weekend that MS & Keke's boy are driving for the team that once belonged to ol' Ken. jwhite9185 isn't the only one who likes looking at the "family tree of F1 teams".

[jwhite9185]

Kind of funny - but as Tyrrell was one of my favorite teams growing up, I was just thinking this weekend that MS & Keke's boy are driving for the team that once belonged to ol' Ken. jwhite9185 isn't the only one who likes looking at the "family tree of F1 teams".

Exactly...

Tyrrell
BAR
Honda
Brawn
Merecedes

Might not be the same team but you can connect them - same as Stewart GP to Red Bull. The Tyrrell factory moved from a few miles down the road from me to a fancy new place when they got brought out. I even work with Ken Tyrrells nephew!

[Otto-Matic]

Exactly...

Tyrrell
BAR
Honda
Brawn
Merecedes

Might not be the same team but you can connect them - same as Stewart GP to Red Bull. The Tyrrell factory moved from a few miles down the road from me to a fancy new place when they got brought out. I even work with Ken Tyrrells nephew!

or Minardi to Toro Rosso. As great as it was to see Vettle win a race for the organization, its was not the same group of "David's" fighting the "Goliaths" that I had grown to love.
But that is pretty cool you work with Ken's nephew. did he not get involved in motorsports?