Both peevish, yet proven, Stewart and Newman join forces at SHR

On Friday, Tony Stewart (left) announced that he signed Ryan Newman to a multi-year deal to pilot the No. 4 Chevy in 2009. Chris Graythen/Getty Images for Eldora Speedway

They have much in common, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. Both grew up in small towns in Indiana -- Stewart in Columbus, Newman in South Bend -- and both learned the art of racing on tiny dirt tracks across the Midwest. They both can be surly, but they also are two of the more thoughtful, articulate drivers in the Cup series. And though they've both had big problems with teammates in the past (more on that later), the union of Stewart and Newman next season at Stewart Haas Racing looks, at first blush, like a powerful one.

On Friday, Stewart announced at Michigan International Speedway that he signed Newman to a multi-year deal to pilot the No. 4 Chevy starting in 2009. This is, unquestionably, a big victory for Stewart.

Newman was the top free-agent driver in the garage, and several teams (including Richard Childress Racing, from what I'm told) were willing to throw a mountain of money at him. But, in the end, it was the draw of Stewart that lured Newman to Stewart Haas Racing, which next season will be the biggest wildcard in NASCAR.

Stewart cuts as commanding a presence as anyone in NASCAR. I've hung out with him at Eldora Speedway in Ohio and seen him light into the members of the World of Outlaws teams he owns because of poor performance. If there's one thing he can't tolerate it's incompetence -- or, at least, the perception of incompetence.

He'll, no doubt, be a demanding team owner, but Stewart has the rare ability to bring out the best in the people who work for him. That's a big reason why he's a successful owner in the Outlaws series, why he's a two-time Cup champion and why he'll eventually succeed as a team owner in the Cup series.

How long will it take for Stewart Haas to be competitive? Opinions vary widely in the Cup garage, but one thing is certain: Stewart and Newman will have quality equipment.

Stewart Haas essentially will be a satellite operation for Hendrick Motorsports, as Hendrick will supply the team with engines and chassis. Newman has admired the speed of Hendrick from afar for many years, and the tight association with Hendrick played a major role in his decision to move to SHR.

But the key to success will be how effective Stewart can be at assembling top-flight crews for himself and Newman. Stewart still needs to fill all the key positions on both teams, including the crew chief slots. And, on Friday, he stressed his desire to bring in people who could work closely together. Stewart is planning on following the model of Hendrick Motorsports, where all four teams have an open-book policy and share every drip of information with each other.

Yet, both Stewart and Newman have had fallouts with teammates in the past. Stewart and Denny Hamlin squabbled so much last season that it required a intervention by their team owner Joe Gibbs, who made a special trip to Chicagoland Speedway for a closed-door meeting with his bickering drivers. And Newman didn't speak with his Penske Racing teammate Rusty Wallace for the better part of two seasons, claiming that they simply had different personalities and didn't see eye-to-eye.

Of course, Stewart and Newman won't have a normal teammate relationship. After all, the 37-year-old Stewart is the boss and the 30-year-old Newman now represents the future of SHR.

But on Friday, they sure looked like chummy pals as they sat on a podium and answered questions at Michigan. This was a good day for the up-and-coming team. Even though he's just starting to build, Stewart is off to a flying start.