iNSIDE SCOOP: Trouble in Paradise?

No sooner did Gene Haas, Greg Zipadelli and Kurt Busch sit down today to discuss Busch’s move to Stewart-Haas Racing than the fun started.

I’m not talking about jokes, although there were a few of them. I’m talking about trying to figure out how this whole thing went down, who was in charge at SHR and what the potential fallout might be.

First, the body language of team competition director Greg Zipadelli was…fretful. It looked like he was squirming in his seat, and that is not his usual composure. He’s calm to the point of stillness, usually. He acted like there was an electric buzzer in his seat. In effect, there was. He is the guy who is going to have to put it all together, while at the same time incorporating Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers with the No. 39 team already in place.

Second, team co-owner Gene Haas was far more ebullient and cheerful than anyone had ever seen him.

It soon became apparent that the idea for Busch to join SHR as a fourth driver for a new team sponsored by Haas Automation was completely Haas’ idea. It started at a Chevrolet dinner in Indianapolis, where Haas found out that Busch wasn’t signed for 2014.

The idea hatched at that moment, and Haas ended up making Busch an offer for a fourth car at SHR.

“I didn't have really a chance to talk to Tony about it at all since he wasn't really talking to anybody,” Haas said. “So I kind of did this on my own, probably overstepped my authority a tich there.  I'm not used to having too many authorities to work with.  I've been pretty much on my own.  I did realize that Tony might be a little bit upset about it.  He was, he was a little upset.

“At first he said, ‘Oh, wow, we can't really do this because this is going to be too much of a load on the team. We're not prepared for it.  We don't have the space.’  There's a whole line.  He actually is an astute businessman.  He thought about all these little things, where are we going to get the people, the money, where are the buildings going to come from.  I didn't think about any of that.  From Tony's standpoint, he's more of a businessman.  I just thought it would be kind of neat to have.”

Neat, yes. Do-able? We’ll see.

Haas said that when he was finally able to talk to Stewart, who was hip deep in rehab from a broken leg, it started to come together.

“When I finally did talk to him, he was saying, ‘maybe we should wait a little while.’  I think he actually said, ‘you need to wait a while.’  I kind of made an offer to Kurt here, I don't know if he's going to take it or not, and if he takes it, I'm not backing down.  That's where we were.

“About a week later, Tony said, ‘OK, all right. He thought, it's OK.’  What are you going to do?  Don't have much choice.  It's a series of events.  Chance meeting Kurt at the General Motors dinner, Tony being incapacitated where I couldn't talk to him, I wanted to do something.  I stepped up and said I would fund it.

“It's very difficult to find a sponsor in less than 24 hours.  So we did that, too.  We did a lot of stuff.  That's why we're here today.”

The key question came up later in the hour-long press conference. Haas was asked what he would have done if Stewart had just put his foot down and said, ‘we’re not doing this. No. Way. Never.’

The answer was, to me, stunning.

“I never crossed that bridge,” he said. “You know, I don't know. Tony kind of does his own thing, I kind of do my own thing.  I have to admit we kind of think alike. Like I say, I don't think Tony was exactly enthralled with what I did.  But I think he saw it my way, you know (laughter).  Either that or get out of the building.

“Anyway, he has a lot of power.  I have to admit, you know, I have some power, too.  I think in a sense it's a check-and-balance system where the two powers balance each other out.”

Haas had better hope so. This is, to my knowledge, the first time that he and Stewart have butted heads on something that was public.

“I have a lot of respect for Tony,” Haas continued. “He's a great driver, past champion. Tony has a lot of respect for me.  I carry a lot of depth with my company.  We have the ability.  How can we expand to a fourth team, where will the resources come from?  I am highly qualified in that area to do this.  I think that gives us an edge.  Putting a super team together with four top drivers, what we have, I mean, that's kind of like your Dream Team.

“I think, you know, initially since it wasn't Tony's idea, he was taken aback a little bit by it.  But I think he saw it wasn't a bad idea.  In retrospect it looks like it's going to be a great idea.  If we don't win any races next year, hey, I'm going to look like an idiot.

“I take gambles, I made a decision, and I think I'm going to be proven right.  I think we're going to win a lot more races than anybody ever thought possible.”

Whether they do or not, the ride to the end of the 2014 season is going to be fun to watch.