DAYTONA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As a healthy Tony Stewart returns to racing for the 2014 NASCAR® Sprint Cup Series season, the addition of his two new teammates at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick, gives Mobil 1 Racing™ an incredibly strong team of “on-track field testers.”
Stewart has spent the past offseason undergoing intense rehabilitation of his right leg, which was broken last August in a sprint car crash. To facilitate a solid overall return to racing for Smoke in 2014, Mobil 1 Racing lubricant engineers continued to work with SHR to sharpen the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS, maintaining Stewart’s success with the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand – success that includes the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.
In the past three seasons with Mobil 1 lubricant technology, Stewart has earned nine Sprint Cup victories and two poles, along with 26 top-five and 43 top-10 finishes.
In 2014, Mobil 1 will also serve as an associate sponsor of Kurt Busch’s No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS and Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS. Mobil 1 technology will be used in all four SHR cars during the season. Harvick and Busch bring a long history of racing success that will be buoyed by the full technology support of ExxonMobil and Mobil 1.
Among Stewart, Harvick and Busch, Mobil 1 Racing will now be supporting drivers with just under 100 total Sprint Cup wins: Stewart has 48, Busch 24 and Harvick 23.
For SHR in 2014, Stewart, Busch and Harvick’s first track of 2014 will be Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for the Feb. 23 Daytona 500, a venue with special needs.
“The restrictor-plate engine rules set at Daytona present Mobil 1 engineers with unique challenges that we’ve met head on,” said Bruce Crawley, motorsport technology manager at ExxonMobil. “In a nutshell, we try to make the car more efficient, and in making it more efficient, it will go around the track faster. We are looking to help the SHR drivers improve lap times while also maintaining reliability.”
Because of proprietary lubricant technology designed by Mobil 1 to specifically respond to these required engine restrictor plates, SHR drivers are able to perform at a higher level at the historic track.
“The special engine and gear oils that Mobil 1 is able to provide Stewart-Haas Racing for Daytona are unrivaled,” Stewart said. “It is so cool to have a partner that is not only painted on the hood of the car but can actually help our race cars perform at an extremely high level. All four drivers at SHR have an even better shot at the 2014 Daytona 500 with Mobil 1.”
Beyond Daytona, Mobil 1 engineers collaborate with SHR throughout the NASCAR season to explore ways to improve the performance of Mobil 1 and Mobil lubricants used by the team. This results in continued superior performance and championship-caliber racing by the race teams Mobil 1 supports in NASCAR, Formula 1 and more.
“We view the SHR drivers as technology partners and on-track field testers who ultimately help us improve the quality of our products for consumers,” said Artis Brown, global motorsports manager at ExxonMobil. “We welcome Kevin and Kurt to the Mobil 1 Racing family and look forward to celebrating with them in victory lane. Our mission is to help advance the performances of the No. 4, No. 10, No. 14 and No. 41 cars, enabling faster lap times and more wins. It’s a great partnership that we take great pride in. As motorsports fans, we can’t wait to see the 2014 Daytona 500 unfold for the SHR drivers using our technology.”
About Mobil 1 in Motorsports
The Mobil brand’s history in motorsports officially began in 1979 with a sponsorship of Williams Formula One Racing Team. From that time, the presence of Mobil 1 technology on race tracks and circuits has grown by global proportions. Today, Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil is relied on for its ability to deliver exceptional engine performance and protection even under some of the most extreme conditions by team owners and many of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers.
Along with its status as the Official Lubricant Technology Partner of NASCAR, Mobil 1 enjoys a long association with many of world's most popular and successful race teams, including Stewart-Haas Racing in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ Formula One team, Corvette Racing’s Tudor United Sportscar Championship team, Tony Stewart Racing in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, as well as the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup—the world’s fastest international one-make series.
About Mobil 1
The world's leading synthetic motor oil brand, Mobil 1 features anti-wear technology that provides performance beyond our conventional motor oils. This technology allows Mobil 1 to meet or exceed the toughest standards of car builders and to provide exceptional protection against engine wear, under normal or even some of the most extreme conditions. Mobil 1 flows quickly in extreme temperatures to protect critical engine parts and is designed to maximize engine performance and help extend engine life.
For more information, visit mobil1.com and, on Facebook, www.facebook.com/mobil1.
Mobil and Mobil 1 are registered trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.
About Stewart-Haas Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned by three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. The team fields four entries in the elite Sprint Cup Series – the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart, No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Danica Patrick, the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick and the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet for Kurt Busch. Based in Kannapolis, N.C., Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 140,000-square-foot facility with approximately 270 employees. For more information, please visit us on the Web at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing and on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng.
