Indianapolis 500 2014: NASCAR owner supports Kurt Busch’s attempt at Indy-Charlotte double

INDIANAPOLIS -- Part fan, part observer and admittedly on a bit of a fact-finding mission, NASCAR team owner Gene Haas is in attendance at the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

As the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, which fields the No. 41 Sprint Cup car for Kurt Busch, Haas is supporting Busch’s attempt to become the fourth driver to complete the “double.” Busch will race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then travel to Charlotte Motor Speedway where he will compete in the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest event.

Making his first open-wheel start Sunday, Busch has a stated goal of finishing in the “top half of the field” and would like to complete all 200 laps at Indy. Haas said Busch’s strategy calls for him to be patient early as he acclimates himself to an Indy car, then put himself in a position to challenge in the latter stages.

“The strategy is don’t do anything for the first hundred laps and stay out of trouble,” Haas told SB Nation in the Indianapolis garage Sunday. “He probably has more experience than most of these guys racing (at Indy) -- it’s difficult but he understands that and knows what the problems are.

“I think it would be awesome if he can finish. Just stay out of trouble and getting in and out of the pits OK.”

Kurt Busch prepares for his debut at the Indy 500/Photo credit: Thomas J. Russo, USA Today Sports

Busch considered running the Indy 500 in 2013, even going as far to test at the speedway before deciding otherwise. But when the opportunity to run a car for Andretti Autosport presented itself again earlier this year, Busch consulted with Haas, who signed him to drive for SHR last August.

When he joined SHR, Busch asked for a provision that allows him to run the Indy 500 as well as other races -- provided the team agrees.

After deliberating for about a week and discussing the pros and cons with team officials, including SHR co-owner Tony Stewart, who twice has run the double, Haas consented. His biggest concern was injury, an issue the organization faced last season when Stewart broke his right leg in an August sprint car race and missed the remaining 15 Cup races.

”Our biggest concern was him getting hurt, Haas said. “If he gets hurt that’s really going to hurt the Cup side of it. And we didn’t want that, not having just gone through that with Tony. That was in the back of our head.

“We thought about it and figured, ‘If it’s something he wants to do, he should be OK. It’s probably a lot safer than a dirt sprint car,’ so we said go ahead.”

While continually flying between Indianapolis and Charlotte throughout the month, Busch has maintained that his NASCAR obligations were his No. 1 priority. But following a win March 30 at Martinsville Speedway, the No. 41 team has struggled considerably with finishes of 39th, 31st, 23rd, 33rd and 29th since.

The sagging performance has some wondering whether running Indianapolis and Charlotte was a distraction for Busch, a notion Haas disputed, saying “it hasn’t been bad.” What excites the NASCAR owner is the “awesome” sponsorship opportunities that have arisen due to Busch’s increased profile.

As for the fact-finding, Haas is also observing what goes into operating an open-wheel team while at Indianapolis, having been granted a Formula One team in April. Haas Formula is aiming to be on the grid in 2015, but its principle concedes that 2016 is “most likely.”

The biggest takeaway thus far for Haas is the vast media attention that has accompanied his announcement of starting the first American-based F1 team since 1976.

“There’s always that publicity angle trying to get more ‘shock value’ like Kurt Busch running Indy then Charlotte,” Haas said. “There is something to be said for that -- it’s the same kind of effect in owning a Formula One team. I’m kinda surprised by the intense interest there is in doing F1.

“For me, the biggest challenge is, ‘Boy, I hope I can get there on the grid and don’t look stupid.’”