Nationwide / Busch Series
The Haas Busch Team made its debut at Kansas in October 2003 as the #00 Haas CNC Chevy in the Busch Series. After starting 11th, Jason Leffler finished 16th despite wrecking during the race. After a pair of 11th at Charlotte and Phoenix, Leffler had his first top-five, starting 14th and finishing 4th.
The team would go full-time in 2004. After a slow start, Leffler would finish out of the top-15 twice: a 34th at California and a 17th at Bristol. Leffler also grabbed a pole at California, and a win at Nashville. It was both Leffler's first win and Haas' first win. Despite being third in points, Leffler was released after signing with Joe Gibbs Racing's Cup program for 2005. His immediate replacement was Blake Feese, who had 7th place start at Kansas. However, he struggled in that race and all 4 races he ran for Haas. With Feese struggling, Gene looked for another driver, even as he moved Bootie Barker to the NEXTEL Cup Series operation. After Tony Raines finished tenth at Phoenix, Justin Labonte, took over for the balance of the season. Haas merged with Labonte Motorsports for 2005.
Justin Labonte ran 2005 in the #44 United States Coast Guard Chevy. However, he had limited success. He was 7th at Talladega and 10th at Charlotte in the fall. Despite a 17th place finish in points, Labonte was released and once again Haas was searching for a new driver. Meanwhile, Sauter had a more eventful year, from being disqualified for an illegal carburetor following the O'Reilly 300 to getting a hometown victory in dominant fashion.
In 2006, Johnny Sauter drove the #00 Yellow Transportation Chevy were the team finished 8th in the final point standings. A late-season surge for Sauter resulted in the #00 Busch Series team moving up to the Cup series as the #70 team, and the team's Busch Series equipment were sold to Jay Robinson Racing.
Read more about this topic: Stewart-Haas Racing
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