Nate Ryan

USA TODAY Sports

BROOKLYN, Mich. — The absence of the team's namesake has taken an emotional toll on Stewart-Haas Racing, which raced for the second consecutive Sunday without Tony Stewart.

But more difficult than adapting to the void left by the three-time Sprint Cup champion is absorbing the opinions and perceptions of Stewart, who struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. with a sprint car Aug. 9 at a dirt track in upstate New York.

"I think the hardest part for me has been the way the whole media thing has shaken down," Kevin Harvick said after pacing SHR's four Chevrolets with a runner-up finish in the Pure Michigan 400. "It's an absolute tragic accident that has happened on both sides of the fence. You have one young man who is dead. You've got a guy that we know and are part of an organization that is just getting a lot of just crazy press.

"I've known Tony Stewart for a long time. I still don't believe that he even knew that he ran into that car. I know for sure that Tony Stewart is not going to run over somebody that's on a racetrack. I don't think there's anybody in this garage that would. You have just a lot of unknowledgable people reporting on a situation that know absolutely nothing about racing. It's just really unfortunate, the perception that has been given to him. I know he'll stay strong and fight and he'll get the right people and do all the right things. That's the part that's bothered me the most is just the poor misrepresentation on the media side for him."

Harvick said he hasn't spoken with Stewart, who skipped the NASCAR weekend at Michigan International Speedway while grieving over Ward's death, which remains under investigation by the Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff's Department. SHR officials have said Stewart will decide on his return to the No. 14 Chevrolet, which finished 37th Sunday with veteran Jeff Burton.

"This was honestly one of the hardest weeks I've ever spent," said Burton, who was announced as Stewart's replacement 18 hours before he began practicing in his car Friday. "I thought everybody did a really good job."

Burton, who is moving to NBC Sports as a race analyst next year, was making only his third start of the season, and the first two were with Michael Waltrip Racing. Getting acclimated to a new team was difficult, but Burton said it was compounded by speculation about Stewart.

"These are people that we are talking about," he said. "You have a lot of conversations about the 'What if's' and all this, but at the end of the day these are real people that are human beings and have feelings, and I think a lot of times we forget that.

"We talk about people like they are robots, and they are human beings. Just listening to some of the misinformation and people speculating about stuff, I just thought it was a travesty in a lot of ways. Ultimately, all that really weighed on me. Knowing that we had at least two families just in agonizing pain and really not being able to do anything about it."

Canandaigua Motorsports Park, which is near Rochester, N.Y., returned to racing Saturday night with a tribute to Ward, who died after being hit while approaching Stewart's car during a caution at the track.

"Racing is a community," Burton said. "I don't know the Ward family at all, but I know that they raced, and that means that I share something in common with them. The racing community cares about each other even if they don't know you. I think that is what we saw this week.

"Of course everybody in this garage knows Tony. Tony doesn't beat his chest and talk about the things he does for people. We know it, we see it, but nobody else does. (Dale) Earnhardt was like that. Earnhardt didn't want anybody to know the things he did for people. That is how Tony is. A lot of people only know Tony because he threw a helmet. They only know Tony because he got mad. Well hell, I get mad, too. I just hate people jump to conclusions."

Aside from Harvick's showing, Michigan was a rough effort for SHR. Burton finished 14 laps down after a lengthy repair for a tailpipe problem, and teammates Danica Patrick (18th) and Kurt Busch (31st) were in crashes.

Harvick, who has notched four straight top 10s since consecutive finishes of 30th or worse, said the team remained focused despite a trying week.

"Everybody has stepped up and did what they've had to do inside the shop," he said. "(Team vice president) Brett Frood is at the racetrack making sure that everything's right. (Co-owner) Gene Haas was (at Watkins Glen International) last weekend. Everybody just has to pitch in and do their part, make sure we do everything we can to help Tony get through his situation. There's a lot of strong people at our company."

Follow Ryan on Twitter @nateryan