Two Guys Sports
Bruce BostwickTony Stewart Will be Released from Joe Gibbs Racing Contract
July 9th 2008 09:58
Tony Stewart Will be Released from Joe Gibbs Racing Contract
Two-tim NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart has been granted a release from his contract which would have run till the end of 2009. He will be heading to the team formerly known as Haas/CNC Racing. I say formerly because the team will be known now as Stewart Haas Racing. Tony will own 50% of the race team, as well as drive a car for the team. This new deal with Haas will also make Stewart the highest paid driver in NASCAR.
Haas/CNC currently have two race teams in the Sprint Cup Series, the #66, and #70 cars. Those cars are currently being driven by Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter. This team by the way runs Chevrolets, not Toyotas, a make of car in which he had all of his NASCAR success. It is believed Stewart will not be driving either of those numbers, but it is unclear what number he will be sitting behind the wheel of. Some have speculated that it might be the #14, the number driven by Tony’s idol A.J. Foyt.
It is also believed he will be moving from one depot to another. Of course his current main sponsor is Home Depot, but late last week he agreed to some sort of deal with Office Depot. The details of that deal are still unclear. Office Depot is the current sponsor of the #99 car driven by Carl Edwards. You will notice a lot of this is still rumor or unclear, but it has also been speculated that Tony’s good friend Ryan Newman might also be making a move to be with Tony on the new team.
Eighteen year old upstart Joey Lagano is the front-runner to take over behind the wheel of the #20 JGR car. It will be interesting to see where Riggs, and Sauter will end up.
The official announcements will come Wednesday, when he announces he is leaving JGR, and Thursday when he announced the deal with Haas/CNC. He might also announce the deal with Office Depot at that point.
Stewart’s ten years at Joe Gibbs Racing have been some fun and successful ones. He brought them two series championships in 2002 and 2005, while winning 32 races, and amassing winnings totaling more than $68 million. Buying into this new race team is just the next step in the progression of Stewart’s career. To this point he had already owned sprint car teams, and three racetracks.
As I sit here looking at my almost brand new bright orange Tony Stewart hat that I just took off my head, which really seems like such a waste of money at this point, I begin to wonder just how long it will take Stewart to regain the success he has enjoyed in the past. I personally don’t think it will take long at all. He will love being behind the wheel of a Chevy again, and will be looking to make a mark quickly. I am going to go as far as saying he will win the 2009 Daytona 500 to open the season. He has two wins in Daytona, but never in the 500, he has come very close before. With the new car leveling the field a lot more than in the past, and a Hendricks engine under the hood, combined with Tony’s knowledge of how to run and setup the car for the race, as well as many other drivers liking him as a drafting partner, I think he can get it done finally in the big one. He may have to get off to a good early start considering at the moment the two Haas/CNS cars are running 36th and 44th in points, which would mean he would either need to make the field on time, or use up his Past Champions Provisional starts until he cracks the top 35 in points on his own, and the 2009 points start to count toward the starting field. What better way to do it than to be #1 after the first race?
How do you think Stewart will do with his new racing team?
Do you think Stewart will have any success the rest of this year, or will he just be driving out the string and waiting for next year?
Tony Stewart is moving on to Stewart Haas Racing.
Two-tim NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart has been granted a release from his contract which would have run till the end of 2009. He will be heading to the team formerly known as Haas/CNC Racing. I say formerly because the team will be known now as Stewart Haas Racing. Tony will own 50% of the race team, as well as drive a car for the team. This new deal with Haas will also make Stewart the highest paid driver in NASCAR.
Haas/CNC currently have two race teams in the Sprint Cup Series, the #66, and #70 cars. Those cars are currently being driven by Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter. This team by the way runs Chevrolets, not Toyotas, a make of car in which he had all of his NASCAR success. It is believed Stewart will not be driving either of those numbers, but it is unclear what number he will be sitting behind the wheel of. Some have speculated that it might be the #14, the number driven by Tony’s idol A.J. Foyt.
It is also believed he will be moving from one depot to another. Of course his current main sponsor is Home Depot, but late last week he agreed to some sort of deal with Office Depot. The details of that deal are still unclear. Office Depot is the current sponsor of the #99 car driven by Carl Edwards. You will notice a lot of this is still rumor or unclear, but it has also been speculated that Tony’s good friend Ryan Newman might also be making a move to be with Tony on the new team.
Eighteen year old upstart Joey Lagano is the front-runner to take over behind the wheel of the #20 JGR car. It will be interesting to see where Riggs, and Sauter will end up.
The official announcements will come Wednesday, when he announces he is leaving JGR, and Thursday when he announced the deal with Haas/CNC. He might also announce the deal with Office Depot at that point.
Stewart’s ten years at Joe Gibbs Racing have been some fun and successful ones. He brought them two series championships in 2002 and 2005, while winning 32 races, and amassing winnings totaling more than $68 million. Buying into this new race team is just the next step in the progression of Stewart’s career. To this point he had already owned sprint car teams, and three racetracks.
As I sit here looking at my almost brand new bright orange Tony Stewart hat that I just took off my head, which really seems like such a waste of money at this point, I begin to wonder just how long it will take Stewart to regain the success he has enjoyed in the past. I personally don’t think it will take long at all. He will love being behind the wheel of a Chevy again, and will be looking to make a mark quickly. I am going to go as far as saying he will win the 2009 Daytona 500 to open the season. He has two wins in Daytona, but never in the 500, he has come very close before. With the new car leveling the field a lot more than in the past, and a Hendricks engine under the hood, combined with Tony’s knowledge of how to run and setup the car for the race, as well as many other drivers liking him as a drafting partner, I think he can get it done finally in the big one. He may have to get off to a good early start considering at the moment the two Haas/CNS cars are running 36th and 44th in points, which would mean he would either need to make the field on time, or use up his Past Champions Provisional starts until he cracks the top 35 in points on his own, and the 2009 points start to count toward the starting field. What better way to do it than to be #1 after the first race?
How do you think Stewart will do with his new racing team?
Do you think Stewart will have any success the rest of this year, or will he just be driving out the string and waiting for next year?
| 55 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Subscribe to this blog
