Its true - tony is leaving gibbs!

D

DieHardDirtFan

What? What title?
Stewart to leave JGR, join Haas CNC as part owner
Formal announcement set for 2:30 p.m. ET Thursday
By NASCAR.COM
July 9, 2008
12:35 PM EDT

Add another line to Tony Stewart's resume: team owner.

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Wednesday it has agreed to release Stewart, a two-time Cup Series champion, from the final year of his contract. In turn, Stewart is purchasing what is believed to be a 50 percent stake in Haas CNC Racing and will drive for the team in 2009.

"I cannot thank Joe and J.D. Gibbs enough for the opportunity they gave me and for the support they've given me throughout my entire NASCAR career," Stewart said in a team statement. "I've learned so much from them and have a tremendous amount of respect for what they've built.

Admiral move
Tony Stewart is taking a risk by, in essence, venturing out on his own. But in doing so he has a chance to secure a greater legacy, writes Joe Menzer.

Complete story, click here
Watch: Thursday, 2:30 p.m. ET
"I've modeled my USAC and World of Outlaws teams the same way they built their NASCAR team, and I made it a point to find good people to run those programs. If I've learned anything from my time at Joe Gibbs Racing, it's that Joe Gibbs' saying of, 'You win with people,' is incredibly true. They always surrounded me with not just good people, but great people, and the results speak for themselves.

A formal announcement is expected on Thursday. Fans can watch the news conference live on NASCAR.COM at 2:30 p.m. ET (WATCH LIVE).

"We've had a lot of success with Tony in our 12 years here at Joe Gibbs Racing," said J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR. "While this moment is bittersweet, we're parting on good terms and we know that each of us has benefited greatly from the other.

"We grew to two teams in the Sprint Cup Series with Tony and The Home Depot in 1999, and two championships and 32 wins followed. While our time together is coming to an end, we know there's still a lot of racing left this season and we plan to make the most of it. On behalf of everyone at JGR, we're proud of everything we've accomplished together with Tony and we wish him the best in pursuing his dream of NASCAR team ownership."

Stewart was linked to Haas CNC Racing as early as Talladega weekend in April. At that time he said, "A wise person told me it never cost a dime to listen, so right now we're all ears."

Stewart ran five races for JGR in 1997 in what is now known as the Nationwide Series while competing full-time in the IRL IndyCar Series. After winning the IndyCar Series championship in 1997, Stewart upped his Nationwide Series schedule with JGR to 22 races in 1998 in preparation for his rookie season in the Cup Series in 1999.

With a then rookie-record three Cup wins, Stewart collected Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors and finished an impressive fourth in points. After finishing second in Cup points in 2001, Stewart scored his first championship in 2002 by 38 points over Mark Martin. He followed that championship with another title run in 2005 when he beat Greg Biffle for the crown by 35 points.

Stewart's parting from JGR at the conclusion of the 2008 season will end the longest active driver/crew chief relationship in the Sprint Cup garage. Greg Zipadelli will remain as crew chief of the No. 20 Toyota in 2009.

"We've accomplished so much in our 10 years together on the track, and off the track, he's been like a big brother to me. It's a friendship I cherish and expect to continue, even while he stays at Joe Gibbs Racing and I move on," Stewart said.

"No matter what, Tony and I will remain close friends," Zipadelli said. "I know when it comes to the No. 20 team, things will obviously be a lot different next year, but I remain as committed as ever this year to winning races with Tony and securing our spot in the Chase to contend for a third championship."

Stewart currently is 12th in the standings, just two points ahead of Kevin Harvick.

"We can still win races and compete for a championship and go out on top. For 2008, that's my number one goal," said Stewart, who will also compete for JGR in the two Nationwide races still remaining on his original, nine-race series schedule -- Friday at Chicagoland and Aug. 16 at Michigan.

Speculation is that Nationwide rookie Joey Logano will move into the No. 20 car vacated by Stewart. However, sources confirmed to NASCAR.COM that no decision has been made on who will replace Stewart on the team after this season.

"The 20 car has been one of the all-time great partnerships in NASCAR for the last decade with the combination of Tony, Zippy, The Home Depot and Joe Gibbs Racing," team owner Joe Gibbs said. "While we are losing one piece of the puzzle, we think the No. 20 team will remain strong for many years to come."

There is no word on Haas CNC's current stable -- including Scott Riggs in the No. 66 and the No. 70, which has had several drivers this season.
 
Stewart's gamble at team ownership admirable one

Driver has chance to secure a greater NASCAR legacy

By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
July 9, 2008
12:23 PM EDT
http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/opinion/07/09/jmenzer.tstewart.the.right.call.haas/index.html# http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/opinion/07/09/jmenzer.tstewart.the.right.call.haas/index.html# http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/opinion/07/09/jmenzer.tstewart.the.right.call.haas/index.html# http://www.nascar.com/services/rss/

This had been coming like a runaway freight train since the Sprint Cup Series visited Talladega in April.
And perhaps Tony Stewart had at least subconsciously decided to jump the tracks at Joe Gibbs Racing even long before that, like the summer before when JGR made the switch from Stewart's beloved Chevrolets to Toyotas.


Whatever the case, it became official Wednesday that Stewart, one of the most successful and popular drivers in NASCAR history, is leaving JGR after a 10-year run at the organization that produced 32 Cup victories and two championships. The formal announcement will come Thursday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway, where Stewart will race this weekend in his familiar No. 20 car sponsored by Home Depot.
Next year all that will change. Stewart could be in a No. 14 car -- that's a number that is available and was made famous by his racing hero, A.J. Foyt -- and apparently will be sponsored by some combination of Office Depot and Old Spice.
Or he could be driving the No. 66 or the No. 70 car. It will be his choice. Those cars will be owned by him as he moves into a new role as co-owner of what will be called Stewart Haas Racing in 2009. Haas CNC Racing currently fields the No. 66, driven by Scott Riggs, and the No. 70, driven unsuccessfully by several different drivers.
Much of Stewart's immediate future is cloudy now, but some of it is not. You can bet that both Riggs and the driver-by-committee arrangement of the No. 70 will be gone next year if not by the next minute, likely replaced in the long run by the far more formidable combination of Stewart and probably Ryan Newman.
That in itself and all alone will take Stewart Haas Racing to a level of competitiveness that the organization never achieved as Haas CNC Racing.
stewart.193.jpg


Smoke on the move


Tony Stewart will leave Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of this season to become driver and part owner of newly named Stewart Haas Racing.

Why do it?
Stewart could have signed a lucrative long-term contract extension and played out the remainder of his driving career at JGR, so why make the jump to claim 50 percent ownership in an organization that has never won a single Cup race? Furthermore, why go into business with a guy, Gene Haas, who currently is serving jail time for tax evasion?
Why? Because Stewart likes owning things; he likes more control over the events around him. Just watching him drive the tractor after a hard rain at Eldora Speedway, the dirt track he owns in Rossburg, Ohio, is confirmation enough of this.
But it also could be simply because this was too good a deal for him to pass on.
Stewart reportedly will be paid a driver's salary that will be the highest in the sport. That wasn't likely to happen if he had stayed at Gibbs, although he could have pulled in well more than $5 million a year there, too.
In addition, he receives what sources have said is a 50 percent stake in a race team that suddenly will have the kind of sponsorship dollars to make itself a player in the sport. The Haas CNC operation already was getting its engines and other technical support from Hendrick Motorsports -- an arrangement that almost certainly will get even more cozy now that Stewart will be sitting in the director's chair.
Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, has long held great respect for Stewart. Plus they share a passion for Chevrolets. Sure, there is infrastructure that must be built on and improved -- but ultimately it means that the equipment at the new Stewart Haas Racing should be good coming right out of the gate. And now the right drivers should be in place to take advantage of that.
Stewart is taking a chance, no doubt. But you don't win 32 races and two Cup championships without gambling now and again when the time is right -- and sometimes when you're not even sure it's right, but you play a hunch.
This is Stewart's rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his mark in NASCAR beyond simply being a top-notch driver. To say he had to take it would be wrong. But to say it was an offer he couldn't refuse -- at least in the end -- proved to be correct.
What's next?
Where does Stewart's defection leave Joe Gibbs Racing? Well, with the hottest young driver in the sport still in the fold in current points leader Kyle Busch, who has won a series-high six races already this season, the team should get on down the road just fine.
Also remaining in JGR's stable of talented young drivers are Denny Hamlin, who is as good as it gets when his head is on straight (not always a sure thing), and Joey Logano, the obvious heir apparent for the No. 20 car.
Sources insisted Wednesday that it's too soon to say for certain that Logano will be in the No. 20 machine. But who else can fill Stewart's ample seat? Despite the fact that Logano's experience is limited -- he's driven in only four Nationwide Series events and no Cup events to date -- Logano appears to be, by everyone's measure, the next great Cup star in the making.
That discussion, what little of it there will be before the formal announcement, is for another day "way down the road," according to one source.
For now, Stewart and current crew chief Greg Zipadelli plan to chat with the media at length Thursday (WATCH LIVE). Joe Gibbs and J.D. Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing are scheduled to follow suit prior to Saturday's Chicagoland 400.
It fits that Stewart, who hasn't won a race this season, is defending champion of the Chicagoland event. This is his weekend, his time in the spotlight as he embarks on a new phase of his life and his career.
Only additional time, and perhaps lots of it, will tell if he has made the right choice. In the meantime, you have to admire the guy for at least being willing to make the leap when he could have played it much safer with his legacy.
 
wow; tony is now a go or go home car; he can always fall back on the past champion's provisional.....at least for 4 or 5 races.
 
stewart

Stewart has been talking about owning his own sprint nextel car for a long time now. I knew once Busch started doing good it was just a matter of time. I am a big Stewart fan and I wish him lots of luck and success. If anyone can make it work, Tony Stewart can !!!


Brenda
 
rgtaylor said:
awsome news Go Stewart!! anyone know about Zippy is he going with?
Click to expand...

Articles I saw, said Zip is staying with Gibbs:( But time will tell. Stewie being an owner in the deal, I expect he'll bring Zip over sooner or later. I would think their partership is a lot like Dale Jr. and Eury's, and can't imagine Tony leaving him behind.
 
Haas CNC offered deal Stewart couldn't refuse

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
July 10, 2008
04:33 PM EDT
JOLIET, Ill. -- He had never felt any desire to become an owner on NASCAR's premier circuit, never felt any need to entangle himself in the politics of the Sprint Cup tour. He was happy and content running his three racetracks and four open-wheel teams -- until he stepped out of a car he owned after winning the prestigious Chili Bowl midget race in 2007, and everything suddenly changed.
"Climbing out of that car and knowing I have played a part in building that team," he said, "was a feeling like I had never had before."
And that feeling ultimately led him to Thursday, when the two-time NASCAR champion formally unveiled Stewart Haas Racing, an entity that will compete on the Sprint Cup Series next season. Stewart left longtime home Joe Gibbs Racing a year before his contract expired, because the powers that be at what's now called Haas CNC Racing offered him a deal he couldn't refuse -- 50 percent ownership in return not for money, but for his ability to win races, court sponsors, and turn a struggling organization around.
"It's not a decision that was made overnight," Stewart said before a packed media room at Chicagoland Speedway. "This was a long process, and not something that was easy by any means. We did weigh our options heavily as to what was out there, and the opportunity to have ownership of a race team was, in my opinion, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don't know if an offer of this magnitude has ever been made to a driver."
Officials from the Haas team first approached Stewart at the end of last season. The driver took the offer back to his current employers, Joe and J.D. Gibbs, who he said were shocked at what had been offered to him, as well as the idea that Stewart might move. "We had always thought I would start and finish my career as Joe Gibbs Racing," Stewart said.
But the idea of a legacy, of securing a place in NASCAR long after he retires as a driver, was too much. "I have an opportunity to be where you are now," he told Gibbs, who won't be available for comment until he arrives at Chicagoland on Saturday. Stewart didn't want to be held to the final season of his contract and race as a lame duck, so the team agreed to release him a year early. And the path was cleared for the formation of Stewart Haas Racing, whose black and red logo was unveiled Thursday, and "where I'll be next year and hopefully for the rest of my life in NASCAR racing," Stewart said.
Although Stewart said he signed the contract a few weeks ago, he will race his No. 20 car for Gibbs the rest of this season, and the new entity won't compete under the Stewart Haas banner until next year. As for sponsors, car numbers, and a second driver, Stewart offered no details, saying all that is a work in progress. While Stewart doesn't own the whole company, "we'll accept his lead" on personnel matters, general manager Joe Custer said.
Stewart takes ownership of a team that has struggled since debuting on NASCAR's premier circuit in 2002. Gene Haas, who founded the team, is serving a federal prison sentence for tax evasion. Both of the organization's cars are currently outside the top 35 in owner points, and without a guaranteed berth in Saturday night's race. But the team does receive engines, chassis, and technical support from Hendrick Motorsports, which has won the past two championships on the Cup level.
"I really feel like when you look at this program, we have support with Hendrick engines, chassis, technical support," Stewart said. "I feel we have the variables in place to go out and be competitive right away. At the same time, we know it's going to be a rebuilding and an adjustment process. How long will that adjustment process take? We don't know."
Saying goodbye to the only NASCAR team he's ever known wasn't easy. Stewart went to the Gibbs shop Wednesday, addressing employees as to why he was leaving at the end of the year. After he finished, there was applause. People came up to shake his hand. Everyone seemed to understand, and he said he slept better Wednesday night than he has in weeks.
And now, he's looking forward. "Obviously, this is a huge day for me," he said. "This is a turning point in my career."
 
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