Gibbs Racing #20 - Tony Stewart/Joey Logano

**Lemmy-Boy** · 24th April 2008, 06:21

SI.com is reporting that Stewart looking for an early release with Gibbs Racings. The report also claims that Stewart will be joining HAAS CNC Racing for 2009 (and beyond) with partial ownership.

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...art/index.html

**harvick#1** · 24th April 2008, 06:31

yeah sure: why would be leave a championship team of Gibbs and go to a dump hole of HASS/CNC Racing

if anything RCR would pick him up, got a great friendship with Bowyer and Harvick, plus hes back in a winning Chevy program

**Haulin'AssAndTurnin Left** · 24th April 2008, 10:58

im not suprised that hes leaving, but for Haas CNC?. i didnt think Tony was ever happy driving a Toyota and to be honest i dont blame him.

**BenRoethig** · 24th April 2008, 13:01

He'd own Haas. Really when it comes down to it they're just cars 5 & 6 for Hendrick and the team did just build a 140,000 square foot state of the art facility. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a similar arraignment for another driver n 2008 as well.

**Aussie12** · 24th April 2008, 21:51

No! No! That's not true! That's impossible! Oooh, I was channelling Luke for the Empire Strikes Back then.

I'm a little sceptical about this one. Stewrt's got it made at Gibbs.

**Chaparral66** · 24th April 2008, 22:06

I think Stewart would be a fool to leave Gibbs before his contract was through. Gibbs almost singlehandely made Toyota competitve in Sprint Cup and we all know what kind of cash they have to support Gibbs. To leave Gibbs and go to what is still basically a start up team would be counter-productive, IMHO. Even if it did give him a chance to work with Chevy again, whom I'm sure would be very supportive on Smoke, why leave a championship caliber team to have to start from square one again?

That said, the only reason why this might have some juice is that now with Kyly Busch and Denny Hamlin on board, both of whom want to win as much as Stewart does, Tony can't really be the diva of the team like he wanted to be after Bobby Labonte left. They both shown they won't back off of him while competing against each other, and maybe that got Tony ripped. If that were true, Joe Gibbs would have to sit Tony down (again) and explain that attitude has no place on a race team. Even Jeff Gordon has to deal with the fact that he has Jimmie Johnson and now Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on his team, with Jimmie winning the Sprint Cup and Junior coming over to get one for himself. Tony can't be the prima donna, he has to find his proper place within the team, without sacrificing his intense desire to win.

**Galveston dunes** · 17th June 2008, 23:32

I've been reading some reports that say in part that Tony would be a majority owner and use the facilities at HAAS.
I'm not sure how valid these are but it sounds like a much better deal than just joining the HAAS org.
As far as the timing I feel now is a good time for it to happen, I don't believe his stature will be any larger the longer he waits.
Of course these are just my opinions.

**jslone** · 18th June 2008, 01:39

He wants to own a team,thats for sure.I have been hearing about this from some of my Nascar customers at work and they said pretty much the sme thing,if he goes to Haas,it would be an ownership deal.The thing I dont like is the fact that Smoke wants to win,he will not get that at Haas.I say stay with Gibbs and by Joey Laganos team,that way he is still with a contender and he gets to own a team.

**Sparky1329** · 18th June 2008, 04:24

Tony Stewart has done it all and quite well to boot:

1995 USAC Triple Crown Champion
1997 IRL Champion
2002 / 2005 Sprint Cup Series Champion
2005 / 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Winner
2006 IROC XXX Champion

He's already a team owner and a track owner/operator. He's a philanthropist and radio host. He's also 37 years old and won't be able to or want to race in NASCAR forever.

Some people speculate that Tony isn't thrilled with Toyota. I see it differently. Toyota might not be too thrilled about his solid affiliation with Chevrolet in his other-than-NASCAR pursuits.

So what's the downside of majority ownership in Haas CNC? Nothing that I can see. They aren't all that competitive right now but they also don't have Tony Stewart running the show. With technical support from Hendrick and an owner who understands both the racing side of things as well as the business side of things Tony might be just the guy to turn the organization around. And Tony might be at a point in his life where he's looking for another challenge. If he really makes this move I wish him well.

**oldhippie** · 22nd June 2008, 16:21

i think a driver should focus on DRIVING not team ownership
it would be best for a driver to leave team ownership to someone else
team ownership could be an option AFTER a driver gets out of the seat imho

tony stewart is a great driver and will do good no matter what brand he drives