Stewart nails down 50% interest in Haas Racing

JIM UTTER

jutter@charlotteobserver.com

Thursday, Jul. 10, 2008

Tony Stewart’s decision to leave Joe Gibbs Racing was all about opportunity.

Stewart on Thursday announced he has been offered a 50-percent interest in Haas CNC Racing, which will field two cars in the Sprint Cup Series next season with Stewart as one of the drivers.

“This is a once of a lifetime opportunity. I don’t think an offer like this has even been made to a driver in this series,” Stewart at Chicagoland Speedway. “This allows me to race competitively in NASCAR’s top division while carving out a place in this sport long after my driving career is over.

“I’ve won races and I’ve won championships and I know I could’ve continued to do that at Joe Gibbs Racing, but to attempt to do those things as a car owner is something that really appeals to me.

“There’s a whole new sense of appreciation and satisfaction that comes with success when you’re both a driver and an owner.”

The new organization will be renamed Stewart-Haas Racing and will continue to operate out of a 140,000-square-foot shop in Concord, N.C., and is owned by Oxnard, Calif.-based Haas Automation Inc.

Haas has been involved with motorsports since 1995 through various technical partnerships with teams in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR, including Hendrick Motorsports, which will continue to provide chassis, engines and technical support to Stewart-Haas Racing.

“Tony Stewart is a proven champion, on the track and off,” said Joe Custer, Haas’ general manager. “Tony Stewart is a racer with a keen business sense, and we’re proud and excited to have him as a key partner of our team.”

Stewart, the 1999 Cup rookie of the year, has made all 338 of his Cup starts for the Gibbs team and won championships in 2002 and 2005.

Winless so far this year, Stewart has won at least two races in each of his first nine full seasons. Only Jeff Gordon (39) and Jimmie Johnson (34) have more victories than Stewart’s 32 since 1999. He has won $68,549,075 in his career.

Stewart declined to name sponsors or, car numbers or the driver which will be his new teammate in 2009 during Thursday’s announcement.

Stewart, 37, already owns two teams in the U.S. Auto Club and two Sprint Car teams in the World of Outlaws. Since Stewart formed in November 2000, Tony Stewart Racing has earned eight owner championships, the most recent being the 2007 USAC Sprint car title with driver Levi Jones.

The move also brings Stewart back into the Chevrolet fold in NASCAR. Stewart has been driving Toyotas since JGR changed manufacturers prior to the start of the 2007 season.

Stewart said he would not work with Haas until after the completion of the 2008 season. "That's only fair to Joe Gibbs Racing," Stewart said.

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