Report: Stewart, Newman and Truex to form powerhouse team
Quote selected text Published July 12th, 2008 in NASCAR News
Tony Stewart is looking to field a powerhouse Sprint Cup team immediately. On June 27th, I was the first to write that Stewart would leave Gibbs Racing for an ownership stake in HAAS CNC with Chevrolet buying Stewart out of his contract, his sponsor being Office Depot, and his new teammate being Ryan Newman in the Burger King car. It looks like we may be have to add something to that story.
Last night, sources confirmed to me that Newman is a done deal and an announcement is coming soon. What I also learned, is that Martin Truex Jr. may be joining Newman and Stewart. Sources said, Stewart is now looking to field a powerhouse three-car team, and sponsors are lining up to be a part of the newly formed venture. According to sources close to the situation, the Office Depot and Old Spice deals are set, but sources also said Burger King and UPS are working diligently with Stewart to sponsor his second and third racecars, if they can convince Truex Jr. to come along for the ride with Stewart HAAS Racing.
Although DEI is working very hard to re-sign Truex Jr. and are throwing some huge numbers at the driver of the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, Stewart is trying to convince Truex Jr. to join him and Newman at the newly formed Stewart HAAS Racing in hope of forming a powerhouse racing team. And, Truex Jr. may be ripe for the picking.
The New Jersey native, close friend and fishing buddy of Newman, has said repeatedly that he wants to stay with DEI. As recently as the day before Daytona qualifying, Truex Jr. said he and DEI were close to getting a deal done. However, the debacle last week at Daytona may have driven a major wedge between Truex Jr. and DEI. His team was docked 150 points for a NASCAR infraction regarding a roof template that didn’t fit his Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, and Truex Jr. was furious with the mistake.
In addition, rumors have swirled all week that team owner Teresa Earnhardt is looking to sell the legendary team to President of Global Operations, Max Siegel. There has also been speculation that Paul Menard, driver of DEI’s #15 car, and his wealthy father, may take their sponsorships dollars to Yates Racing, and that DEI might also shut down Regan Smith’s #01 car due to a lack of sponsorship interest. Sources said, all of this DEI drama is weighing heavily on Truex Jr.’s decision to re-sign with the only race team he has ever known. Stay tuned…silly season is just beginning.
- Newman confirmed for Tony Stewart team
- Truex and Stremme under consideration to replace Newman
- Report: DEI close to re-signing Martin Truex, Jr
- Martin Truex confirms 1 year contract extension with DEI
- Source: Newman has verbal agreement to drive for Stewart-Haas
Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. in a three-car powerhouse team at Stewart-Haas Racing… if this indeed happens, this work be cool to see and with the right equipment in place, 2010 would be the year this team wins races and a championship run for Stewart. (2009 is a learning curve year…)
Kinda far-fetched; I’ll believe it when I see it. Truex will have his opportunities, though.
I think if Stewart Haas Racing is going to a three-car team (could be possible as the GM said on SPEED today that they are expanding when asked about hiring new people), that would be huge, but for Truex, he should look at leaving DEI and going somewhere different, its time for change. The #12 is open pending Newman leaving, the #33 is open, the #20 is open, and some possible additions with Penske Racing going to a fourth car team and some others as well, no Penske Racing announcement on that…
There are openings, plus theers Casey Mears, Scott Riggs and Nationwide Series drivers as well.
Penske cant get 3 team to work ( this is their 3rd attempt)
why would they go to 4?
Ron F. wrote:
this is not far fetched at all, this will happen.
Tony will do whatever it takes to be successful. And Chevy will do all that it can for Tony. The slick Haas wind tunnel was a major factor when Tony was weighing his options. He could easily get 3 teams up and running but at least 1 of them would struggle. Sponsors really like Tony too. A new powerhouse team is not far fetched at all.
NONE of those HAAS cars are going to be garunteed a spot at the daytona 500….so its possible you could see Smoke miss the race…sorry to say it…but it could happen…so his fans need to be ready for that…as much as id love to see him in the race…you never know
The relationship between these 3 guys are really a good one . they hangout in the garage and goof off and this is something Tony wants bad. MONEY is not a problem either. Haas is loaded, were talking millions, more money than any other teams out there probably. if they want this to work it will work. this week Tony had more people coming up to him congratulating him on getting out of this deal with JGR and now I know why. I’m happy for him and I know the other teams are worried because their are sponsors that are waiting at the door to sign with him. He has full factory support from Chevy and he will be a force to be reckoned with right out of the box. Watch and See.
Darrell wrote:
you got to be kidding if you belive what you just said. your in for a big surprise at speedweeks in Feb.
Darrell wrote:
Tony has the past champions provisional though…it’s the other two I’d be worried about if this indeed happens. I mean, both Ryan and Martin are decent in qualifying, but you never know.
Chelsea wrote:
Martin and Ryan have no trouble qualifying, they will rock
How well Truex and Newman qualify at Daytona isn’t going to have anything to do with whether or not they make the race unless they can someone manage to qualify on the front row. Sure, they’ll probably both strong in the Duals but we all know how easily wrecks can happen at that track… and that’s all it would take to keep them out of the race.
Remember, Stewart is the 2005 NASCAR Cup Series Champion and the only more recent champion in front of him is Jimmie Johnson and unless Johnson falls from the top 35, Stewart is the most recent champion period.
So Tony Stewart is guarunteed a starting spot in the first 5 races because of the championship provisional, second, the #66 Haas car isn’t that far out of the top 35 and that would mean only the third car, unless Stewarts buys someone elses owners points would be the only car that needs to qualify on speed.
In a way I’d like to see this happen just to see it ruin somebodies career (that’s always fun to watch) Look no matter how good the EQ is, in today’s NASCAR being anything other then a Past Champ or a Rookie, a car outside the top 35 is not where you want to go. That team already has one car that WILL NOT be in the top 35 for the start of next year, and they have one that is struggling to get and stay in. The last thing that teams needs is to sign a superstar which will make two of their cars next year outside of the top 35 to start, and to be with a team that does not have any/many attempts from this year screws that teams plans over in the event of canceled qualifying.
Wow great attitude Fisha.
Atleast they are going to give it a go intsead of
being like you standing on the sidelines laughing at their effort.
It’s not a great attitude its a realistic attitude from someone that has been involved in racing for 16 years. In racing you set yourself up with all these great hopes you come out with nothing but a broken soul and no longer that drive to continue to compete. I’ve seen it happen to drivers in all levels of racing, and watching Truex race since I was little that is not something that I want to see happen.
You miss one race, ok you still have a decent shot to rebound, but you miss two races or more your season is all but done. No matter how big of a name you have now Sponsors don’t care, they want to be in the race and in the top 10 every time that car is on the track, and most importantly they don’t want their multimillion dollar advertising campaign to show up at the track on Thursday only to turn around and have to go home on Friday or Saturday.
What happens when Scotty shows why he isn’t with a top level cup team and that team drops outside of the top 35 too? Then next year it’ll be 3 superstars in 3 cars that are not locked in. Smoke could save one of those cars for 5 races with his PCP, but Newman and Truex don’t have that. Now there is no doubt in my mind that both Newman and Truex could qualifying on time for 5 weeks and run solidly enough to get in the top 35. However when you are involved with racing you look at it different then the average fan. Each race car has over a million parts/pieces that could break, then there is driver/crew error to add in,, and track conditions then you also have 42 other “idiots” out there on the track with you, now lets not forget about qualifying, you have those parts/pieces, then you also have track conditions, then you have the driver (who are human and do make errors), and then you have the biggest factor of all Mother Nature.
Look I’m a Smoke fan and I’m a Truex fan, and if Smoke can Guarantee Truex a car in the top 35 then that team IMO would be a viable option, but fact is In today’s NASCAR Cup series if you are not in the top 35 it can ruin a career, especially for somebody who is just entering their prime years in the series.
so your solution is for them to fold
in their own misery?
Signing yourself up for something like this, you understand the first year may be rocky but you are looking long term, not short term.
robby gordons 2005 season was a disaster.
however he stuck with it and he is holding his own.
It really isn’t appropriate to say a statement such you want to see someone career ruined.
you can argue all you want but most people agree that that statement is a terrible statement to make about anything
Darrell wrote:
How do you figure that none of the cars are guaranteed in the 500???? Doesn’t Smoke have past champions provisional?? I think that this 3 car powerhouse would be awesome to see!! Even if it is only the 2 cars, I think those 2 drivers in the right equipment have an excellent chance next year! GO SMOKE!!!
The statement “In a way I’d like to see this happen just to see it ruin somebodies career (that’s always fun to watch)” was SARCASM!!!!! How could you not tell that….?
But it was also a statement on what will happen if Truex goes to any team outside the top 35.
And I’m not sure what you are talking about a team folding and stuff, you do understand that this team currently only has two cars and they want to expand to 3 We are all talking about the expansion car. so I’m not really sure what you are talking about.
Ive been talking specifically about truex in all my comments thus far
its a joke that you people call yourselves race fans and claim to know about racing. now i know none of you know anything about racing. if you think that Tony, Martin, or Ryan would have any trouble qualifying for any race you are pretty darn stupid and i or anyone else close to the sport for tell you the same thing . what kind of team do you think were talking about here, a bunch of losers, were talking about the best drivers in the sport, now i know you don’t know anything or you would not even be talking the way you are.
Howie McDowell wouldn’t have had any problems qualifying at Texas if a freak accident didn’t happen, AJ Allmendinger probaly would have made the race at Cali if it wasn’t for rain.
So Howie you call us stupid for thinking he may not make the race, well I hate to tell you that makes you look like nothing more then the uneducated paparazzi who is so Naive that they don’t even realize that qualifying isn’t as always cut and dry as going out there and making two fast laps.
Remember this third team for Truex would have nothing to fall back on, No owners points, no PCP, No attempts in the previous year, heck as of now they don’t even have Truex having a race win from the previous year to fall back on if it rains.
Howie Motorsports Photography wrote:
Hey now! I was in agreement…I think that expanding to a third team and adding Martin would be great…dont lump me in with the rest of ‘em!
There should be a comma between Howie & McDowell.
im starting to think some of you are crazy on here, your talking about people who arent even involved with this organization…
Howie WTF are you talking about? I’m starting to think that you don’t even have a race ticket much less media credentials….
Do you even know what the word Comprehend means, do you know how to read, do you even read, or do you just have bottled responses in a word document that you just cut and paste?
Truex doesn’t have a DNQ in 4 years…. Well lets see how good that does him when he is in a car that has no 2008 owner points and qualifying gets rained out sometime within the first 5 races next year… Or better yet, when he gets taken out in a Duel and wasn’t fast enough in Time Trials to get into the 500 on time.
Don’t get me wrong I’m a Truex Fan and have been ever since I was a little kid and I’ve seen him racing Modifieds, and whenever I get the chance to go up to Mountain Speedway (not much as we run our Modified at Mahoning) I go up to watch Ryan race. But that still doesn’t change the fact that at this point in his young career, with the current idiotic way NASCAR’s top 35 rule is, that him going to Any team (I Don’t care if it’s JGR’s 4th team) that is not locked into the top 35 is not only a choice that he doesn’t need to make, but is a chance towards ruining his career that he doesn’t need to take.
Oh Howie here is something I just saw that goes along with your little stat about Truex not having a DNQ in 4 years, Mikey Waltrip went 7 years without a DNQ up until he left DEI, and before that he went 12 years without a DNQ. But that didn’t help him in in 1998 when he missed a race, or in 2006/2007 when he was missing races…..
were not talking about Michael and the mistakes he made or that he isnt in the same class of drivers as Martin were talking about Tony coming to Daytona with 3 cars that will make the race. forget about rain or any other excuses Stewart/Haas will make the races in 2009.
No you are right, Mikey is in a Class that Sr could not even get into, a Two time Daytona 500 winner.
And Howie trust me as somebody who works with a few race teams (albeit local/regional touring ones) You can never forget about the rain and you can never forget about all the stuff that can go wrong. As a team you have to concentrate on the stuff that can go wrong so that way you are prepared and have plans in place IF it goes wrong.
Howie I love all you have said. None of the three would have trouble qualifying and last I looked the #66 car was 35th in points so it is there now. Let’s hope it stays there. Newman is a qualifying fool and Truex has always been steady. I want that young man out of DEI. He deserves better than he’s getting. He is a nice young man and is a racer. He would be basically with Junior at HMS with this deal. Dave Despain said on Wind Tunnel last night that Smoke has a co-signer and his name is Rick Hendrick! and add Chevy to that as well. I can’t wait wait until next week at Indy! The announcements will probably come there. I do think peeps are crazy to think otherwise that Smoke etc wouldn’t qualify.
And once again in racing Sh*T Happens. If you people can’t see that, or can’t comprehend that then I suggest you either stop pretending to be a fan of the sport of Motor Racing or take a sabbatical and educate yourself.
Well if i was Stewart i would be on TEI’s front doorstep trying to buy the 01 since their closing it down anyhow and it’s 33rd in points and shelve the #70 for the rest of year.
Fisha695 wrote:
Whats the difference? hes not making the chase this year with dei,that company is folding like a cheap tent and wouldnt make the chase next year with dei I think staying with dei is more of a so called chance of ruining his career he would be a lot better off making a new start with tony he would be ignorant to stay with dei period.
I think Smoke will figure out how to get them all owner points and use champions provisionals if necessary. Can’t see Truex or Newman not qualifying for a race period! Especially in HMS equipment.
With all of the free agent drivers more than likely going to Stewart-Haas, what does this leave for the #33 and the #12? It’s pretty obvious that the #20 will have Logano driving, but there’s only one reasonable option for those two cars, who would have thought that Penske and RCR would be fighting over Casey Mears?
wrote:
I am thinking that David Reutimann will be leaving and might hookup with RCR.
If it was between streme and mears i’d pick streme casey just doesnt have enough fire in his viens.
George Thompson wrote:
your right their, I wouldnt pick Mears either, but they dont have much to choose from, the program stinks at Penske, they came out of the box smokin at DIS at that was it. Dodge should have never come back.