Tony Stewart said in April he was considering leaving JGR. (Photo Courtesy of Toyota Motorsports) ยป More Photos
Tony Stewart is expected to announce today that he has been granted his release from the final year of his contract at Joe Gibbs Racing to move to Haas-CNC Racing next season as a co-owner/driver, multiple sources have confirmed.
Stewart said in April that he’s considering leaving JGR, the only team he’s driven for in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since coming into the series as a rookie in 1999. Over his Cup career, Stewart has won 32 races, two series championships and nearly $69 million in winnings in 338 career starts.
On the other hand, Stewart, 37, has always been strongly entrepreneurial. He owns championship-caliber teams in the World of Outlaws Series and USAC, as well as the fabled Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. He also has strong loyalties to Chevrolet, which has invested millions of dollars in supporting Stewart’s open-wheel efforts, including designing a new clean-sheet USAC
engine that Stewart has the exclusive rights to use for the first year.
And those factors may have tipped the balance for him to become an owner/driver.
“Years ago you guys all asked me if I would be interested (in being a NASCAR team owner) and I never thought it would even be an option, but I have to admit — that is something that has been intriguing about this so far is the possibility,” Stewart told reporters at Talladega on April 24. “Obviously in 2001 I started ownership in a World of Outlaws team and I have to admit, I enjoy that challenge. I enjoy the challenge of trying to help a part of something that grows and we’ve been a part of that as a driver at Joe Gibbs Racing. The idea that there’s that potential, that we might have that opportunity to be a car owner is something that is very exciting to know that there’s that opportunity.”