Tony Stewart will use childhood hero A.J. Foyt’s No. 14 when he moves to his new team next season, and Office Depot and Old Spice will sponsor the two-time NASCAR champion. Stewart chose beloved Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he picked up his second victory last season on his homestate track, to unveil his new cars at Stewart-Haas Racing. He’s leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the year to be part-owner of that team.
The Charlotte Observer is reporting that Stewart-Haas Racing is ready to announce the sponsor and number of Tony Stewart’s new Chevrolet for 2009. Stewart will drive the No. 14 Chevrolet in his debut season with his own Sprint Cup Series team and the car will share sponsorship from Office Depot and Old Spice. A formal announcement of Stewart’s car number and sponsorship plans will be made this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
ESPN is reporting that two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart has been granted a release from the final year of his driving contract with Joe Gibbs Racing after 10 seasons with the team. Stewart will formally announce his departure from the team Wednesday. On Thursday at Chicagoland Speedway, Stewart will formally announce a move to Haas/CNC Racing as co-owner and driver, sources close to Stewart said. Haas/CNC, which currently fields the Nos. 66 and 70 Chevrolets, will be renamed Stewart Haas Racing in 2009. The deal will make Stewart the highest-paid driver in NASCAR.
The Stewart Haas cars will carry different numbers. The No. 14, made famous in IndyCar racing by Stewart’s hero, A.J. Foyt, is available, but sources would neither confirm nor deny that as his choice. Stewart will own a 50 percent stake in the organization, but his financial investment in attaining it was not disclosed. Office Depot is rumored to have a role in sponsoring Stewart’s car. Ryan Newman remains the lead candidate to drive Stewart Haas’ second car, though no deal had yet been finalized Tuesday night. Stewart Haas will continue to receive chassis and engines from Hendrick Motorsports.
Max Siegel, President of Global Operations at DEI is currently in negotiations with major investors to buy Teresa Earnhardt out of DEI, a source close to the negotiations said Monday. It appears now that Teresa is finally willing to sell, and Siegel is working diligently with a number of potential investors to take the company over. Sources said Siegel would not just be buying a portion of DEI or a controlling interest, rather, he would be buying the entire company. Sources said, Teresa has agreed to walk away from the company entirely for the right price. That price is supposedly somewhere between $115-$130 million dollars. With one exception . . . Teresa would retain the rights to all “Dale Earnhardt’ and ‘Intimidator’ rights and merchandise sales.
UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that Dale Earnhardt, Inc. is not for sale. DEI president Max Siegel on Tuesday refuted an Internet report that company owner Teresa Earnhardt had commissioned investment banking firm Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc. to locate a buyer or financial investment partner. “We have not engaged Bear, Stearns or Goldman Sachs or anyone else,” Siegel said. “We are contacted all the time by outside firms about getting involved in the sport. We are not for sale right now. Nothing is imminent. Are we constantly weighing that as an option? Does that make sense? Quite frankly, we don’t know,” Siegel said. “Every team is looking for a way to bring in appropriate resources. Every single one. We haven’t engaged anybody. People obviously approach us — they’re approaching everybody. We’re looking to be around for a long time in future. We’re feeling pretty damn good about where we’re going, competition-wise.” Siegel was forced to approach his driving corps with assurance that the team is currently not for sale. “I have assured them it’s not true,” Siegel said.
Randy Moss is now a NASCAR team owner, announcing Thursday he’s purchased 50 percent of a Truck Series team. Randy Moss Motorsports will make its debut on July 19 at Kentucky Speedway with Willie Allen driving the No. 81 Chevrolet. The number was changed from 46 to reflect Moss’ NFL jersey number. Moss has been eyeing entering NASCAR for some time, but said he decided to buy half of Morgan-Dollar Motorsports rather than build a team from the ground up. Moss wants the team to eventually move up to the premier Sprint Cup Series.
Hendrick Motorsports is expected to announce Friday at Daytona International Speedway that Mark Martin will drive its No. 5 Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet next season. Hendrick Motorsports issued a media advisory Tuesday that it would conduct a news conference Friday afternoon at the track to announce who will replace Casey Mears in the No. 5 car. Martin has been talking with Hendrick Motorsports about driving full time or part time for the team next year and will be part of the announcement, sources confirm. Although Martin has said in previous weeks he wanted to continue with a partial schedule, sources indicated he might run a full season for Hendrick.