Another piece of the Stewart-Haas Racing puzzle will be fit into place Thursday when the race team will unveil the U.S. Army as primary sponsor of Ryan Newman’s No. 39 car for next season, sources have confirmed to NASCAR.COM. The announcement is scheduled to be made at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, site of this weekend’s Sprint Cup event.
The Stewart-Haas organization now has both its Chevrolets sponsored for next season – no small feat in this economy – with Office Depot and Old Spice set to back the car of team co-owner Tony Stewart. It’s another setback for Dale Earnhardt Inc., which had the Army on its No. 8 car this season. DEI driver Paul Menard announced last week that he and his Menard’s sponsorship would be moving to Yates Racing for the 2009 campaign.
Ryan Newman will be announced as driver of the No. 4 Chevrolets for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009 on Friday says The Charlotte Observer. Sources confirmed Wednesday that Newman would join Tony Stewart in driving for the team next season. Stewart’s representatives announced Wednesday that the team’s second driver would be introduced at a 10:30 a.m. news conference Friday at Michigan International Speedway, the site for this weekend’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races. Newman’s decision leaves open his former ride at Penske, Stewart’s current spot at Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 33 ride, a fourth team being added at Richard Childress Racing. Joey Logano is expected to replace Stewart in the No. 20 at JGR.
Jeremy Mayfield will take over a new NASCAR Nextel Cup ride four races early, replacing Jeff Green in the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing entry for the rest of the season. Mayfield is leaving Bill Davis Racing, and the No. 36 BDR ride he is giving up will be shared for now by Craftsman Truck series regulars Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson. Mayfield will replace Green in the 66 Chevrolet, beginning with Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Haas team announced earlier this month that Scott Riggs, currently with Gillette Evernham Motorsports, would replace Green or No. 70 driver Johnny Sauter in 2008. It hasn’t been determined which car Mayfield will drive next year.
Haas CNC Racing on Wednesday announced that the team has signed Scott Riggs for the 2008 Sprint Cup season. The car Riggs will drive next season – No. 66 or No. 70 – will be determined at a later date. Jeff Green currently drives the No. 66, while Johnny Sauter is in the No. 70. Both drivers will be evaluated during the final seven races before Haas CNC makes a decision on its ‘08 lineup. Riggs is wrapping up a disappointing four-year stint in the No. 10 Dodge under the Ray Evernham/Gillett Evernham Motorsports/Valvoline umbrella.
Haas CNC Racing has hired Matt Borland as its competition director, overseeing the cars of Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter. Borland, who won 12 races as Ryan Newman’s crew chief at Penske Racing, was released last month by Waltrip’s struggling Toyota team, where he had served as Dale Jarrett’s crew chief. The Michigan native turned down an offer to become Waltrip’s competition director, and was also pursued by Evernham Motorsports.
“The first thing was I had to decide in my own mind was, am I done with crew chiefing for good? Is it time to step away from that?” he said Thursday. “I decided that it was, and then I looked at some different opportunities that were different from crew chiefing, yet would still be involved in racing. This was the best for me and my family.”
Borland’s background in engineering, which helped Newman win a series-best eight races in 2003, fit in with a Haas CNC team that’s building its own rolling road wind tunnel. Haas CNC general manager Joe Custer was on the telephone to Borland soon after his divorce from Waltrip’s team was complete. The new position will satisfy Borland’s desire to spend less time on the road, a factor that played into his split with Penske after last year. Right now, he has no plans to return to a crew chief’s role.