JOLIET, Ill. — Tony Stewart knows he’s taking a gamble by leaving NASCAR’s elite Joe Gibbs Racing team to join one that usually runs in the middle of the pack.
But Stewart also can imagine what it might feel like to be in Victory Lane at the Daytona 500 both as a driver and a car owner, so it’s a risk he’s willing to take.
Having recently negotiated a release from his Gibbs contract at the end of this season, the two-time Cup series champion announced Thursday that he will join Haas-CNC as an owner/driver in 2009.
“There’s no guarantees that this is going to be successful,” Stewart said. “But after sitting down and evaluating what the potential of this team is, I wouldn’t have made this decision if I didn’t think it would be successful and if I didn’t think it had the potential to be great.”
Stewart will be given a 50 percent ownership stake in the team, which will be renamed Stewart-Haas Racing. The two-car team fields the No. 66 car for Scott Riggs and the No. 70 car for Jason Leffler, and both cars are outside the top 35 in owners points going into Saturday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway.
The move had been widely anticipated, but Stewart confirmed it to his current crew members Wednesday.
“I wondered how it was going to feel,” Stewart said. “I wondered how everybody was going to react.”
But Stewart said after he spoke, several employees stood in line to congratulate him.
“We could never be mad or hold that against him,” said Stewart’s longtime crew chief, Greg Zipadelli. “His success, our success as a group, would not be possible without him.”
Franchitti to explore options.
After getting over the initial shock of team owner Chip Ganassi’s decision to shut down the Sprint Cup series team he was driving for, Dario Franchitti is trying to figure out his next step.
But Franchitti said he will wait until after a meeting with Ganassi today before seriously exploring other options.
“We’re starting to look around, starting to talk,” Franchitti said. “But really, nothing is going to happen until I speak to Chip (today) and see what his position is, see what his plan is for the future and see if it’s something I’m interested in. Then I can make a decision. I certainly owe Chip that much.”
Franchitti will drive for Ganassi’s Nationwide series team at Chicagoland today. Beyond that, he said, his future is unclear.
Qualifying canceled.
With a line of strong storms moving through the area, NASCAR officials canceled Sprint Cup series qualifying at Chicagoland Speedway.
The field for Saturday’s race will be set according to car owner points, putting series points leader Kyle Busch on the pole position and Dale Earnhardt Jr. alongside him on the front row.
The Associated Press
