JOLIET, Ill. — Joe Gibbs Racing wanted Tony Stewart to stick around. When it became apparent he wanted to leave to pursue ownership with a different team, they agreed to let him go.
“It was brought to a head between Tony and us and I think the farther we went with it and the more we talked about it, we just reached the conclusion it would probably be best under these circumstances to go ahead and let Tony pursue another option here and let him get started and let us get started” in a different direction, Joe Gibbs said Saturday.
Stewart will be given a 50 percent ownership stake in the team, which will be renamed Stewart-Haas Racing when he joins it next season.
Stewart’s partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing produced 32 victories, two Cup championships and more than $68 million in winnings.
“The ideal situation is Tony drives for JGR, redoes the deal and retires here and we start a fourth car down the road,” J.D. Gibbs said. “That was our hope. … It is discouraging for us. We hoped for him to finish out his career here. … It just didn’t work out that way and we understand.”
Now Gibbs Racing moves on and it appears 18-year-old potential star Joey Logano might move on to the No. 20 car next season.
Joe Gibbs wouldn’t commit to that Saturday but did say that Logano was a candidate for almost anything.
“I think for us it’s early to say exactly what’s going to happen,” Joe Gibbs said. “This has kind of come on us kinda quick.”
But Logano, who drives on the Nationwide Series, is the logical choice, if you listen to the elder Gibbs.
“We try to put him in everything we can,” Joe Gibbs said. “He wouldn’t have done anything that would have impressed us more. He is 18, but I think he’s very mature as a racer. … Obviously he’s a huge part of our future. I think right now we just have to make sure we work through all these things.”
Joe Gibbs also said Stewart hadn’t asked for advice about ownership and didn’t expect him to do so.
“Tony is a pretty confident guy and owns other race teams,” Joe Gibbs said. Stewart has some ownership in sprint car teams and grassroots race tracks.
But being an owner can be demanding, just like being an NFL coach. Joe Gibbs know that well.
When he first became interested in NASCAR ownership, he said he paid a visit to Richard Petty to see what he thought about the possibility.
“I looked up to him and said, ‘I’d really like to get into NASCAR’ and he looks at me and says, ‘Why?’” Joe Gibbs said with a laugh. “That’s probably the same thing I’d say to Tony.”
STILL UNDECIDED: Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman says he still hasn’t decided who he’ll be driving for next season.
He’s in the final year of his contract with Penske Racing. “It’s not an easy decision,” Newman said Saturday.
One option might be to join Tony Stewart’s new team.
“He’s got an open seat,” Newman said. “Have we had discussions? I’ve had a lot of discussion with a lot of people.”
Newman said he believes Stewart “would be a good boss.”
“He’s proven to be successful in his open-wheel career as far as ownership with the dirt (track) teams,” he added.
Newman said he’d talked recently with Roger Penske.
“We’re working on a lot of things. It’s just a matter of when we decide we’re going to move on or part ways, if that does happen.”
Newman wants to compete for a points title.
“The most important thing to me is performance, winning a championship and achieving the goals outside of what I’ve done — a lot of poles, wins and winning the Daytona 500,” he said. “There are still a lot of things out there for me to achieve.”
SALUTE TO THE KING: Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of Richard Petty’s NASCAR debut. The King competed in a Convertible Division race on July 12, 1958 at the Columbia (S.C.) Speedway. The 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who to start the LifeLock.com 400 were to wear Petty’s signature Charlie 1 Horse hat as a salute before the race.
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