Tony Stewart to form own team with CHEVY

[DainBramaged]

Add another line to Tony Stewart's resume: team owner. Joe Gibbs Racing announced it has agreed to release Stewart, a two-time Cup Series champion, from the final year of his contract. In turn, Stewart is purchasing what is believed to be a 50 percent stake in Haas CNC Racing and will drive for the team in 2009

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Wednesday it has agreed to release Stewart, a two-time Cup Series champion, from the final year of his contract. In turn, Stewart is purchasing what is believed to be a 50 percent stake in Haas CNC Racing and will drive for the team in 2009.

"I cannot thank Joe and J.D. Gibbs enough for the opportunity they gave me and for the support they've given me throughout my entire NASCAR career," Stewart said in a team statement. "I've learned so much from them and have a tremendous amount of respect for what they've built.

"I've modeled my USAC and World of Outlaws teams the same way they built their NASCAR team, and I made it a point to find good people to run those programs. If I've learned anything from my time at Joe Gibbs Racing, it's that Joe Gibbs' saying of, 'You win with people,' is incredibly true. They always surrounded me with not just good people, but great people, and the results speak for themselves.

A formal announcement is expected on Thursday.

"We've had a lot of success with Tony in our 12 years here at Joe Gibbs Racing," said J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR. "While this moment is bittersweet, we're parting on good terms and we know that each of us has benefited greatly from the other.

"We grew to two teams in the Sprint Cup Series with Tony and The Home Depot in 1999, and two championships and 32 wins followed. While our time together is coming to an end, we know there's still a lot of racing left this season and we plan to make the most of it. On behalf of everyone at JGR, we're proud of everything we've accomplished together with Tony and we wish him the best in pursuing his dream of NASCAR team ownership."

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/07/09/tstewart.gibbs.haas/index.html

[RoccoR5955]

1. Glad to see Smoke is getting off of the Toycar. n/t