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Stewart leaving Gibbs Racing

Tony Stewart is expected to be released Wednesday from his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season, freeing the two-time NASCAR champion to purchase his own race team. Stewart's contract runs through the 2009 season, but he was reluctant to commit to the extension Gibbs officials have been pushing for since last summer. He instead explored free agency, where numerous options were presented to Stewart ranging from ownership to seats driving for other top teams. Mike Arning, a spokesman for Stewart, said an announcement concerning Stewart's future would be made Wednesday. ESPN.com reported late Tuesday night he would be released from his contract. Assuming Stewart does buy Haas-CNC, he'll re-establish his long relationship with Chevrolet. The partnership was partially fractured this season when Gibbs moved to Toyota. General Motors continued to sponsor the sprint cup teams that Stewart also owns. Stewart is expected to gut the organization and bring in his own people, including a second driver. Fellow Indiana native Ryan Newman is among those rumored to be in line to join Stewart's team next season.  (From AssociatedPress.com)

Haas-CNC Racing penalized for LMS violations

NASCAR handed down its most severe penalties yet on its new car Wednesday, when the crew chiefs and car chiefs for Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter were suspended six races apiece for tampering with the rear wings on their Chevrolets last weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Additionally, crew chiefs Bootie Barker and Dave Skog were fined $100,000 each. Derick Jennings and Thomas Harris, the car chiefs, were not fined but their suspensions are unprecedented. All four must sit out until the July 12 race in Chicago, and are on probation through the end of the year.

Riggs and Sauter were each docked 150 driver points, penalties that severely hurt the struggling teams. The cars are both fielded by Haas-CNC Motorsports, which was docked 150 owner points for each Chevrolet. Haas general manager Joe Custer is listed as the owner for Riggs' No. 66, and Margaret Haas is listed as the owner of Sauter's No. 77. The points deduction is the second largest in NASCAR history, only behind the 151 points Jeremy Mayfield and his team were docked for using an illegal fuel additive at Talladega in 2000.  (From SportsIllustrated.com)

Tony Stewart leaving Joe Gibbs Racing?

Here is a pretty shocking article from SportsIllustrated.com that says that it is all-but-done that Tony Stewart will be leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season to join Haas CNC Racing.  Apperently, Tony will recieve partial ownership of Haas CNC Racing (who gets engines -- and some say much more -- from Hendrick Motorsports) and will most likely drive the No. 66.  Here is more from the article:

As one source told me, it's not that Stewart's unhappy or that there's internal dissension; it's that he's in need of a new challenge. Gibbs and Stewart will be friends for life, but they've been together for a decade, and some type of change is in order. Hendrick's organization also has proven to be one of the best organized, from top to bottom. With inside access to the team through their relationship with Haas CNC, Stewart can acquire the tools he needs to build a program as he sees fit.

There's no word on whether Home Depot or crew chief Greg Zipadelli will follow Stewart to his new venture; decisions on those moves will surely come within the next few months. For the time being, though, Stewart will focus on winning a third title with the Gibbs program, which currently has all three of its cars ranked in the top 7 in the point standings. Winless so far this season, Stewart is still a viable title threat; and with five top 10s in eight starts, he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. (From SportsIllustrated.com)

Papis to driver Haas No. 70 at road courses

Haas CNC Racing has hired Max Papis will drive the No. 70 Chevrolet during the two road-course races on the Sprint Cup Series schedule. "I'm very excited to have this opportunity," Papis said. "After testing for Hendrick Motorsports and developing more knowledge about the COT, I'm proud and honored to carry over that experience to the Haas CNC Racing program." The Cup Series road-course races are June 22 at Sonoma and Aug. 10 at Watkins Glen. (From Nascar.com)