Double Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart has denied rumours that he has asked for his release from Joe Gibbs Racing but did admit that his representatives had met with members of Haas CNC Racing to discuss a possible move in the future.
Rumours began to circulate about Stewart's future with the team he has driven solely for since switching from Indycar racing at the end of 1997 during NASCAR's recent ‘off-weekend' but as the Sprint Cup Series gathered at Talladega for this weekend's Aaron's 499, JGR President J.D Gibbs moved quickly to quell speculation that Stewart had already asked for his release from the #20 Home Depot team.
“There has been much speculation regarding the future of our driver, Tony Stewart,” Gibbs said from a pre-prepared team statement. “Tony is currently here through 2009, and from a Joe Gibbs Racing standpoint, we hope he drives for us longer than that and retires here. Tony is a great partner and a huge asset to Joe Gibbs Racing. Right now, we are focused on winning races and winning the next two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships under his current contract.”
Although it appears that some of the paddock speculation was a little wide of the mark it does seem likely that Stewart is beginning to look into a deal that could see him take on a duel role of driver and team co-owner with the struggling Haas CNC team currently top of the list.
Stewart said unconditionally that he had not asked Joe Gibbs Racing, his current team, for a release from the final year of his contract, which runs through 2009. Stewart did say, though, that he has presented several "what if?" scenarios to his current bosses.
“Right now we're going to do our due diligence on all the offers and try to figure out the best option for us,” said Stewart. “Obviously, it's a shock, when they don't know anything about it,” Stewart said of the reaction to the rumours at JGR. "But we wanted to be up-front and honest with them and say, 'Listen, this is what's being presented to us.'”
