Recent spots for Armor All that feature NASCAR's perpetually unshaven Tony Stewart almost make one forget what emblem is now placed on the front of his race car. The television commercials show Stewart staring longingly at a shiny Chevrolet Corvette, despite the fact that he now rolls around the track in a bestickered-to-look-like-a Toyota Camry. Even though Stewart's contract with Joe Gibbs racing extends through 2009; rumor has it that he has been in talks with Haas CNC Racing to put him back behind the bowtie logo by next year. The team gets its Chevy engines and race support through Hendrick Motorsports. There is also an indication that Stewart is interested in a 50-percent stake in the Haas CNC team.
A more controlling team role seems like one that would better suit a vocal driver like Tony Stewart, as he would only have himself to yell at after one of his media outbursts. Plus, any problems with team management would be between he and himself. The situation's likelihood is still a bit far fetched at this point though, as Joe Gibbs Racing seems unwavering in releasing Tony Stewart from his contract early.
[Source: Star Tribune, Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty]
Audi A3 TDI Clubsport Quattro concept
Spy Shots: Production Audi TT Clubsport Quattro
Chevy Camaro getting early unveil at Indy in September
James Garner recovering from mild stroke
VIDEO: God's ringtone is a V10-powered Audi R8
First Drive: 2009 Ford Escapes, more of almost everything
Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang
Future Classic: 1984 Chrysler Minivans
_thumbnail.jpg "Lamborghini Reventon unboxed in Las Vegas")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mr. Oak @ Apr 25th 2008 1:06PM
This is really funny, He has done a couple of commercials since Joe Gibbs Racing went to Toyota, and there always seem to be a Chevrolet in the Ad.
Ted Kennedy Is My Chauffer @ Apr 25th 2008 1:14PM
Stewarts' sprint cars are powered / sponsored by Chevy / GM, so he has some loyalty to those he's already in business with.
motorman @ Apr 25th 2008 2:48PM
chevy has designed and built 410 cubic inch engines using the new corvette LS series for tonys sprint cars and also they gave him a chevy dealership when he won the NASCAR championship.
WolfgangNC @ Apr 25th 2008 1:21PM
Well I thought this was going to be a problem, everything Stewart owns is GM backed; but his actual job is backed by Toyota. I think Haas CNC is a pretty good fit, they share equipment with Hendrick.
bob cobb @ Apr 25th 2008 1:22PM
that fat bastard should go on a diet. I dont even follow nascar and Ive noticed that hes gained a bit of weight
Gabe @ Apr 25th 2008 1:23PM
I'll never understand why people get so hung up on the soap opera that is NASCAR...
Doug @ Apr 25th 2008 4:37PM
Not that I'm disagreeing, but it's still not as bad as the F1 circus.
Justin @ Apr 25th 2008 5:09PM
Gabe, I'll never understand why/how people watch baseball, or put loud exhaust on 4 cylinder engines. I simply don't try, as it's simply not my preference. I watch NASCAR because of the muscle cars and I like some of the ovals, but I'd agree that there need to be more road courses as well.
Hope that helps.
Gabe @ Apr 25th 2008 7:34PM
It's true, the F1 circus is on a whole 'nother level. I like the idea of NASCAR, just not the execution, I guess. If the cars were more related to their production counterparts, and if there were a few right turns mixed in for good measure, it might appeal. I am, however, fully aware that I am in the minority of US motorsport enthusiasts. My favorites are MotoGP and ALMS... Those barely scratch the surface of the NASCAR fan-base.
MJK @ Apr 25th 2008 1:25PM
All this ruckus over stickers! Sheesh
Benfolio @ Apr 25th 2008 1:34PM
Maybe Tony can show them GM drivers the RIGHT WAY to drive a ZR1 around an oval.
Travis Rassat @ Apr 25th 2008 1:58PM
As a fan of Tony Stewart, I've been reading a lot about this lately. It seems many fans think that Tony is a Chevy man, but I get the impression that Tony is concerned more about winning than he is about what brand loyalty. He wants the to be put in a position to win, regardless of the manufacturer. While Tony Stewart Motorsports is all Chevy these days, they were actually all Mopar until the end of 2006: (http://openwheeler.blogspot.com/2006/12/mopar-switch-roo-chevrolet-to-tony_12.html)
With that said, if being a team owner is what Tony wants, hooking up with a Hendrick satellite team seems like a good thing for the near term, but I imagine Toyota's desire to succeed in NASCAR (and reputation to spend money accordingly) is going to make them the better long-term choice. He probably would do well with a situation like Jeff Gordon and Hendrick have with the 48 team.
Last year, I actually kind of got the impression that Tony would get away from NASCAR after his contract runs out because of his dislike of the media and the NASCAR circus - he'd concentrate on Eldora, WoO, and USAC, and maybe take another swing at the Indy 500. That seems to be where his heart is.
It'll be interesting to see how this all works out.
ephatch02 @ Apr 25th 2008 2:22PM
Tony has stated just yesterday that he has no desire to race at Indy, he wants to stay in Nascar. He likes to go back and run some of the USAC events and the Chili Bowl for fun. What is happening now with his contract negotiations happened when he was up for renewal last time it happened. In yesterdays press conference he said that there is nothing wrong at JGR, he just wants to explore his options. It is way to early to really speculate on anything happening in the near future, the media is blowing it up. You are right about that he wants to be with a winning organization, but I believe his heart still lies with General Motors, they do alot of backing with his open wheel, late model and ARCA programs.
MoonRover @ Apr 25th 2008 3:33PM
Tony has been a GM fan all his life, I knew Toyota wasn't a good fit, once a Chevy man always a Chevy man, good for you Tony.
VP @ Apr 25th 2008 2:17PM
While it would be great to see tony back in the chevy camp, i think this is just to get some levarage against the Joe gibbs camp. Remember last time he renewed his contract, he got a pretty big offer from Chip Ganassi.
Red Star @ Apr 25th 2008 2:32PM
I really don't know how anyone can like that crybaby.
Freestyle4x4f150 @ Apr 25th 2008 3:14PM
big time crybaby, making millions and always has something negative to say. Maybe he can be the women driver of Nascar like Danica Patris because he is such a b##ch!
David @ Apr 25th 2008 4:13PM
Since NASCAR has diverged so much from its stock roots some one tell me what the difference between a toyo and a chevy other than stick on headlights and door handles? Compare nascar to supercars in oz which has the same noise factor and crash bang but turns left and right and the headlights are real and the bodies were originally built in a ford or gm factory AND you and me can buy the same body engine combination. Chevy lumina V8?? Hmm
Justin @ Apr 25th 2008 5:14PM
David, the difference between a chevy/ford/dodge and a toyota is that you can actually buy a similarly designed (of course not the exact engine, but enhanced pushrod v8 crate motors) engine from them (think GMPP, Ford Performance, Mopar), while you can't buy anything remotely like any v8 from Toyota (TRD only sells 4 cylinders from what I can find on their website)
Benfolio @ Apr 25th 2008 4:49PM
To be fair the engines are still manufacturer specific.