What would Luigi make of this? The little Fiat 500 from Pixar's Cars said he only follows Ferrari, but then his cousin shows up, decked out in NASCAR livery. This original 1966 Fiat 500 has been tuned by Italian racing garage Giannini, with a tiny 700cc two-cylinder engine capable of taking the quaint little Italian up to 100 mph and return a staggering 60+ mpg. To set it apart from ordinary Cinquecentos, this example has been decked out in decals mimicking Tony Stewart's NASCAR racer, ready to cheer from the sidelines at the Piston Cup. The car was listed in excellent condition with no rust, and recently sold on eBay for just $7,700.
For some time now, rumors have been flying around the NASCAR pits about Tony Stewart's future with Joe Gibbs Racing. Many speculators felt certain that Stewart would break out of his Gibbs Racing contract for a chance at part ownership of the Haas/CNC team. However, both sides assured that any resolution would not be reported before season end. Not quite. possibly tiring of incessant media questioning, the official details have now been made public. Joe Gibbs Racing will in fact be releasing Tony Stewart from his contract a year early. As expected Stewart will take on a part ownership role with HAAS/CNC, set to become Stewart Haas Racing.
The deal leaves no burned bridges between Stewart and his ten-year home though, as both parties stand to gain plenty. After all, it's rumored that Stewart's move will award him the largest salary in NASCAR. Not to mention that Joe Gibbs Racing has a stable of eager up and coming drivers willing to jump in the empty seat. Part of the deal also assures that all of the Home Depot car's talented crew stay a part of Joe Gibbs Racing. Stewart's new role as owner sees him moving from Home Depot sponsorship to the more fitting corporate image of Office Depot.
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.
Following this past weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup second place finish, Tony Stewart was not a happy camper. When interviewed after the race, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver sounded off on his great dislike for the series tire sponsor, Goodyear. Many other competitors, from the likes of Dale Earnhart Jr. to Jeff Gordon, also made comments on the difficult tire/track combination experienced during the race, but the hot-headed number 20 was the only one to forgo any sugar coating. He hinted that the tire manufacturer's departure from other prominent race series was a move resulting from incompetency. He claimed, "They (Goodyear) don't have the technology and the people that are smart enough to build a tire. This was pathetic today." He also threw out a comment on how he no longer felt safe in anything equipped with Goodyear tires, including street use. When all was said and done, Mr. Stewart delivered the sponsor a severe verbal beating.
On Monday, Goodyear issued a reply to the heated commentary with a rather text book response. It contended that the company's exit from numerous race series was simply due to the high development costs necessary to compete, not technical inability as implied by Stewart. They also defended their choice of rubber compound by pointing out the lack of issues during numerous test events, along with the absence of complaints after the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. They even mentioned that despite driver grievances, in the eyes of Goodyear and NASCAR, the event was satisfactory. Although, as anyone that received a report card knows, satisfactory should not be the ultimate goal. Goodyear will get a second chance when the series returns to Atlanta in the fall. Hopefully Tony Stewart will have to eat his words once a more extensively tested tire compound is developed for the event.
When the clocks ticked over to 2008, Toyota Motorsports VP Jim Aust declared that the Camry would not go winless this season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup like it did during its inaugural season last year. Things got off to a good start during qualifying for the Daytona 500 when Toyota went 1-2 in the second Gatorade Duel qualifying race. This past weekend, history repeated itself when Joe Gibbs Racing had a pair of Camry cars go 1-2 again, but this time on race day at the Kobalt Tools 500. Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Camry won last weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway with teammate Tony Stewart taking silver, both driving Cup cars festooned with Camry stickers. Not only did Kyle Busch win the race, but he remains atop the points standing after previous points leader Carl Edwards got penalized for something to do with his oil tank lid at last week's race in Las Vegas. Many of the drivers also complained after the race about their tires that were supplied by Goodyear, with Tony Stewart, always ready to give a good quote, saying, "If I were Goodyear, I'd be really embarrassed about this weekend and what they brought us here." Nevertheless, he and teammate Busch pulled out the win for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota. Looks like it's gonna be a good year for the imports in NASCAR.
Remember when Joe Gibbs Racing dropped Chevy for Toyota last September? Not only did Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin trade in their bow tie stickers for an adhesive Camry grille, but Toyota gained some serious driving talent. The move has paid off quickly for Toyota, which just scored its first NASCAR win thanks to Denny Hamlin, who won the second Gatorade Duel qualifying race in Daytona yesterday thanks to his teammate Tony Stewart, who finished in Second Place. Stewart was able to both give Hamlin push and hold off a charging Jeff Gordon to give Hamlin the win. It's not a points race, but with Hamlin taking the checkered flag and Stewart the No. 2 spot, it means there'll be three Toyotas in the first three rows of the Daytona 500 this weekend.
In other NASCAR news, Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued his comeback by winning the first Gatorade Duel qualifying race yesterday. Add that to his victory in the Bud Shootout earlier this week, and it's clear that Junior has regained an edge he lost during his many year driving for DEI. Jaqcues Villeneuve, meanwhile, who made his NASCAR debut in trucks late last year, crashed his Toyota during the second Gatorade Duel yesterday and took out three other cars. You know what they say, rubbin's racing!
The 2008 Barrett-Jackson classic car auction is underway, and we will be reporting from Scottsdale to bring you live photos from the auction throughout this evening. The first four days have seen hundreds of vehicles sell for a variety of prices - everything from a 1992 Yamaha dirt bike that went for $2700 to Tony Stewart's Monte Carlo racecar that had a final price of $300,000. The premier vehicles of the event will be going across the block today including the very first 2008 Shelby GT500 KR, 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8, and 2009 Corvette ZR1 that should all command high prices. Other cars capable of reaching high triple digit figures include two 1960s concept cars, the General Lee Dodge Charger, and Carroll Shelby's personal 1969 GT500 Convertible. The vehicle we are most looking forward to, though, is the car-crunching, fire-breathing Robosaurus.
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