SI is reporting that Tony Stewart is in talks to leave JGR and enter into an Owner/Driver deal with, you better sit down, none other than Haas CNC Racing.  Wow, I honestly can’t believe that I just read and repeated that.  Over the years, I have seen and heard of some weird owner deals that caused me to raise an eyebrow but this one is one of the best.  As a matter of fact, if this wasn’t coming from SI, I probably wouldn’t believe it.  (Even now, I still have doubts)

Tony is, without a doubt, an incredible driver but a certain amount of his success over the past decade has to be attributed to Joe Gibbs Racing.  I would caution Tony to talk to Michael Waltrip about becoming a driver/owner.  I don’t think anyone could argue that Michael was much more competitive when he was at DEI because, DEI was a multi-car team with more resources than the startup MWR.  Although, on a side note, Michael Waltrip is my pick to win at Talladega this weekend.  He’s due and when he was at DEI, he used to be a pretty good plate racer.

I actually started writing this article when I first learned of the rumor.  Because of the “day job”, I didn’t have time to finish it until now.  With that said and, after a couple of days to think on this one, I kind of like this possibility.  You’re probably wondering if I am crazy or what but, hear me out.  This could really work.  Tony is a hot commodity that can easily bring in sponsors.  He’s a two time cup champion with a larger than life personality.  I would bet that unless Home Depot is in a deal with JGR, they would go along with Tony no matter where he goes.  This would also give Chevy a chance to get Tony back in a Sprint Cup Chevy and out of Toyota.  Chevy would probably finance the whole deal just to do that.

Chevy’s assistance is a big one because Haas is currently at 28th in owner points for the Scott Riggs 66 and the currently driverless 70 is way back in 38th so it has to race in to the events.  On a brighter note, Ken Schrader is filling that ride at least for Talladega since BAM has shut down for the remainder of the year.  According the the Haas Racing website, they are currently partnered with Hendrick Motorsports for “engines and technical support”.  What that means is that Haas is in a satellite relationship with Hendrick much the same as the Roush-Fenway/Yates deal.

One person that should probably be a little worried about this one (besides Joe Gibbs), is Casey Mears.  I mean, it reminds me of that old game we played as children.  You know, “One of these is not like the other”.  Let’s look at the line up….  Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Tony Stewart and Casey Mears.  Although, between Casey and Jr, Casey has the most recent win.  He won the Charlotte last May and Jr’s was almost two years ago at the  Richmond race in May of 06.  Although, Casey doesn’t have the Jr. Nation behind him.

No matter how this one plays out, it’s going to be good.  Tony is a very animated character so the press conferences are going to be great!

(Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)