Tony Stewart close to picking a driver for his new team

Tony Stewart close to picking a driver for his new team

Ryan Newman is rumored to be Stewart's choice to join his two-car team for the 2009 NASCAR season.

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart said Tuesday he has not yet picked a teammate for his new two-car team in 2009 but hopes to make his choice "as soon as I can."

"Obviously I'd love to announce it sooner than later," the Sprint Cup Series driver told reporters in a teleconference. "I think it will be a key to being able to attract sponsors to the second car."

Stewart, a two-time Cup champion, recently said he would leave Joe Gibbs Racing after this season to become co-owner/driver at Haas CNC Racing, which will be renamed Stewart-Haas Racing.

The Indiana native scheduled a news conference for Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, to announce the car number and sponsors for his Cup car next season.

Stewart, who currently drives the No. 20 Toyota for Gibbs, won the Brickyard race last year for the second time in his career.

There is widespread speculation that Stewart has chosen the No. 14 -- the number used by his racing hero A.J. Foyt -- and that he'll have primary sponsorship from Old Spice and Office Depot, which currently sponsors Carl Edwards' No. 99 Ford.

Ryan Newman is considered a strong candidate to join Stewart's new team. Newman won this year's Daytona 500 and recently said he would part ways with Penske Racing after this year.

But Stewart, 37, said "there are a lot of drivers in the running right now. It's not narrowed down to just one driver."

Asked what he wants in a teammate, Stewart said, "I want somebody that expects to win races and expects to be a contender to win the championship every year, and if they don't have those intentions, that's not a guy I want driving my race cars.

"You don't want a guy that's just content to run in the top 15 or top 20," he said.

latimes.com