Stewart hasn't chosen teammate yet

Tony Stewart says he has not yet finalized a driver to be his teammate at Stewart-Haas Racing next season, but it is a decision he hopes to make soon.

Sources have indicated that Ryan Newman is the leading candidate for that ride, but there also are several other drivers available.


"There's a lot of drivers that are in the running right now," Stewart said Tuesday during a teleconference with reporters. "It's not narrowed down to just one driver right now."

Stewart said getting a second driver named is a top priority. It's been 10 days since he announced the formation of the new team with him being one of the two Cup drivers for 2009.

"Obviously I would love to announce it sooner than later," Stewart said. "As soon as we can get a driver signed, I want to announce it right away. That will be key, like we mentioned earlier, in being able to attract sponsors on the second car. We're still working on that."

Getting the right teammate will be a big part to whether Stewart himself is successful, Stewart said. Stewart leaves Joe Gibbs Racing, where he has had strong teammates during his career for the new venture, which will absorb Haas CNC Racing after this year.

"You definitely want somebody that you feel like is dedicated to what we're trying to do and realizing that we're taking an organization that's not had the success it wants but has the foresight to look forward and see what we're trying to accomplish and see that we're dedicated and going to put 110 percent into making this organization the best it can be," Stewart said. "You want the driver that has that same kind of attitude with what they do every weekend.

"You don't want a guy that is just content to run in the top 15 or top 20. You want a guy that has every intention every year and a realistic intention of saying, 'I expect to make the Chase [For The NASCAR Sprint Cup].' 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."

Stewart also must decide on who will serve as crew chief for the two teams. Currently Robert "Bootie" Barker and Dave Skog are the crew chiefs for the Haas CNC Racing team.

"We have to figure out exactly if we're happy with the crew chiefs that we currently have or if we need to look outside the organization - and at the same time looking at the leadership of what we have on the floor, and deciding [on] the team managers roles and the people that are going to really be the brain trust and the guys that you trust to get everything turned around," Stewart said. "Those are key positions right now that are a huge focus for us."