Dec
14
Stewart to go with Chevrolet in 2003
Filed Under Chevy Cars
That’s either the best car or the second-best car I’ve ever had at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Stewart said after finishing third in the Tropicana 400.
But that performance was a case of too little, too late for Pontiac, which suffered a major blow when Gibbs announced Sunday that his team, the carmaker’s Winston Cup team, will switch to Chevrolet next season.
The loss of Gibbs drivers Stewart and Bobby Labonte leaves Pontiac in a difficult position, with only three obscure cars in its stable. But Pontiac, which will introduce a new body style next year, hopes to sign additional teams for the 2003 season.
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Pontiac has been very supportive of my career, on and off the track,” Stewart said. But I don’t want to get beat by a rules package. I want what everybody else has. If I’m going to get beat, I want it to be by another driver. And lately, we’ve seen areas where the Pontiac team could use some help.”
Stewart, regarded as perhaps the best driver who hasn’t won a Winston Cup championship, came to Chicago in seventh place. Labonte, the 2000 Cup champion, stood 22nd.
The only other regular drivers in Pontiacs this season are Ken Schrader (33rd in the standings), Johnny Benson (35th) and Stacy Compton (36th). But the teams of Schrader and Compton face uncertainty about their 2003 sponsorships.
Pontiac has been a great partner, but we feel we’ll be in a better position as a race team [with Chevrolet],” Gibbs said, a reference to sharing information and lobbying NASCAR for competitive advantages. It’s just pure numbers for us. That’s really the reason for the change. Depending on how our testing goes, we may race the Chevrolet at the end of this year, but only if it tests better.”
Stewart likes the weight some of the other Chevy teams will carry in pressing NASCAR officials for competitive edges. Maneuvers like that have helped Dodge make an impact in the second year of its return. All of the teams seem to be looking for one kind of relief or another.
