Freshrubber Blog

Kevin Harvick has told Richard Childress he would like to leave after this season, according to multiple sources. Harvick has one year remaining on his contract with RCR, but the Shell/Pennzoil sponsorship deal on the No. 29 ends at the end of this season, and Harvick is trying to move with it to Stewart-Haas.

Tony Stewart has said his team is interested in running a third car in Sprint Cup in 2010. Adding Harvick in a package with a strong sponsor would be a masterstroke.

Childress is in a tough spot. He could hold Harvick to the contract and try to re-sign Shell/Pennzoil, but in a performance-based business, the Stewart-Haas option, undoubtedly, is more appealing to the gas and oil company. If Shell/Penzoil decides to leave, Childress has to find $15 million to $20 million in sponsorship to replace it — a very difficult prospect in this economy

With Tony Stewart’s leadership and ability to add sponsorship, as well as the chassis-and-engine partnership with Hendrick Motorsports and the infrastructure investment made in the team by Gene Haas, Stewart-Haas has become one of the two or three best teams in Sprint Cup in less than a year. Stewart leads the points, Hendrick’s Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are second and third, respectively, Stewart-Haas’ Ryan Newman is seventh and Mark Martin is 11th (his four wins lead the season).  Sportsillustrated