As expected, it was announced Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway that the U.S. Army would serve as the primary sponsor next season for the No. 39 Chevrolet the new team will field with Ryan Newman as its driver. The sponsorship, however, is only for 23 races. Team owner Tony Stewart said that he is close to closing a deal with another primary sponsor for the remainder of the schedule.
"But that announcement will be for another day. This is to announce that Stewart-Haas Racing has joined forces with the U.S. Army," Stewart said. "We immediately just gained a fan base of over 1.2 million soldiers who will be on our side each week."
Sources confirmed the Army sponsorship was for three years, renewable at the Army's option after conclusion of the 2009 and 2010 seasons, respectively. Attending the news conference along with Stewart and Newman was U.S. Army Major General Montague Winfield, who explained that the decision was made to move Sprint Cup sponsorship dollars to Stewart-Haas from Dale Earnhardt, Inc., mainly because of what the Army sees as "the star power" of Newman and Stewart as drivers.
"We looked at these two individuals very closely, with great interest," Winfield said. "And we liked everything that we saw."
Newman, who is moving to the Stewart-Haas team from Penske Racing at the end of this season, said he is excited about the new association with the Army.
"It's a unique situation for me. I have never gone through a transition like this with a sponsor and a team," said Newman, who has been behind the wheel of the No. 12 Dodge full-time for Penske Racing since 2002 and will finish this season there. "I couldn't have put any plan together better [for the future] than to be a part of Stewart-Haas Racing with the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet. It's truly an honor, and I look forward to it."
Winfield joked that whenever Newman and Stewart stand in front of the No. 39 Chevy, "you'll be able to visualize 1.2 million soldiers standing behind them. We bring our own fan club. It's a pretty big deal."
