Logano definitely looks like a viable replacement for Stewart at Gibbs

Joey Logano took home the Meijer 300 last Saturday at Kentucky Speedway. AP Tim Tuttle's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Tim. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

Joe Gibbs, speaking at a media conference in early 1997 to announce the signing of Tony Stewart, explained the philosophy of expanding his team was based upon finding the right driver.

"If you don't have the right driver, all you're doing is running laps or hitting the wall," Gibbs said. "You have to start building the team with the driver."

Gibbs' approach isn't traditional. Most owners want to find a sponsor first, then look for the best driver available. That's exactly the situation at Richard Childress Racing, which has a sponsor but no driver for 2009.

Gibbs began (with a Cup debut in 1992) as a one-car team, initially with Dale Jarrett and then Bobby Labonte. It didn't expand to two cars until 1999, adding Stewart, and to three cars until 2005, when it started with Jason Leffler for 19 races before releasing him.

Labonte departed following 2005, leaving JGR with two seats to fill. They did it with Denny Hamlin, who made the Chase twice, and J.J. Yeley, who didn't win any races or make the Chase. Gibbs snatched up Kyle Busch to replace Yeley, fortifying the three-car lineup.

OK, enough history. What does this have to do with today?

Although Leffler and Yeley didn't work out, their profiles as USAC national champions were very similar to Stewart's and Gibbs thought they could perform at the same level. When they didn't, they were gone. Gibbs has steadfastly stuck to his philosophy of not running teams for the sake of running. It was a primary reason Gibbs hadn't started a fourth team.

By the middle of last year, JGR knew it had found its fourth Cup driver: Joey Logano. He was 17 and on his way to winning NASCAR's Camping World East Series championship. They would groom him in the Nationwide Series this year and in 2009, give him a few Cup races for experience and have him ready to run at the front in 2010.

Logano was the perfect fit, the youngest member of a team with all-stars Stewart, Hamlin and Busch, perhaps the best lineup in the Cup.

It was a great plan. It probably won't happen.

Stewart, sources say, continues to move toward exiting Gibbs at the end of this season. His destination, reported previously, is Haas CNC Racing. Negotiations are ongoing and owner Gene Haas, who is serving a 24-month sentence in federal prison for tax fraud, is offering Stewart an equity stake and control over the rebuilding of the organization from top to bottom.

Haas' fortune isn't known because he's the sole owner of Haas Automation, which builds CNC machine tools and is a worldwide leader. But industry sources say he's on his way to becoming a billionaire even as he waits for his release from prison, projected for October, 2009.

Haas is willing to spend whatever it takes to build up a powerful, multi-car Cup team -- top drivers, crew chiefs, mechanics and engineers. The effort has the full support of Rick Hendrick, whose team already supplies Haas with chassis and engines. Yes, we've heard about owners willing to spend lavishly -- most recently Bobby Ginn -- but Haas is willing to put it in writing to get Stewart.

Gibbs has Stewart under contract through 2009. JGR met the initial reports of Stewart wanting to leave early with stiff resistance.

Logano could change JGR's attitude and provide a solution for Stewart to gain his release through a contract buy-out.