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HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Joey Logano acknowledged on Wednesday that he is a candidate to replace Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Sprint Cup car at Joe Gibbs Racing next season.

“It has been brought up a few times,” Logano said as he arrived at JGR for a morning workout. Logano wasn’t shocked to hear that Stewart will be released from his final year at JGR next season to pursue other opportunities.

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Thanks to Ed B. for the heads-up.

Our friends at Spin Out Zone’s iMagazine are reporting….

It is now official - Tony Stewart is out of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota after the 2008 season.

According to Stewart and Gibbs, Stewart will finish the season in the No. 20 Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series and Stewart will also compete in two Nationwide Series events at Chicagoland this weekend and again at Michigan on August 18th.

Jayski is reporting this, too, as follows;

#20-Tony Stewart has been granted a release from the final year of his driving contract with Joe Gibbs Racing after 10 seasons with the team… On Thursday at Chicagoland Speedway, Stewart will formally announce a move to Haas/CNC Racing as co-owner and driver, sources close to Stewart said. Sources close to both sides told ESPN.com the deal will make Stewart the highest-paid driver in NASCAR. Sources also said the Stewart Haas cars will carry different numbers. The #14, made famous in IndyCar racing by Stewart’s hero, A.J. Foyt, is available, but sources would neither confirm nor deny that as his choice. Sources said Stewart will own a 50% stake in the organization, but his financial investment in attaining it was not disclosed. Per Stewart’s agreement with JGR, he will not attempt to hire away any members of his current team. This was a significant key to making the deal happen because the only way that Gibbs felt comfortable with putting Joey Logano in the Cup Series so quickly was to surround him with Greg Zipadelli’s established, experienced crew. As ESPN.com’s David Newton initially reported, Office Depot will have a role in sponsoring Stewart’s car. Ryan Newman remains the lead candidate to drive Stewart Haas’ second car, sources said, though no deal had yet been finalized Tuesday night. Stewart Haas will continue to receive chassis and engines from Hendrick Motorsports. Haas/CNC’s current drivers, Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter, are ranked 36th and 44th, respectively, in the owner point standings. If the team’s performance fails to improve its points position during the second half of 2008, Stewart’s champion’s provisional will guarantee him a slot in the field for the first five races next season, presuming NASCAR doesn’t change the rule.(ESPN.com)

Continuing from SpinOutZone… an official release has been distributed to the media and this was included:

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Jimmie Johnson led 82 laps at Chicagoland Speedway last year and that’s when Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet snapped around and slammed the wall after losing a right-rear tire. “It knocked the wind out of me and I hit my elbow on the seat,” Johnson said after leaving the infield care center. “But I am just disappointed. We had such a great race car and I was trying to have something for the No. 20 (Stewart).” Johnson said the jolt when his tire blew was violent. “I thought the drive shaft came out of the car,” he said. “Just going down the back straightaway that sucker exploded.”

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