Tony Stewart, Sprint head list of top-10 NASCAR farewells

In 18 years as a full-time Sprint Cup driver, Stewart won three championships, 49 races and set the bar for speaking his mind, whether it helped him or hurt him. “Smoke” is a true original and one hell of a wheelman. He will be sorely missed on the track, though he’ll continue as the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.

Nextel took over as the title sponsor of NASCAR in 2004, the first year the sanctioning body adopted the Chase format. Nextel merged with Sprint in 2005, and by 2008, the Nextel Cup had become the Sprint Cup. But Homestead is Sprint’s last race as NASCAR title sponsor and no replacement has been named. Monster Energy is the latest company reportedly in the running to take over. 

Rick Hendrick brokered the deal that brought Tony Stewart and Gene Haas together to form Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009. Since that time, Hendrick has built engines and chassis for SHR every year. But next season, SHR will switch to Ford and build engines in house. And, yes, there are some hard feelings over this deal.

Bowman has filled in for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. for 10 races this season in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. But he has no seat for 2017, as his future plans are up in the air.  His day job is working on the simulator at Hendrick, which he will continue doing.

In a surprising move, Scott decided to call it quits to spend more time with his family next year, rather than ride around in a usually uncompetitive Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. It takes guts to make a move like that and Scott deserves kudos for putting his family first.

As one friend put it, Bowyer will be the second-happiest driver in NASCAR to see the checkered flag fall at Homestead today. His one-and-done deal with HScott Motorsports really didn’t pan out at all, but next year Bowyer moves to the powerhouse Stewart-Haas Racing team.

Another driver about to exit the HScott Motorsports team, Annett will take his Pilot Flying J Travel Centers sponsorship with him to JR Motorsports, where he’ll race full time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2017.

Baldwin has fielded a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team every year since 2009, but he sold his charter to Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing and appears to be stepping away from team ownership.

The 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and 2016 XFINITY Series finalist is on the Joe Gibbs Racing lend-lease program. Next year, Jones will move to the JGR-affiliated Furniture Row Racing team for its new No. 77 second car. But Jones only signed a one-year deal, and he’s rumored to be heading back to JGR for a Cup seat in 2018.

Byron had an incredible season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he set a rookie record with seven victories in 23 starts. But he’s leaving Kyle Busch Motorsports to join Hendrick Motorsports. But before moving up to the NASCAR Premier Series, Byron will pilot a JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.