Newman still considering options

Newman is probably the hottest driver in the market at the moment with vacant seats still open at a number of teams. Besides the Stewart-Haas drive he has been linked to, seats at Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing remain open for next year.

This year's Daytona 500 winner says he is getting closer to a decision but wouldn't confirm or rule out any of the three options he has been rumoured to be considering.

"Tony Stewart called to offer me a ride in one of his sprint car teams, but outside of that not a whole lot," Newman joked while talking to reporters in a teleconference.

"A lot of things were going and rolling before my announcement but I would say that I'm entirely dedicated to the No. 12 Alltel Dodge throughout the rest of the season and the people at the company and Penske Racing itself.

"And I don't know, I don't have an announcement to make but I'm sure you'll here about it at some point."

Newman, who has spent all of his Sprint Cup career with Penske getting twelve wins and finishing four times in the top-ten in the championship, said that his recent results have led him to question the effort his team is making to be consistent challengers for wins and the championship.

"I'm not trying to sound smart but I told and believe in what [Roger Penske] says, 'efforts equals results' we all know that," Newman said. "If you don't put the effort you don't get the results.

"The bottomline is if you have to figure out as the company head, the chairman or whatever, what your weakness is, whether it's your driver, your crew chiefs, your engine department, your engineering, your shock program, the guys that are setting the pressures in the tyres, it could be anything.

"It could be a group of things. But I just think collectively the effort is not getting us the results."

The 30-year-old hinted at the people he would work with next season as being one of the key factors to his decision. When asked about Stewart-Haas Racing being a championship-calibre operation, he said the people inside the team would in the end dictate how soon the team can be a top challenger.

"I still say it's a people business," said Newman. "It's the people that drive the performance, it's the people that drive how fast the cars are going, how well people communicate and how well you can keep that cycle running.

"Some things cycle out. Sometimes you're on top, sometimes you're on the bottom and it might take a year, it might take fifteen years. We've seen Roush struggle, we've seen Roush be dominant and Hendrick the same way. So, whether it's Stewart-Haas or Penske Racing, I still say it revolves around the people."

Rejoining former Penske crew chief Matt Borland, who currently works for Haas CNC Racing, is said to be one of the main reasons for Newman to consider moving to drive for Tony Stewart in 2009.