FanHouse NASCARRumors

Brad Coleman's entry and exit to and from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Hall of Fame Racing came to an abrupt halt after just one race, ESPN says.

[Brad] Coleman's fortunes changed quickly [...] According to Hall of Fame Racing, Coleman is now a free agent. He is no longer under contract to Hall of Fame.

Coleman's lone Sprint Cup race came at Michigan International Speedway in August when the 20-year-old driver replaced a fired J.J. Yeley in the No. 96 DLP Toyota. In that event, he started 37th and finished 43rd.

For giggles, I think I'll cite my previous post on Coleman's quick turn up to NASCAR's top division:

Hall of Fame sure isn't a place where a driver is going to go win championships, and knowing that Coleman just might be making a career mistake of jumping in a car that races in the Sprint Cup Series but doesn't compete.

Now I get that "just might be making a career mistake" isn't a "Coleman will be cut after one race"-type prediction, but come on, the writing was on the wall for this kid and his move to a team I wouldn't even drive for if offered the chance.

Yeah, Hall of Shame Fame Racing is just that bad, but this certainly leaves plenty of questions as to why it took so long for word to come out about Coleman.

UPDATE: Rusty Wallace released a statement Wednesday morning denying that he plans to make a return to NASCAR in 2009.

"I love Kenny to death; he's been trying to get me back in a car ever since I retired after 2005. While any rumors like this are certainly flattering, they're untrue. I have a long-term commitment to ABC and ESPN and I really love what I'm doing right now," said Wallace in a statement.

To me, this whole deal seems pretty bizarre, especially given that Rusty's brother put out the rumor. I have a feeling there might be more to this story than what meets the eye, but for now, it appears to be dead in the water.

Original: 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace is "considering" a return to NASCAR's top series in 2009, his brother Kenny Wallace said Tuesday night in an article posted on SPEEDTV.com.

"Six different crew members came up to me and said they'd heard a rumor Rusty was coming back to drive for [Dale Earnhardt Inc]," said Wallace in the article.

"These rumors get started in the Mooresville [N.C.] area because the [NASCAR team] shops are so close to each other and nothing can be kept secret for long. All I can say is that where there's smoke, there's fire. And he is definitely considering stepping back into a race car."

Rusty, who retired in 2005 after 25 seasons in NASCAR with 55 career wins, currently works as an analyst for ESPN and owns two Nationwide Series cars, one of which is driven by his son Steven.

I'm having a tough time not believing what Kenny said in the article for the sheer fact that he is Rusty's brother, and that that would seemingly prevent Wallace for spreading untrue rumors.

The rumors we've all read about Tony Stewart's car number and team sponsors when he joins Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009 seem to be working themselves true.

As The Charlotte Observer puts it, "multiple sources" are saying early this week that Stewart will definitely be in the No. 14 car and it will carry sponsorship from Office Depot and Old Spice:

Tony Stewart will drive the No. 14 Chevrolet in his debut next season with his own Sprint Cup Series team, Stewart-Haas Racing, and will share sponsorship from Office Depot and Old Spice, the Observer has learned.

A formal announcement of Stewart's car number and sponsorship plans will be made this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, multiple sources said Monday.

Announcing everything would obviously be a feel-good story for Stewart in his home state of Indiana at the track that he likely never stops thinking about.

The two-time Brickyard 400 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner hails from Columbus, Ind. -- 45 minutes south of the speedway.

Ryan Newman, who got his release from Penske Racing last week, hasn't been signed by Stewart-Haas yet according to the report, with it saying that he is mulling an offer from Gillette-Evernham Motorsports.