McClure was also fined $40,000, ordered to pay $60,000 in restitution to Eastman-Kodak for filing a false invoice, and ordered to reimburse the Internal Revenue Service $25,000 for its investigation.

The court ruled that he must also re-file his income tax returns for the years 2002 through 2004. In that timespan, McClure said he received nearly $270,000 in payments from a friend for services provided by his race team that was not reported on his income tax filings.

Earlier this year, McClure plead guilty to all counts, and agreed to pay fines, and refile his tax returns.

McClure is not the only NASCAR team owner to have tax trouble. Gene Haas, former owner of Haas CNC, is currently serving 24 months in prison for filing false tax returns, witness intimidation, and conspiracy.

Originally, Haas plead not guilty, but after four others indicted in the case plead guilty, Haas changed his plea to guilty.

Haas is projected to be released October 9 of this year.

While in prison, Haas was ordered to turn his team over to Margaret Haas and team GM Joe Custer. Tony Stewart bought equity interested in the team last summer.

An announcement of the release is expected Wednesday, with a formal announcement coming on Thursday that Stewart will move to Haas CNC.

The new team will be called Stewart Haas Racing.

No deal has been reached with Ryan Newman, the lead candidate to drive the second Stewart Haas Chevy, at this point.

Office Depot is said to have a role in sponsoring Stewart’s car.

An announcement could come as early as when the series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Allstate 400 on July. 27th.

ESPN is also covering the story.

With Casey Mears officially announced as being out of the ride next season, Stewart said that he may look in that direction.

He said:

There’s no one in the garage area that’s not going to look in that direction. You’ve got to look at it. Absolutely. At this morning’s announcement [on the No. 5 car], I don’t know. [My decision] may be pushed back even more. We’ll wait and see. It’s however long it takes to make the right decision. There’s a lot of variables to look at. We’ve got all the information except what happened today. The good news is we still have time to look at it.

He is also still considering ownership with rumors circulating about him moving over to Haas CNC as a partner. Thursday, the rumor was him moving over and taking Martin Truex Jr. with him, having Bass Pro Shops and UPS as sponsors.

But today, Captain Thunder, via Jayski, is saying that Stewart will move to Haas with Ryan Newman and Office Depot and Burger King as sponsors. Chevy will buy Stewart out of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, sources say.

Mark Beech from Sports Illustrated pointed out that Truex seems to be having the same problems the Jr. had last season. Sure his engines aren’t blowing up every other week, but he is still having similar problems.

Beech wrote:

Truex’s on-track problems seem to be the same ones that Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent so many years complaining about before he left to join Hendrick Motorsports at the end of last season: a lack of resources at the shop and a lack of horsepower in the engines.

He also called the contract situation:

a further distraction that only seems to be exacerbating the problem. How else to explain his ability to overcome DEI’s limitations to qualify for the Chase last year, and his current inability to be competitive?

While I’m not going to pretend that I have any definitive answer, my guess is that everyone else got better. If you’re standing still, but everyone else is moving forward, then you end up behind. And that’s what’s happening at DEI.

Personally, DEI needs an owner who is committed to the success of the program on the track. And, to be succuessful in NASCAR, you need money. Does that mean a seven-post shaker rig? Probably. You need to be testing and have the equipment to get the job done.

Being a good racer and driver is only part of the equation. You need good equipment, team chemistry, and a little bit of luck. Sometimes, luck is hard to come by. But, the other two aspects come from a committed owner. Teresa Earnhardt is not a committed owner. Truex may slowly be learning that.

That may be why Mark Martin wants out. It may be why the U.S. Army was looking around. It could be why sponsors are not lining up to be on the No. 01 Chevy, no offense to Regan Smith.

I wish Teresa would sell the company, or at the very least, change the name. After all, something that is quickly approaching mediocrity should not bear the name Dale Earnhardt.

A Tony Stewart-backed Haas CNC might not be a bad option, considering.

Jayski also says he is hearing that Stewart to Haas CNC is a done deal, and that the second driver is rumored to be Martin Truex Jr. with Bass Pro Shops and UPS as sponsors.

While Stewart has one year left on his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, and hasn’t asked to be released yet, sources familiar with the matter think the move is coming.

The unnamed source said:

[Tony's] talking to every major sponsor that is available out there for this Haas deal. I don’t know if it’s done, but it sounds like it’s very close.

Ryan Newman is rumored to be a potential driver for the second Haas CNC car. Office Depot and Old Spice are considered to be the front runners as potential sponsors.

Office Depot will leave Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 99 Ford at the end of the season. Aflac will take over sponsorship of the No. 99 next season.

Joe Custer, who has been running Haas CNC while owner Gene Haas is in prison for tax evasion, didn’t comment on the situation.

Custer said:

Nothing can happen until [JGR] let[s Stewart] out of his contract. They hold all the cards. Go figure out what they are going to do. When he becomes available we want to talk to him.

Custer did, however, mention that the team wouldn’t be too thrilled with having Stewart as a partner if he were still driving for JGR.

He noted:

It would be extremely helpful to have Tony Stewart or a franchise type player. Those folks have an enormous impact on a team. Would it help us? Yes. It would help us significantly.

SceneDaily features a commentary on Tony Stewart needing to make his decision, as he is holding up a lot of other moves in the Sprint Cup series.

In all seriousness, the end of this season could seem like the Twilight Zone to Dale Earnhardt Inc., if a lot of the rumors that are circulating turn out to be true.

First, it was rumored that Martin Truex Jr. would be leaving DEI to go to Haas CNC, where Tony Stewart would become part owner. If that happened, it was rumored that Bass Pro Shops would go with him to the team. 

Now, I know that it was reported that DEI picked up his option for next year, but as of yet, it has not been officially confirmed. I believe, at last report, that they were still working out the final details.

So, if he were to leave, that would leave the No. 1 Chevy without a driver, and possibly without a sponsor.

It’s also being reported that Mark Martin is looking to leave at the end of the season. Not a big deal, considering the team plans to put Aric Almirola in the No. 8 Chevy next season. I’ll take this time to point out that Aric Almirola has one Nationwide series win to his credit (even though Denny Hamlin actually won the race.)

But, now it seems Army is looking around at other teams for 2009. If it heads to Bill Davis Racing or Red Bull Racing, as has been rumored, that would leave the No. 8 without a sponsor.

Add in the recent reports that if DEI does not find sponsorship for the No. 01, which has struggled mightily this season, then it could eliminate that team.

So, after all of that, Paul Menard seems to be the only one who is safe. Or, maybe the word is safer.

Now, this is assuming a lot of rumors, so don’t put much stock into it. But, could you imagine…?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second-fastest, while Dave Blaney was third-fastest.

Haas CNC driver Scott Riggs hit the wall and will need to go to a backup car. Patrick Carpentier of Evernham Motorsports also hit the wall, but will not need to go to a backup car.

The rumors range from Haas CNC to Richard Childress Racing to his own team. But, if Stewart were available, the thought of him going to Hendrick Motorsports, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. did last year, seems like a realistic possibility.

If it is, that leaves Casey Mears as the odd man out. Of Hendrick’s four teams, the other three are proven winners. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are champions, while Jr. is the most popular driver in NASCAR. There’s no way that Hendrick lets any one of those three get away. So, where does that leave Mears?

Imagine for a second adding Tony Stewart to that team. It would be like adding Randy Moss to the New England Patriots. A modern day NASCAR dream team. Do you honestly think that if given the opportunity to sign Stewart that Rick Hendrick would choose to keep Mears? I didn’t think so.

Okay, now for reality. Stewart is looking for ownership, something that Hendrick can’t and probably wouldn’t offer. After all, JR Motorsports runs the Busch program, which doesn’t leave much in terms of ownership, unless Stewarts wants to run a truck team.

I think Stewart is going to honor his contract with JGR. That’s not to say he won’t consider leaving once his contract is up, but I have a hard time believing that he will walk away (or ask to) from the man who gave him a chance.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Stewart won’t end up at Hendrick. I mean, if in 2006 someone said Jr. would be driving for Hendrick in two years, it would have sounded as preposterous as Stewart going to Hendrick does now. And, as 2007 showed us, never say never. But, I do think it is highly unlikely.