NASCAR: Now That Tony's Going, Will The Fans?

Every year during the silly NASCAR season, there's a shuffle of sponsors, crew members and drivers. However, one thing always stayed the same: the biggest names and the biggest teams.

Then Mark Martin left Roush Fenway Racing for Ginn Racing (now Dale Earnhardt, Inc.). Kurt Busch also left Roush for Penske, and of course, NASCAR's most popular driver decided to depart from the only home he'd ever known. Now we know that another big star, Tony Stewart, will do the same.

When Dale Jr. announced he would be driving for a different team in 2008, for the first time since he started racing, Jr. Nation had a disturbance in the force. They became divided. Half the fans said that no matter where Earnhardt, Jr. went or what he drove, they would stay loyal fans. The other half didn't appreciate that he would no longer be driving for his father's company and quickly jumped ship.

Now a year later, another big name in NASCAR has announced he will be driving for a new team in 2009. Tony Stewart will co-own and drive for Stewart Haas Racing and leave behind Joe Gibbs Racing and the Home Depot car.

Will Stewart's fans react the same way that Jr. Nation did?

Both Earnhardt Jr. and Stewart are in the same boat: they now have a new identity, new numbers and new sponsors. Jr. Nation went from one 8 to two and from a sea of Budweiser red to an army of blue and green.

The Stewart faithful will transform from Home Depot orange to Office Depot/Old Spice red and silver; from 20 to 14.

The common message conveyed from Stewart fans is why he would want to leave a competitive team for one that's barely on the map, but not once have we heard that fans would not follow Stewart to his new team or call him a traitor as happened with Earnhardt Jr.

Instead, Stewart's move could bring back fans that turned away when he switched from Chevrolet to Toyota this year. Now he's coming back to the bow tie and back could come the fans. It's not uncommon for fans to abandon drivers over their choice of manufacturer. When Mark Martin left Roush and Ford for Chevrolet, some fans said "Sorry Mark, but I'm a Ford guy."

Of course we all know about the Toyota factor when it comes to cheers and jeers. Stewart may now become (more) popular because of "ditching" the foreign manufacturer.

Which makes me wonder: when drivers shuffle from team to team, do the fans care more about rooting for the driver or for the car/team?

If you call yourself a fan of so-and-so driver, then no matter what career moves the driver makes, you follow and continue to cheer. All you care about his the man behind the wheel.

Or do you prefer one manufacturer over another and pull for that batch of drivers? You're just a car guy or gal.

And lastly, who doesn't love the paint schemes? Is one better than the rest and that's what catches your eye?

So, let's open the floor to Stewart fans about his '09 plans and all fans about what they really root for on Sunday afternoons.