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

A formal display of Stewart's new car will be made Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

There had been speculation Stewart might announce his teammate for next season as well, but team officials confirmed no such announcement is planned at Indianapolis.

The leading candidate for the second SHR ride is Ryan Newman, who is leaving Penske Racing at the end of this season.

DEI APPEAL DENIED: A three-member panel of the National Stock Car Racing Commission unanimously upheld NASCAR's stringent penalties assessed to Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s No. 1 Chevrolet team this month.

The roof of the team's car failed pre-qualifying inspection at Daytona. Driver Martin Truex Jr. was stripped of 150 points, car owner Teresa Earnhardt was penalized 150 points, crew chief Kevin Manion was fined $100,000 and Manion and car chief Gary Putnam were each suspended six races.

Manion and Putnam will begin serving their six-race suspensions this weekend.

(JIM UTTER, THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER)

NEWMAN AND STEWART COY ON POTENTIAL DEAL: If Ryan Newman is indeed in line to join Tony Stewart's new team next season, neither driver is saying.

Stewart said Tuesday he's still trying to fill the two-car lineup at Stewart-Haas Racing, and Newman joked the only new offer he's received was to drive for one of Stewart's sprint-car teams.

Stewart, who is leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to become part-owner of what's now known as Haas-CNC Racing, said he's still looking at who is available.

"There are a lot of drivers in the running right now," he said. "It's not narrowed down to just one driver right now."

STEWART DONATES BULLETPROOF VESTS FOR POLICE DOGS: NASCAR driver Tony Stewart is donating bulletproof, stab-proof vests to police dogs in Indiana, North Carolina and three other states.

Stewart, a Columbus, Ind., native, donated the money to provide 30 vests for the Indiana State Police K-9 unit and 10 for police dogs waiting for vests in North Carolina, Georgia, New Mexico and Minnesota.

Susie Jean of Socorro, N.M., requested a grant from the Tony Stewart Foundation for vests for the 14 dogs in the Indiana State Police unit. Stewart increased the amount to cover more vests upon learning the state police unit was expanding to 30 dogs. The vests cost $895 each, according to information provided by the foundation, meaning 40 vests would total more than $35,000.

Jean founded Vest 'N P.D.P. (Police Dog Protection) Inc. (www.vestnpdp.com), a nonprofit that collects donations to purchase bullet- and stab-proof vests for police dogs. So far, the nonprofit has provided 169 vests to police dogs in 22 states, not including the Stewart donation.

INJURED FUELER TRANSFERRED: A fueler for De Ferran Motorsports on Tuesday was transferred from The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, to the Fairbanks Burn Center at Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis. His condition was upgraded from critical to serious.

Keith Jones, 49, was injured in a pit fire during the American Le Mans Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, just the second event for the new team headed by former Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran.

SEBASTIAN VETTEL FASTEST IN F1 TESTING: At Jerez, Spain, Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel was quickest in Formula One testing on Tuesday and a mechanic was injured from an electric shock off the new hybrid engine planned for next year's cars.

"He sustained slight injuries to his left hand and grazing on his left arm," BMW Sauber said in a statement.

Although the mechanic returned to work after a medical checkup, the car was kept off the track as the team investigated the incident.

(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

MCREYNOLDS ON RADIO: Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame crew chief Larry McReynolds has joined the lineup of WCMC-99.9, the Raleigh radio station billed as "The Fan."

McReynolds, whose teams won 23 Cup races, will appear with The Fanatics at 8:05 a.m. Fridays.

"His racing insight will give listeners an in-depth analysis of the latest NASCAR news every week," station general manager Mike Morgan said.

Learn more at www.999the fan.com.

(FROM WCMC NEWS RELEASE)