UPDATE: Stewart out for rest of 2013, Martin, Dillon to take over No. 14 - MotorSportsTalk

UPDATE: 3:00 p.m. EST: Tony Stewart will be sidelined for the rest of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and Mark Martin will take over the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet for 12 of the remaining 13 races. Austin Dillon, who filled in at Michigan this weekend, will race at Talladega on Oct. 20.

The team can still make the 12-team Chase for the Sprint Cup on entrant points; the No. 14 is currently 10 points behind 10th place.

A teleconference with Greg Zipadelli, Stewart-Haas Racing competition director, Martin and Michael Waltrip, Martin’s current team principal at Michael Waltrip Racing, is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST.

12:00 a.m. EST: Multiple outlets are now reporting confirmation from sources that Mark Martin will become the next interim driver for the injured Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

According to Jim Utter and David Scott of The Charlotte Observer, Martin will take over Stewart’s ride for the remainder of the Sprint Cup season if necessary, except for the Oct. 20 Chase race at Talladega Superspeedway. An announcement is expected to occur on Monday after the deal is finalized.

Martin was expected to run several more events this year with the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota that he shares with Waltrip and Brian Vickers. But, per Utter and Scott’s report, Vickers – who was recently named the full-time driver of the No. 55 starting next season – will likely take over those races as Martin heads to SHR.

Stewart, the three-time Cup champion, is out indefinitely after breaking two bones in his right leg in a sprint car crash earlier this month at Oskaloosa, Iowa. He was released from the hospital last weekend.

On Sunday at Michigan, Austin Dillon became the second driver to fill in for Stewart since his injury and finished 14^th. Max Papis was in the No. 14 one week ago at Watkins Glen and took the checkers in 15^th place there.

It bears noting that SHR competition director Greg Zipadelli said on Friday at MIS that Dillon was likely to have “one more race at least” with the team in 2013. Taking that into consideration, Dillon may well be an option for the No. 14 at Talladega in October.

If Martin is to take over Stewart’s car, it wouldn’t be the first time he has served in a relief role this year. He drove for the injured Denny Hamlin at Martinsville in April, finishing 10th in Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Martin had actually been announced as the sole replacement driver for Hamlin at the time, but that deal crumbled and he ultimately only filled in at Martinsville. Vickers took over Hamlin’s No. 11 starting at the next race in Texas and drove it until Hamlin returned to competition.

Follow @estradawriting

The IndyCar Series has re-signed NTT as its title sponsor in a multiyear agreement starting in 2024.

NTT, a global information technology and communications company based in Japan, became the series’ title sponsor before the 2019 season after starting as a sponsor of the No. 10 Dallara-Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.

NTT Data (a subsidiary of parent company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.) will remain the official technology partner of IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Brickyard weekend.

With the extension, an IndyCar spokesman said NTT would become the second-longest title sponsor in series history. The longest title sponsor was PPG from 1980-97 (under the CART sanction of the Champ Car Series).

NTT replaced Verizon, which was IndyCar’s title sponsor from 2014-18 after IZOD from 2010-13.

“NTT is an excellent partner across our enterprise with strong expertise and a deep commitment to our sport,” Penske Corp. chairman and IndyCar owner Roger Penske said in a release. “From Smart Venue technology at the Racing Capital of the World to the reimagined Series mobile application, NTT is transforming the fan experience in new and innovative ways. We look forward to a bright future together.”

NTT has used artificial intelligence-enabled optical detection technology at IMS to provide information to the track’s operations and security teams, helping improve fan traffic flow and safety, the track said.

“IndyCar is a great partner for NTT Data because of our shared commitment to driving innovation, increasing sustainability and delivering amazing experiences,” NTT Data CEO Kaz Nishihata said in a release. “We also appreciate how IndyCar is so diverse, with drivers from 15 different countries, and races that range from short ovals and superspeedways to road and street courses. It’s both an incredible sport and a wonderful example for our world.”

NTT also has been instrumental in helping redesign the IndyCar app and providing more race and driver data for use in NBC Sports’ broadcasts by utilizing 140 data points from every car in the field.

“NTT is fully invested in the development and growth of our sport and has already established a terrific track record in our industry with problem-solving capabilities and access to top talent and tools,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said.

Said NTT Data Services CEO Bob Pryor: “We’re thrilled to continue our collaborations that enhance and expand the fan experience for motorsports and serve as proof points for data analytics, AI, and other innovative digital technologies. For more than a century, this racing series has pioneered innovations making driving safer for everyone, and by continuing this relationship, we will accelerate the pace of innovations and new technologies, particularly related to sustainability that ultimately can benefit organizations, communities and individuals around the world.”

Starting as a Japanese telephone company, NTT grew into a $100 billion-plus tech services giant with U.S. operations based in Plano, Texas.