Citgo to leave Roush.

The Citgo company, one of the longest serving sponsors on the Winston Cup grid, has announced it will be leaving the #99 Ford Taurus driven by Jeff Burton at the end of the current season.

Citgo have been on the hood and sides of Burton's Roush Racing Ford since replacing Exide mid-way through the 2000 season but their arrival coincided with a downturn in fortunes for the team, which went through a period of transition after Burton's 2000 Championship bid.

2001 brought just two victories for the #99 team as the entire Roush stable endured a torrid season and there were no trips to victory lane last season, despite the re-emergence of Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin. A switch in crew chiefs from Frank Stoddard to former Championship winning crew chief (1992) Paul Andrews has only started to reap benefits, with seven straight top 20 finishes in the past seven races, although Burton still sits an uncharacteristically lowly 14th in the points table.

Although there has been no independent confirmation from Citgo they appear to be taking a temporary leave from primary Winston Cup sponsorship after more than 20 years.