By David G. Firestone
Hello, welcome back to The Driver Suit Blog, emphasis on the blog. I’m done with the podcast, but I’m going to continue with the current events. My story for this week is one I’ve had to discuss, the impending end of Stewart-Haas Racing.
Stewart-Haas Racing, in its current form, started in 2009, when Tony Stewart bought an interest in Haas CNC Racing. Since then, they have won two Cup Series Championships, 2011 and 2014, the 2023 Xfinity Series Championship, 69 Cup Series races, 26 Xfinity Series races and one Truck Series race. But the loss of both driver talent and sponsorships have left the team a shell of its former glory. I don’t have anything against Josh Berry,Noah Gragson,Chase Briscoe,Ryan Preece, but you cannot convince me they are on the same level as Kurt Busch,Clint Bowyer,Tony Stewart,Kevin Harvick, and Ryan Newman. They haven’t won a Cup Series race since the Federated Autoparts 400 on August 14, 2022 by Kevin Harvick.
On May 28, Stewart-Haas Racing issued the following statement.
The following is a joint statement from Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, the co-owners of Stewart-Haas Racing, regarding the future of their NASCAR team following the 2024 season.
“We have made the difficult decision to close Stewart-Haas Racing at the conclusion of the 2024 season. It is a decision that did not come easily, nor was it made quickly.
“Racing is a labor-intensive, humbling sport. It requires unwavering commitment and vast resources, with a 365-day mindset to be better than everyone else. It’s part of what makes success so rewarding.
“But the commitment needed to extract maximum performance while providing sustainability is incredibly demanding, and we’ve reached a point in our respective personal and business lives where it’s time to pass the torch.
“We’re proud of all the wins and championships we’ve earned since joining together in 2009, but even more special is the culture we built and the friendships we forged as we committed to a common cause – winning races and collecting trophies.
“That is the same commitment we made to our personnel, our partners and our fans coming into this year, and that commitment will remain through the season finale at Phoenix.
“We have tremendous respect and appreciation for all of our employees, and we will work diligently to assist them during this transition to find new opportunities beyond the 2024 race season.”
— Stewart-Haas Racing —
Front Row Motorsports has already purchased a charter from SHR moving forward, and there is still speculation as to where the crew and drivers will end up next year. I hope they land on their feet. Sadly, this is the cost of racing, sometimes a team goes from the penthouse to the outhouse, and SHR is one of those teams. It sucks, but it’s the law of the land.
Source:
The Driver Suit Blog 