My reaction to Stewart-Haas Racing closing after the 2024 NASCAR season
The 2024 NASCAR season will be the final season for Stewart-Haas Racing. This didn't come as a surprise when it was announced. It had been rumored for a few months that the team would sell its charters which guarantee entry into all 36 NASCAR Cup Series points races. This move is sad, though first for all the team employees who need to now find a new job and also for people who are fans of the team.
I have been a fan of Stewart-Haas Racing since its start in 2009, my favorite NASCAR drivers are Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick both drivers for the team and of course Tony Stewart is a co owner. I remember the announcement of Tony Stewart going to Haas which wasn't a brilliant team. I remember thinking of the massive risk he would take to leave Joe Gibbs Racing, I wasn't fully into the idea mainly because 9 year old me in 2008 when the announcement was made was disappointed to see my driver no longer in the Orange Home Depot #20 car. The orange car was a leading factor in my decision to be a Tony Stewart fan to begin with.
My all time favorite driver in NASCAR is Kevin Harvick, he is the most successful driver in the history of Stewart-Haas Racing with 37 of his 60 wins coming for the team and his 1 championship (should have been way more without the playoff format but that's a topic for another article). From 2014-2023 my attention was on that #4 Budweiser/Busch Light car. As a fan of Kevin Harvick the Stewart-Haas Racing days were amazing, so much success and so much passion. Phoenix 2023 was an emotional day the only time I cried after a race, and to think just 6 months later the team is announced is closing. It makes me sad but I'm glad to have the memories of this team.
Tony Stewart and Gene Haas put out a joint statement on the decision to shut down the team: “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.”
Overall I get the decision for them to shut down the team, both owners have other interests outside of NASCAR and want to focus on that. It's just sad to see it end this way. I just wonder how much Ford had to do with this and the decision to not allow Tony Stewart to sign Kyle Larson in 2020. We might not ever know that.
Please check out my video to get my full reaction from right when I saw the official news of this shocking development. I feel the best way to end is with what Kevin Harvick said on his podcast, "it's unbelievable to go from 4Ever to 4Ward to For sale in 6 Months"