Would Stewart-Haas Downsizing Be a Good Move?

Stewart-Haas Racing is rumored to be selling charters. Would it be a good move for the organization?

Austin Bass: Tony Stewart and Gene Haas are wealthy, successful businessmen who are racers at heart. What would be their motivation to dismantle the championship organization they’ve built together over the last 15 years? It’s not like they need the money. Haas CNC funded the team’s fourth car for Kurt Busch once upon a time. But are charters worth so much now that even they can’t refuse mafia-style offers? If legacy matters at all to either of them, SHR will remain a four-car team, and they’ll spend the rest of their lives working to catch and pass Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs. If anyone is selling charters, let it be Kaulig Racing. It seems like the only trophies it is hunting these days are the kind you receive just for showing up.

Andrew Stoddard: If true, selling a charter is the right move for SHR. With no NASCAR Cup Series wins since Kevin Harvick’s final win in August 2022, it is clear that SHR is spread too thin like a small piece of butter over a big slice of bread. It is looking at probably an eight-figure payout for one of its charters; for example, Live Fast Motorsports sold its charter to Spire Motorsports at the end of 2023 for the sizable price tag of $40 million. That amount of financing could go a long way towards helping SHR close the gap that has formed between it and the top-tier teams over the past couple of years. Now, which driver would be the odd one out if the charter is sold? My guess is Ryan Preece, and that the Haas sponsorship would move over to Noah Gragson.

Mark Kristl: In this era of money talks, it might help, but it certainly can’t hurt the team. Of its four drivers, Preece is the driver who hasn’t flashed the speed representative of SHR’s potential. Downsizing from four charters to three could help bolster the performance of the other three. Plus, with the lost funding of Busch Light, among a few other sponsors, SHR can devote more resources to the other three.

James Krause: It’d probably be for the best. The organization as a whole has fallen off little by little since joining Ford in 2017. Last year was the first season since Stewart took part ownership that it didn’t have a driver finish inside the top 10 in points. Without top billing in terms of factory support from Ford, lagging behind Chevrolet and Toyota, it doesn’t seem feasible to field four cars and expect all to be…