By David Morgan, Associate Editor
A mainstay of the NASCAR Cup Series since 2009, Stewart-Haas Racing announced on Tuesday that the 2024 season would be its last and would be ceasing operations at season’s end.
Rumors of the team’s future have been floating around the Cup Series garage for many months and weeks, but in a joint statement on social media, co-owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas laid out why now is the time they have elected to exit stage left.
“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,” their statement read.
“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 and Haas first joined forces in 2008 to transform the Haas CNC team into Stewart-Haas Racing team, which hit the track for its first full-time season in 2009.
Over the course of its lifespan, SHR became a powerhouse, winning 69 races and two Cup Series championships – first with Stewart in 2011 and then by Kevin Harvick in 2014.
Along with Harvick and Stewart, a number of other drivers have been victorious under the Stewart-Haas banner, including Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, Cole Custer, and Chase Briscoe.
The team’s most recent victories came in 2022 when Harvick won back-to-back races at Michigan and Richmond.
Currently, SHR fields a four-car stable with Briscoe, Josh Berry, Noah…
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