Stewart Haas Racing to shut down at the end of the season

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

Stewart Haas Racing has announced that the team will shut down at the end of the season. The team was owned by Gene Haas and NASCAR legend Tony Stewart.

The team has been around since 2009.

“We have made the difficult decision to close Stewart-Haas Racing at the conclusion of the 2024 season,” the team said in a joint statement. “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.”

Stewart Haas Racing fielded three Cup Series teams. These cars were driven by Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, and Noah Gragson.

Berry replaced NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick this season.

The team also fields cars in the Xfinity Series. However, right now, those cars and jobs are up in the air as this announcement is believed to impact the Cup Cars the most.

Cole Custer and Riley Herbst are the Xfinity Series drivers. Custer, who is a former Xfinity Series champion, is also a former Cup Series driver.

Stewart has been away from the team as he also has other business ventures. He sold off the All Star Circuit of Champions last year to NASCAR driver Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet.

He has been driving in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) with their Tony Stewart Racing Nitro team. He fields a Funny Car team is driven by Matt Hagan and Stewart drives the Top Fuel Dragster.

This is Stewart’s first season in the Top Fuel Dragster. He replaced his wife Leah as the couple is planning to start a family.

“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,” the statement also said. “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.”