All the rumors became official at 4:33 PM on May 28th 2024. Stewart-Haas Racing is shutting down at the end of this season. They are selling all four charters. SHR is even done with the Xfinity Series as well, where they are the defending champions. The rumors started with a couple of charter sales. Then in the past couple weeks people began asking, “Is Stewart-Haas shutting down?”

At worst, I think many people assumed they’d be done with Cup series racing. I certainly didn’t think they’d get rid of their Xfinity operation as well.  The organization was still doing well in Xfinity.  Then again, Stewart-Haas looked like they were starting to improve in Cup this year as well.  Perhaps, I just didn’t want to believe the rumors about Stewart-Haas shutting down.

This has got to be a tough situation for all their employees and fans. There are plenty of questions left for which we can all theorize and ponder upon. Obviously, there is the question of where will the drivers end up. Rodney Childers, crew chief of the #4 car is definitely going to be one of the top SHR employees sought by other teams. Who buys the charters? Right now, I’m only interested in one question though. What does losing a top team like Stewart-Haas Racing say about the state of NASCAR?

How the loss of Stewart-Haas Reflects on NASCAR

First, SHR is a top tier team. Sure, they went winless last year, but every team struggles from time to time. In 2020, they won 10 Cup series races. True, Kevin Harvick won nine of those ten, but Cole Custer won one as well. In 2021, Harvick went winless but finished 5th in the points.  Meanwhile, Aric Almirola won a race at New Hampshire in 2021. In the 2022 season, Chase Briscoe won at Phoenix and Harvick won back to back races at Michigan and Richmond. The 2023 season was their first winless season since Tony Stewart became a part owner.

This isn’t Rick Ware Racing leaving the sport. This is Stewart-Haas shutting down. Yes, Tony Stewart is more into drag racing these days. Furthermore, Gene Haas is more into Formula 1. Still, this is a successful team in a a rebuilding year deciding against remaining in the sport. What does this say about the current state and direction of NASCAR?

First, it says that two hands-off owners have decided that what they could get out of the charters was worth more to them than continuing in the sport. Tony Stewart didn’t just up and decide on his own one day that he was tired of NASCAR. NASCAR has seemingly gone out of their way to ensure the level of dominance that SHR had in the late 2010s and in 2020 is next to impossible to achieve in the Next Gen era. Let’s not forget that there were some penalties that certainly appeared to only be applicable to SHR (manipulating the outcome of a race.)

Stewart-Haas Shutting Down

Image Credit: Andy Coffey — Pit Pass Network

NASCAR is moving from a Gritty Racing Culture to a Sterile Corporate Culture

I’m just going to come out and say it. In my opinion, NASCAR leadership is most likely happy with this outcome. If there was a black hat team in NASCAR, it was Stewart-Haas Racing. To SHR it was about chasing trophies and winning races, even if some rules had to be bent just a little bit. Furthermore, Tony Stewart was never one to hold back on criticizing NASCAR.

Honestly, NASCAR doesn’t even seem to be about racing anymore. It seems to be about artificially squeezing the field together to create the illusion of parity. Occasionally, you get a super close finish. Most of the time you end up with it being difficult to pass. Still, anyone can win any week, but no one can become a superstar.

Honestly, the sport is headed in a direction that they’ve been desperate to get to since the early 00s. There was a big culture shift then towards a more corporate culture. Stewart-Haas Racing just isn’t a team that belongs in that environment. SHR was a place for second chances. It was the team where drivers came for a second chance or to get un-cancelled. NASCAR probably doesn’t want a team like that floating around. Such teams are difficult to micro-manage. After all, NASCAR is becoming an authoritarian sterile corporate sport.

Stewart-Haas Shutting Down

Image Credit: Gregory Latham — Pit Pass Network

RIP SHR

Finally, this is a sad day for NASCAR. Personalities like Tony Stewart are one in a million. NASCAR doesn’t seem to want any larger-than-life personalities anymore though. I’d like to thank Stewart-Haas Racing for all their wins, questionable actions, controversies, and everything they brought to the sport of “stock” car racing. NASCAR will not be the same without you. Congratulations to Tony Stewart and Gene Haas on getting out. This was probably best for everyone involved.

Give ’em hell in this last season!

Stewart-Haas Shutting Down

Image Credit: Sporting News