Stewart-Haas Racing to close NASCAR teams at end of 2024 season, says it’s time to ‘pass the torch’

Charlotte, North Carolina – Stewart-Haas Racing, a two-time NASCAR champion team with 69 Cup Series victories since its formation in 2009, will close its organization at the end of this season.

Co-owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas announced the decision after nearly a year of rumors that their four-car Cup team was trying to sell its charters and downsize or exit the stock car series altogether. The news was delivered to SHR’s nearly 300 employees late Tuesday afternoon.

“It is a decision that was not easy, nor was it made quickly,” stated the owners. “Running is a laborious and 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 required to extract maximum performance while delivering sustainability is extremely demanding, and we have reached a point in our personal and business lives where it is time to pass the torch.”

SHR this year fields Cup cars for Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece. Berry and Gragson are in their first seasons with the team. SHR holds the 2025 option on Briscoe and he was not allowed to discuss future employment options, even as SHR was rumored to close.

“Stewart Haas has been home to my family and I for the last 7 years and at the end of the year I and the entire organization will be looking for a new home and new opportunities in the Cup series,” Briscoe posted on social media. “I have incredible partners behind me and I can’t wait to get them back on track to victory.”

The move will also shutter the SHR Xfinity Series team, whose two cars are driven by Cole Custer and Riley Herbst.

Gene Haas founded Haas CNC Racing in 2002 and the California businessman attracted Stewart as a co-owner before the 2009 season. Stewart had won two Cup championships with Joe Gibbs Racing at the time, but couldn’t turn down an equity stake and the opportunity to help a small team fighting for titles.

Stewart’s debut season in 2009 gave the renamed team its first Cup victory – he won four races that year – and its first Cup title in 2011. Kevin Harvick added a second championship in 2014.

Stewart, Harvick and Clint Bowyer retired from NASCAR management and SHR has since undergone an arduous rebuild. The organization’s last Cup Series victory was in 2022 with Harvick, the year before he retired. SHR did not win any Cup races last season.

The team is also expected to lose some of Ford’s support at the end of the season, although Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance, told the Associated Press last week that he had no idea what SHR’s plans are beyond this year.

SHR also lost major sponsorship this season when Smithfield Foods pulled out of NASCAR and Anheuser-Busch moved to Trackhouse Racing.

Haas spends most of his time with his Formula 1 team and Stewart follows a full NHRA schedule, causing both owners to miss NASCAR events. Haas, 71, was also ill for much of last year.

The NASCAR team is primarily run by Joe Custer, chief operating officer and longtime confidant of Gene Haas. His son, Cole, won the Xfinity championship last year for SHR.

Among SHR’s achievements are two Cup titles, two Xfinity championships and victories that include major events such as the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500.

“We are proud of all the victories and championships we have achieved since coming together in 2009, but even more special is the culture we have built and the friendships we have forged by committing to a common cause – winning races and collecting trophies.” Stewart and Haas said, “We have enormous respect and appreciation for all of our employees and will work diligently to help them through this transition to find new opportunities beyond the 2024 racing season.”

Part of the Haas F1 team is run by the Kannapolis-based shop and it is unclear whether this will continue or whether Haas also has plans to exit F1.

It is also unclear what happens to the four statutes that SHR maintains that guarantee entry to the field every week. Spire Motorsports last year purchased a charter for $40 million, but the actual value of the charter fluctuates annually.

The teams are in a bitter fight with NASCAR over the charters, which will expire at the end of this season. Teams want them to be permanent and non-renewable, but NASCAR has refused to budge on the issue.

If SHR is able to sell the charters, it appears there is interest from Front Row Motorsports, 23XI Racing and Trackhouse. There is also speculation that Joe Custer may keep one of the charters and drive a car for his son.

It is not known where the SHR drivers land. Briscoe should be able to start talking to other teams now about his future. The team also had an option for next year in Berry, who doesn’t bring much personal sponsorship and had a career break when SHR signed him before this season.

Gragson’s contract was announced as a multi-year deal and has the support of Bass Pro Shops to move to another team. Preece is one year into his contract with SHR, so he was already free to buy the series.

Cole Custer could end up in a Cup or Xfinity Series car with support from Haas’ CNC automation company, while Herbst has significant financial backing from Monster Energy that should give him options.

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