Stewart-Haas Racing’s Tuesday announcement leaves many questions about the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series field unanswered.
SHR released a joint statement from co-owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, who said the team would cease operations after the Phoenix season finale and would help its hundreds of employees find opportunities elsewhere in the industry.
A joint statement from Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, the co-owners of Stewart-Haas Racing, regarding the future of our team following the 2024 season. pic.twitter.com/S9hkjnTNXi
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) May 28, 2024
The writing was on the wall for this announcement to come soon. Tony Stewart is busy with his NHRA team, and Gene Haas has his F1 team. With SHR not inking a deal with an OEM for next year (contract with Ford ends after the season), the team struggling to win races, and two owners who are preoccupied with other business ventures in auto racing, it’s not surprising to see one of NASCAR’s most prominent organizations have to shut its doors.
The hundreds of SHR employees are officially on the job market, as many will look to stay within NASCAR. They include drivers, crew chiefs, mechanics, pit crew members, hauler drivers, public relations representatives, marketing personnel, and all the other roles necessary to run a successful race team.
Much of the focus will be on the drivers as Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, and Ryan Preece will look to maintain a spot in the Cup Series field after this season. Xfinity Series drivers Cole Custer and Riley Herbst are now looking for 2025 seats, too, and they could land in either Cup or Xfinity rides.
On the Cup side, SHR now has four charters available. It is believed that 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing, and Front Row Motorsports will each get one. The final charter’s destination is still unclear, although Legacy Motor Club might want to expand to a third full-time entry. If it is serious about moving up to Cup, JR Motorsports could be in the hunt, too.
However, the charter market is a little unstable now, as an agreement between NASCAR and its Cup teams to extend its existence has not yet been made. A charter is essentially NASCAR’s version of a franchise, like those with MLB and NFL teams.
Last year, Live Fast Motorsports sold its charter to Spire Motorsports for a reported $40 million. That is significantly higher than even the highest-valued charter five years ago when Furniture Row Racing sold its only charter to Spire for about $6 million before the 2019 season.
However, with an agreement not in place to keep the charters in existence, it would make sense for teams in the market to be hesitant about buying one. It’s like buying a stock whose value has the potential to go from millions to nothing instantly.
Let’s say a new charter deal strikes. That means four new driver-team combinations are guaranteed.
Zane Smith to Trackhouse is going to happen. Smith is on loan to Spire this year and is expected to go to Trackhouse in 2025. So that’s one piece of the Silly Season puzzle solved.
Front Row Motorsports will likely get a charter and move into SHR’s current facility as it needs more space to house another Cup car. Cole Custer is a candidate to join FRM’s Cup team. Michael McDowell is leaving FRM to join Spire next year, so there will be at least two new faces at the Ford-powered organization. Todd Gilliland and FRM are working to renew a deal to stay in the No. 38 car.
23XI wants to expand. Who could end up in a third Toyota for the squad is anyone’s guess. Corey Heim and Chandler Smith are promising young drivers in Toyota’s camp, but the team could always choose to sign one of the free agents already at the Cup level. Smith and Heim could also be targets should LMC look to expand, too.
Several reports in the last few weeks suggest that Harrison Burton and Wood Brothers Racing are going separate ways after this season. If none of the previous potential openings pan out, that could be a landing spot for any current SHR drivers.
McDowell’s signing with Spire happened a few weeks ago, and that was the first domino to fall on the Silly Season. SHR’s announcement is as significant as any announcement that will happen in the coming months, and it’s still about six months until the current season ends with hundreds of livelihoods on the line and uncertainty all throughout the NASCAR garage.
