Stewart-Haas Racing’s future in the NASCAR Cup Series has been a major topic of conversation over the last several seasons; however, it has never been more prominent than it is right now due to multiple situations.
Kevin Harvick will retire from the Cup Series at the conclusion of the 2023 season which means Stewart-Haas Racing will need to fill the No. 4 car. Luckily, the organization has picked up Josh Berry to replace Harvick as the rest of the lineup remains questionable.
Chase Briscoe will return but Aric Almirola and Ryan Preece are less certain. Almirola is “widely expected” to retire but nothing is official yet. However, there is another question about the NASCAR team’s future that is left unanswered.
Related: Stewart-Haas Racing linked to rising NASCAR star to replace Aric Almirola in 2024
NASCAR insider provides update on Stewart-Haas Racing’s contract with Ford for 2024
Stewart-Haas Racing has been with Ford since the start of the 2017 NASCAR season. Before that point in time, the organization had been backed by Chevrolet as the manufacturer provided engines and chassis to the team.
When the NASCAR team switched to Ford, it started to receive engines from Ford while building its own chassis. One major reason behind the switch was due to being second-fiddle to Hendrick Motorsports at Chevrolet.
The topic of Stewart-Haas Racing’s future with Ford was brought up at Berry’s announcement for the 2024 season but Tony Stewart, a co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, said the organization had no plans to switch manufacturers.
The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi jumped on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and talked about Stewart-Haas Racing’s future with Ford. Bianchi also dissected Stewart’s answer at Berry’s announcement for the No. 4 car.
“I haven’t heard anything from anyone that I really have to take credence with, and say ‘Oh, OK this is serious,’ that (Stewart-Haas Racing) is going to be with a manufacturer other than Ford next year…Now, you can see his answer. There’s always a little wiggle room. It wasn’t a hard line, ‘We’re going to be back with Ford, no doubt.’ Their contract with Ford goes through next year.
I think in the grand scheme of things, they know their contract’s coming up and when your contract’s coming up, you always wanna have leverage and negotiating is important. You don’t wanna necessarily tip your hand a little bit. I can see why some of these rumors and speculations have cropped up a little bit.”
Jordan Bianchi on Stewart-Haas Racing’s future with Ford in NASCAR
With Stewart-Haas Racing’s contract with Ford running through the 2024 season, it is understandable why Stewart didn’t fully commit to the manufacturer beyond that point. It is a leverage tactic as Bianchi said above.
The organization doesn’t want to play second fiddle to Hendrick Motorsports with Chevrolet and if they switched to Toyota, it would likely be second to Joe Gibbs Racing too. It makes sense to stay with Ford but it doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee.
Stewart-Haas Racing will look for the best possible contract with Ford and negotiating through the media is one way of making that happen. Still, the possibility remains that the NASCAR team will be backed by someone else starting in 2025.
For now, it seems like Stewart-Haas Racing will stick with Ford for the 2024 season as their contract has one year remaining. It remains to be seen what happens beyond that point but it will be interesting to follow until it is official.