Stewart-Haas Racing has not been performing as expected to start the 2023 NASCAR season despite Kevin Harvick’s stellar performances in his farewell year. The rest of Harvick’s teammates have been finishing below what has been expected.
Let’s dive into the situation at Stewart-Haas Racing and evaluate its future in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Stewart-Haas Racing has a rough start to the 2023 season
Kevin Harvick was a handful of laps away from a victory in his farewell NASCAR Cup Series season before a late-race caution threw a wrench into those plans. Harvick was called to pit road for four fresh tires and didn’t end up making it to the front.
Rodney Childress, crew chief for Harvick, knows his driver well and understands he wants to be on offense at the end of races. It was the right call in the minds of the No. 4 team but it was still a successful race that was full of speed.
Unfortunately for Stewart-Haas Racing, there have been few successful races to start the season. Through six points-paying races, the organization only has four total top-10 finishes with three of those coming from Harvick.
The other finish came from Chase Briscoe at Phoenix Raceway after a seventh-place effort. Quite frankly, it has been a miserable start for everyone except Harvick. The average finishing positions do not lie.
Harvick has a 12.8 average finishing position while the rest of Stewart-Haas Racing sits at 21 or lower. In fact, both Ryan Preece and Aric Almirola have an average finishing position worse than 27th place.
The driver of the No. 4 car also sits in fourth place within the point standings while Briscoe sits in 23rd, Almirola sits in 28th, and Preece sits in 29th. Obviously, there is something not working because it is not entirely bad luck.
Granted, Stewart-Haas Racing has seen a lot of bad luck this season. Almirola and Preece have only finished half of the races to this point. It’s not all due to luck though as both drivers have been struggling in the speed department during some races.
To make things even worse, the only Stewart-Haas Racing driver that sits in the top 20 of the point standings is retiring at the end of the season and his sponsor, Busch Light, appears to be going to Ross Chastain and Trackhouse Racing if the rumors are true.
The future of Stewart-Haas Racing is clearly at a crossroads. Continue reading to find out about the organization’s future situation and what it should do moving forward.
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Stewart-Haas Racing’s future in the NASCAR Cup Series
As stated above, Harvick is going to retire from the NASCAR Cup Series at the conclusion of the 2023 season. This means Stewart-Haas Racing’s best and most consistent driver will be leaving the team.
With the lack of performance surrounding Harvick, it is very important that Stewart-Haas Racing replaces him with an A-level driver instead of a B-level driver or lower. However, this is going to be tough if the rumors going around end up being right.
Busch Light is rumored to be in talks with Chastain and Trackhouse Racing. There has been a lot of smoke and usually when there is smoke, there is fire. If the big-time sponsor leaves the team, it could spark trouble moving forward.
It means the No. 4 car would need significant sponsorship from a driver or the team would need to find it itself. This would create a scenario where Stewart-Haas Racing can’t simply choose the driver with the most talent or appeal.
On top of this situation, Almirola will also be out of the door sooner rather than later after returning to Stewart-Haas Racing despite his announced retirement. The clock is ticking and Smithfield Foods could be on the way out with Almirola.
If that is the case, that would mark two cars that need a driver and significant sponsorship. Finally, Ryan Preece is reportedly on a one-year deal and it has not been a pretty start as he sits as the worst Stewart-Haas Racing driver in the point standings.
Briscoe is the only driver within the organization that appears to be set for a long time. This has created a massive amount of public comments by fans on social media as some question whether Stewart-Haas Racing could make significant changes ahead.
The organization could sell a charter but who is going to bite in this charter market right now? The price is extremely high and Stewart-Haas Racing might not have any desire in that scenario anyway.
There are zero organizations in the NASCAR garage area that have a murkier future than Stewart-Haas Racing. The next six to 12 months could be some of the most important ones in the team’s history.