Stewart-Haas Racing will close at the end of the season.
That means all four chartered Cup Series race teams, both Xfinity Series cars, and the Kannapolis, North Carolina race shop will no longer compete under the SHR banner next season. Tony Stewart broke the news during a company wide meeting on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The team also released the following statement at 4:10:
“We have made the difficult decision to close Stewart-Haas Racing at the conclusion of the 2024 season. It is a decision that did not come easily, nor was it made quickly. Racing is a labor-intensive, 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 needed to extract maximum performance while providing sustainability is incredibly demanding, and we’ve reached a point in our respective personal and business lives where it’s time to pass the torch.
“We’re proud of all the wins and championships we’ve earned since joining together in 2009, but even more special is the culture we built and the friendships we forged as we committed to a common cause — winning races and collecting trophies.
“That is the same commitment we made to our personnel, our partners and our fans coming into this year, and that commitment will remain through the season finale at Phoenix. We have tremendous respect and appreciation for all of our employees, and we will work diligently to assist them during this transition to find new opportunities beyond the 2024 race season.”
The closure now means that Cup Series drivers Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Noah Gragson and Josh Berry are all pending free agents. The same can be said for crew chiefs Richard Boswell, Chad Johnston, Drew Blickensderfer and Rodney Childers. The Xfinity Series combinations are defending champion Cole Custer with Jonathan Toney and Riley Herbst with Davin Restivo.
Chase Briscoe has been linked with Wood Brothers Racing with Harrison Burton not expected back for a third season.
Front Row Motorsports is believed to have purchase one of the SHR buildings. There are two of them on the property as one is also the domestic home of the HaasF1 racing team.
Front Row is believed to have purchased one of those charters and has two opening for drivers next season after the departure of Michael McDowell to Spire Motorsports. 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing is also believed to have acquired a charter to become three-car teams respectively.
That still leaves a fourth charter’s status to be determined.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.