Co-owner Gene Haas and Tony Stewart issued a joint statement on Tuesday outlining the “difficult decision” that they made to close SHR at end of the 2024 season.
Among the 300 or so employees affected by the announcement were the organization’s six drivers – Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece in the Cup Series and Cole Custer and Riley Herbst in the Xfinity Series.
An SHR spokesman said the Xfinity program is expected to continue to operate in 2025 in some form, but not as a SHR entity.
The future for SHR’s Cup drivers remains much more fluid, especially since teams have yet to reach a new charter agreement with NASCAR that extends beyond this season. SHR currently holds four such charters.
Briscoe, who won his first Cup race with SHR in 2022, posted a video on his X (formerly Twitter) account after being informed of the team’s decision.
In it, Briscoe says, “I never thought this day would come. You know, I’ve been at Stewart-Haas for the last seven years now. It’s truthfully became like home to me and feels like a family. And just what an incredible group of men and women at this place that just make it feel like home and just make you enjoy coming to work each and every day.”
As for his future beyond this season in NASCAR, Briscoe said he has “no idea what I’m doing.”
“It’s going to be an interesting time these next couple of weeks just trying to find even what’s available out there and hopefully can land on my feet and continue to race in the Cup series,” he said.
“So yeah, I appreciate all the all the support, all the love and yeah, we’ll see what happens going forward.”
SHR entered 2024 with four young drivers and just one Cup win between them. Although they have shown slight overall improvement in comparison to last year, the team is still nowhere near its level of prior success.
Briscoe is currently the highest driver in the series standings at 16th, with one top-five and five top-10 finishes in 14 races so far.
Josh Berry, a rookie driver in the Cup Series and the driver of the No. 4 machine, reacted to the news as well: "Today was a tough day for all of us. It is pretty hard to find the right words. I’m proud of our team for how they have been handling this and will going forward. RC is a true leader. We will keep racing our hearts out every Sunday."
Riley Herbst posted a statement on his X account thanking the SHR organization for hiring him “at my lowest.”
“I’ll be forever grateful to Tony and Gene for helping me grow, not only as a racer but as a person,” he said.
Added defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer: "Pretty heart breaking to see. The stretch that Tony, Gene, and everyone at SHR had was extremely impressive. We’re gonna fight the rest of the year to finish strong."
Veteran crew chief Rodney Childers, who won the 2014 title with Kevin Harvick and is responsible for the majority of SHR's race wins, posted the following message on social media:
1 championship, 37 wins, 25 poles, 151 top 5s, 235 top 10s since the 4 team came together at SHR. And we are just getting rolling with @joshberry .. But most of all, we have been a family. A family that truly cares and loves every person.. WE aren’t done! pic.twitter.com/VPRF9zGZUM
— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) May 28, 2024
