On Tuesday, Aric Almirola expressed to the media that he is uncertain about whether or not he will return next season for Stewart-Haas Racing. This is not a major surprise as Almirola was planning on retiring following the 2022 season before reversing course.
However, Stewart-Haas Racing is already rumored to have the hottest NASCAR free agent on the market, with Josh Berry reportedly the favorite to replace Kevin Harvick. Harvick is most definitely not backing out of that, so, what are Stewart-Haas Racing’s options for Almirola should he leave?
Zane Smith is probably the best prospect in the Ford stable currently. The defending Craftsman Truck Series Champion actually had a Cup Series offer from Chip Ganassi Racing before they were bought out by Justin Marks, Pitbull, and Trackhouse. Add to that, Smith just got his first career Cup Series top-10 for Front Row Motorsports at the Coca-Cola 600.
Is it strange to make the jump straight to the Cup Series without a full-time season in Xfinity? Yes it is, but Smith is not a normal case. He has enough experience and a good enough pedigree to justify such as jump if Stewart-Haas Racing sees value in it.
Martin Truex Jr. has yet to sign with Joe Gibbs Racing beyond this year, and it remains to be seen if the two will renew their contract. Add to that, the free agent list that Stewart-Haas Racing has to choose from is…lackluster…to say the least. If Truex wants to race outside of JGR, could Stewart-Haas racing see value in bringing in a veteran driver who definitely can win races as a stop gap?
Letting Truex be a stop gap-type driver could be a good idea if Stewart-Haas feels there is someone that will be available in 2025 or 2026. This is probably not super likely, but the candidates for this potential ride are not exactly great.
Cole Custer has rejuvenated his career in the Xfinity Series this season. He got a win this past weekend at Portland, and he currently sits fourth in the points standings, better than Josh Berry. Custer is also on a streak of seven straight finishes of seventh or better.
The problem with Custer is his unimpressive Cup Series resume. In 2021 and 2022, Custer was not even close to qualifying for the Playoffs, and he only scored one win in the 2020 season. But, maybe one year in Xfinity gives both him and SHR a confidence boost to push him forward.
Yes he has not won an Xfinity Series race yet, but, he is racing for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Xfinity Series. With a list of candidates as thin as this, that’s about the only requirement needed to be under consideration for this potential opening.
In fairness to Herbst, he is consistently running in the top-10. He has 60 top-10s in 122 Xfinity Series races, which is a decent total, and he has pointed his way into the Playoffs each of the last three seasons. If Stewart-Haas Racing want give a young guy a one-year prove it type deal, Herbst is not the worst option.
Ty Majeski is definition of a wild card pick, but so were guys like Ryan Preece and Kurt Busch to an extent. Majeski has found a bit of a career resurgence in the Craftsman Truck Series winning two races and qualifying for the Championship Four last season. Majeski currently sits second in Truck Series points this season.
He has yet to run a full-time season in Xfinity, but he is a Ford driver in a thin market. With Stewart-Haas Racing potentially in a desperate situation, why not throw a bone at someone like Majeski.
Stewart-Haas Racing does not have many options for the 10 car if Almirola chooses to retire. However, it could be a great opportunity for someone that may not get one in a normal year.
NASCAR doesn’t operate in a vacuum, and with the NFL preparing for a massive new TV rights negotiation, the ripple effects could reach far beyond football. As billions more flood into pro football, the question becomes: where does that leave stock car racing when the next media deal comes around?
With executives like Steve O’Donnell already hinting that the schedule may not always stay at 36 races, the timing of the NFL’s next deal could dramatically impact NASCAR’s leverage heading into its own future negotiations. More money at the top of the sports world doesn’t always trickle down — sometimes it pulls the ladder up.
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Following last week’s shocking lawsuit filed by Joe Gibbs Racing against their former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, team owner and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr chimed in with his take on how the lawsuit will unfold.
Entering the 2026 NASCAR season, most fans felt that a messy season, which saw multiple lawsuits filed between teams and one including NASCAR itself, was in the review mirror.
This illusion lasted not even one week after the 2026 season opening Daytona 500, with Joe Gibbs Racing filing a lawsuit against their former Crew Chief and Competition Director, Chris Gabehart, claiming he stole sensitive information from the team before jumping to Spire Motorsports.
Though the two have yet to come to blows over the matter in court, this battle is quickly picking up steam, with JGR since adding Spire as a co-defendant, and Gabehart filing a fiery and accusatory response on Wednesday afternoon.
Prior to these new additions, NASCAR Hall of Famer and co-owner of JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr., shared his thoughts on the lawsuit, alongside a prediction on how it will end, during the latest episode of his podcast, The Dale Jr Download.
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a lawsuit against former competition director Chris Gabehart, alleging he took confidential team information…
During this episode, Earnhardt provided some valuable commentary on the issue, though this did not come from his perspective as a driver. Rather, it came from his insights as an active owner in one of NASCAR’s highest divisions.
The long-time co-owner of JR Motorsports said that situations like this are the reason why teams make employees sign a non-compete clause, which would prevent them from working in a similar capacity in the sport for a period of time.
“The reason why they get them to do that is that they do not want to race against that information the very next week. Or the very next year,” Earnhardt said. “And so, while that person does sign the non-compete, they do have all that information.”
Ultimately, Earnhardt sees two sides to the conflict, saying that Gabehart did something that “has been going on forever” by taking his knowledge and skills to a new team after a rocky end to his time as JGR’s Competition Director.
In fact, as Earnhardt pointed out, losing a veteran, championship-caliber Crew Chief to the competition is something JRM went through just this past off-season, when former Xfinity Series Champion Jim Pohlman left the team for Richard Childress Racing.
While Pohlman is competing in the Cup Series for RCR, Earnhardt acknowledged that he is sure JRM is racing against some of the knowledge that the champion Crew Chief took with him, be that literally or metaphorically, on Saturdays, as RCR has a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series program.
“RCR hired Jim Pohlman. You don’t think I’m racing against some of this **** that Jim did here in the O’Reilly Series? We know that. We expect that.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr
But, in contrast, Earnhardt acknowledges that JGR isn’t trying to prevent Gabehart from working, but rather, to protect the millions of dollars they have poured into R&D.
The long-time short track racer also added that this is just part of racing in the highest form of stock car racing, saying that compared to local racing, or even the Truck Series, you probably wouldn’t see a lawsuit like this, but “when it’s $150 to $200 million a year,” the stakes are high.
Nonetheless, Earnhardt admits he is curious to see what is to come of the lawsuit, given the shocking claims that Gabehart was using company equipment to offload this information from JGR.
Unfortunately, in his eyes, those on the outside looking in at this lawsuit will probably never truly know what happened, as the NASCAR veteran thinks that Spire will try to settle.
“I think this settles. I bet [the] money guy at Spire says, ‘You know what? Let’s make this go away, let’s move on,’ and I think that we’ll never really truly know,” Earnhardt said.
What’s Happening? Former Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart has filed a new response slamming JGR as…
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While he may not have the accolades of some of the top names in NASCAR, collectors in the NASCAR community are starting to take notice of some outrageous resale prices for Carson Hocevar merchandise. So what exactly is going on here?
Of every subgroup within the NASCAR community, be that gamers, car fanatics, or just motorsports fans, there is perhaps no group more passionate than NASCAR collectors.
Whether it’s cards, sheet metal, merch, or diecast, NASCAR collectors have built a sprawling community of their own across the online NASCAR world to discuss everything you can imagine, from diecast production rumors to what collectables are fetching the highest prices.
A major topic of discussion in the NASCAR collector community this week, specifically in a now-deleted post to the r/NASCAR subreddit, was some sky-high prices for memorabilia of one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ most talked-about drivers, Carson Hocevar.
It’s no surprise that fans are clamoring for more Hocevar collectables. After all, he might have one of the most well-received personalities and racing styles in sports’ recent history, with many fans taking to his unapologetic racing and outgoing personality.
Of course, he has his detractors, as, at the same time, some of his fellow drivers have warned of some form of karma catching up to the former Rookie of the Year down the road.
But, if there were ever any doubt as to whether or not “Hurricane” Hocevar was shooting up the popularity charts in the grandstands, look no further than some of his merchandise being sold on sites like eBay.
For example, a Chili’s snapback hat that is similar to one that retailed for $50 on Spire Motorsports’ website before quickly selling out was recently resold on eBay for $122.50.
Now, a 145% increase is a lot for an unsigned, or non-race used hat (that also features no reference to Hocevar, Spire, or even the No. 77 team) might seem like an outlier, but what about a 1:64 scale diecast?
Well, prices are shooting up in that department as well, as an eBay auction for a 1:64 scale diecast of his 2025 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, which Lionel retailed for $11.75, sold for $41.00 just this morning.
If you think that’s a high price to buy a 1:64 at, what about 1:24 scale diecast? Well, this time you might want to sit down, because, on Wednesday afternoon, a 1:24 scale diecast of Hocevar’s Zeigler paint scheme from his 2024 Rookie of the Year season sold for $449.99.
Now it’s fun to window shop these wild prices, but they may leave you asking why they’re selling for that much.
Now, there are a lot of reasons why NASCAR merchandise will spike in value, and looking at the forces that are behind Hocevar, there is little to suggest that these high prices are going down anytime soon.
First, given his recent performance, some fans could see buying now as an investment, hoping that these items could pull a pretty penny down the line should Hocevar develop into a title contender.
This is similar to how a driver like Kyle Larson has seen their early merchandise (such as diecast from his days at Chip Ganassi Racing) skyrocket in value as his success and popularity have grown in and even outside of the NASCAR community.
Of course, not every NASCAR collector is in it for the current or future value of the item. For example, there are completionist collectors who collect every diecast or hat they can find for one specific driver or team.
Finally, there are those who, plain and simple, like Hocevar, and want to show their pride in whatever they can.
After all, whether it’s his social media presence, his on-track actions, or off-track persona, Hocevar is proving to a lot of drivers in the garage that personality goes a long way.
But, nonetheless, these different groups have all combined to make a highly competitive marketplace for Hocevar’s merchandise, pushing prices to levels that, just a handful of years ago, seemed highly unlikely for the upstart Rookie just promoted from the Craftsman Truck Series.
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