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Stewart-Haas Racing Shutting Down at Season’s End

HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 22: NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart looks on from the grid prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 22, 2022 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Joshua Lipowski

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Royal T Grafix

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What’s Happening

The day that many expected but few yearned for has come. Stewart-Haas Racing has announced through a joint-statement from co-owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas that the team is shutting down at the end of the season. The statement can be read in full below.

  • Stewart-Haas Racing has reportedly been in trouble for a while now. Multiple reports have indicated that SHR’s contract with Ford ends at the conclusion of 2024, and no plans were made to renew it. That, combined with SHR’s recent dip in performance (Winless since 2022), made many question the organization’s future.
  • Bob Pockrass reports that SHR’s charters are rumored to be heading to Front Row, Trackhouse, and 23XI (one each), with the fourth charter still unclaimed. This comes amidst a Jordan Bianchi report that NASCAR could limit teams to 3 cars per team beginning in 2025.
  • Fans are sad at the announcement that SHR is leaving the sport entirely. Many were fans of SHR specifically, and, now, the team is no more.

Where Do the CHarters Go?

Bob Poockrass reports that three of the charters be sold to 3 different teams, with Trackhouse, Front Row Motorsports, and 23XI Racing all buying one each. The fourth charter is up for grabs, and Legacy Motor Club, RFK Racing, and JTG-Daugherty Racing are all interested in expanding, even if this may not be the charter they purchase according to Pockrass.

Why would teams like Front Row, 23XI, and Trackhouse not buy two charters? Jordan Bianchi reported last week that NASCAR is considering dropping the number of cars a team can own from four cars to three.

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That means only one charter would cause 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and Trackhouse to reach NASCAR’s potential new limit. It’s unclear at the moment what each team will do with their new charters, but, there are some possible theories.

23XI Racing might open a third car for a hot Toyota prospect like Corey Heim or Chandler Smith. Front Row Motorsports now has two open seats, and they’re an easy candidate to land two of SHR’s 4 free agents. Trackhouse needs an extra seat to bring in Zane Smith, so, this could fix that problem.

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However, we do not know any of this for certain yet.

What Does This Mean for the Drivers?

This means all four SHR drivers will be free agents at the end of the season. Where they all go is a mystery, but, there are plenty of open seats for them.

Front Row Motorsports is one likely landing spot. They’re a tier-one Ford team, and if Ford wants to keep these drivers, Front Row could be an ideal place for them to land.

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The Wood Brothers is another place for SHR drivers to look at with Harrison Burton’s uncertain future. They are also a Ford team aligned with Team Penske, but The Wood Brothers is not a “Tier One” team. Either way, this could be another good landing spot for SHR drivers.

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That’s only three seats, however, and that means at least one Cup Series driver is left to look elsewhere plus Cole Custer and Riley Herbst in the Xfinity Series. They may have to wait until Silly Season further develops.

What do you think? Stay tuned right here to the Daily Downforce for more on this and everything else going on in the NASCAR world.

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HAMPTON, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 21: Sheldon Creed, driver of the #00 Road Ranger Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at Echo Park Speedway on February 21, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia.

O’Reilly: Sheldon Creed Breaks Through in Thriller at EchoPark Speedway

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

It was a busy Saturday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). First, we had the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Then, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series took center stage and they were two vastly different events. Ultimately, it was Sheldon Creed standing tall in victory lane when all was said and done. Here’s what you need to take away from tonight’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway.

  • There were a lot of drivers who had tire problems which set off massive wrecks and incidents. First, Sam Mayer had a tire go down from the race lead. Sammy Smith got bitten. Austin Green. Corey Day. Taylor Gray. The list goes on and on. Some of them were able to stay in contention while others were plagued for the rest of the race.
  • Speaking for Corey Day, he just had a bad race. First, he sparked an incident which took out several drivers, including the Sieg brothers (who weren’t shy about voicing their displeasure about the rookie) and Harrison Burton. And though the broadcasters on the CW gave him the benefit of the doubt, the later incident was less forgivable. In this incident, while he was battling the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier for the race lead, Day got into the No. 1 Arby’s Chevy, sending all three of them into the wall. This is certainly a performance that he’ll want to forget.
  • Chevrolets swept the stages. Winning the first one was none other than Jesse Love, continuing RCR’s dominance on drafting tracks. Rajah Caruth, who had a handful all race, was able to capture his first career stage win by winning Stage 2.
  • It wasn’t the dominating race for RCR that we all thought it would be. With ill-handling cars, their qualifying attempts were underwhelming, and they got off to a lukewarm start tonight. By the end of it, though, they were in the mix. Slicing and dicing, Austin Hill had the lead as they came around to take the white flag. However, in Turn 1, he got “Chastained.” Ross Chastain plowed into the back of the No. 21, knocking him down to the apron. Hill was able to save it and rally home to a 12th place finish.
  • The big story tonight is that Sheldon Creed, finally, after far too many runner-up finishes to count, broke through to capture his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win. It will certainly be a day he and his team will never forget.

Notable Incidents

Lap 5: Corey Day

Corey Day had a very sloppy, bad race in general, and it started early. First, he caused a wreck that took out Harrison Burton and a couple of others. Then, he took out the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. You can recap that first incident by reading the article below.

Also Read:

O’Reilly: Corey Day Triggers Big Wreck Early at EchoPark Speedway

Lap 142: Sammy Smith

Kvapil and Allgaier weren’t the only JRM cars to have issues tonight. Firstly, Rajah Caruth was out of control throughout the race, fighting a mean-handling car. He was able to brilliantly save it several times, to his credit. But perhaps the biggest incident involving the four JRM Chevys came at Lap 142 when Sammy Smith had a tire go down and spun in front of the pack. This took out several drivers, including Taylor Gray, among others. Read about that here:

Also Read:

O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

Results

Results Pending.

Points Standings (2 of 35)

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O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

As Ross Chastain took the lead and the pack was closing in on 20 laps to go, things a little deeper in the pack started to get a little hairy. We had yet another huge crash late in the running here tonight, this one sparked by Sammy Smith’s flat rear tire. Here’s what happened:

  • As the laps were winding down in tonight’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, Sammy Smith, along with his JRM teammates, were in the thick of contention for the win. Unfortunately for him, a poorly-timed flat rear tire ended his (and several others) chance to capitalize and get that first valuable win of the season. Unable to hold onto it, the No. 8 Pilot Chevy spun around in front of a massive horde of cars.
  • Helpless to go anywhere, several heavy hitters were caught up in this incident. They include the likes of William Sawalich, Gio Ruggiero, Patrick Staropoli, Taylor Gray, Brennan Poole, Nick Leitz, and Lavar Scott.
  • It’s an unfortunate beginning of the year for a handful of these drivers. Luckily for Brennan Poole, he’s coming off a strong showing at Daytona and was in the thick of it here tonight. That shows some promise for sure.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

O’Reilly: Mid-Race Report from EchoPark Speedway

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

It has been a tail of two races when it comes to today’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at EchoPark Speedway (formerly the Atlanta Motor Speedway). We got off to a rough start with Corey Day triggering a massive wreck that took out the likes of Harrison Burton, and the Sieg brothers. Then, the field settled in and started to churn laps. Here’s what’s gone down so far.

  • Sam Mayer led a bulk of the opening laps. Leading the first 23 laps of the race, he was forced to pit on Lap 24 due to a flat left front tire. No caution was triggered. To make matters worse, he was caught speeding on pit road, putting him down several laps and effectively taking him out of contention.
  • Jesse Love continued RCR’s dominance in the first stage. With Mayer out of the picture, he assumed the race lead, leading 31 laps to win the opening stage.
  • Austin Hill finally made it up to the race lead by Stage 2. Unfortunately for him and RCR, their win streak in the stages ended with the conclusion of Stage 2. It was Rajah Caruth in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevy that captured the green and white checkered flag.
  • In a horrific accident during pit stops, Taylor Gray smashed into one of his tire carriers. It was a scary situation. Fortunately, he got up like a champ and completed the stop. He was thankfully checked and released from the in-field care center.
  • Corey Day’s woes continued as the field set in for the final stage of the evening. Drawing further criticism, Day, while battling for the race lead, made contact with leader Carson Kvapil, sending them both into the outside wall. Also collected in the incident was Kvapil’s teammate, the 2024 series champion, Justin Allgaier.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.