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Despite the season not yet finished, the reshuffling of Stewart-Haas Racing’s assets is almost over. However, one lingering question is the final charter made available by SHR, as no clear suitor has yet to step forward to buy it.
Last season marked the beginning of Stewart-Haas Racing’s new era. The team’s winningest driver, Kevin Harvick, retired from racing after ten years at SHR.
Once a top team in NASCAR, Tony Stewart’s team has fallen to the bottom of the mountain. Fortunately, the end of 2023 felt like a bit of housekeeping for SHR. Though the team could have benefited from downsizing, they signed Noah Gragson and Josh Berry to complement Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece.
They accompanied these bold yet semi-confusing signings by revamping the team’s logo for the first time since opening in 2009, while Tony Stewart touted encouraging words about the future of SHR prior to the season.
However, this short revamped SHR came to a close when the team, still struggling on the track and for committed sponsors, announced its closure.
With this monumental closure, two main storylines developed. Where will the six SHR drivers go, and who will buy the team’s four available charters?
First and most notably, there are only three charters available for teams shopping the market. Gene Haas, co-owner of SHR, is holding onto one charter to field for himself as the Haas Factory Team in 2025.
The Haas Factory Team will not only field a Cup Series entry but also maintain Ford’s developmental chain through the Xfinity Series. In 2025, Haas continues the history of SHRs No. 00 and No. 98 in the Xfinity Series with Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed.
Cole Custer and Riley Herbst are the current drivers of No. 00 and No. 98. Custer joins Haas at the Cup level next year, while Herbst is one of two drivers in the fall out of SHR yet to have a ride for 2025.
As far as the 2024 Cup Series lineup is concerned:
Of the three available charters, two are assumed to be off the market.
The first buyer was Front Row Motorsports. The fellow Ford team added one more entry to its lineup for 2025, not only taking an SHR charter off the market but also an SHR driver in Noah Gragson.
The second charter sold to Trackhouse Racing. While not confirmed, a back-and-forth between owner Justin Marks and Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports all but confirmed the transaction.
Shane Van Gisbergen will drive the renumbered charter next season. With one charter remaining, major questions remain for 2025. While usually a hot commodity, why hasn’t somebody moved on the charter by now? Furthermore, who is the leading candidate to do so?
A major factor in buying a charter right now is the ongoing NASCAR and Racing Teams Alliance charter negotiations. These negotiations re-up teams’ charters and define agreements between the two parties based on charter ownership.
If the negotiations fall apart, though they most likely won’t, charters could become valueless. Furthermore, the new agreement terms may not be favorable to current suitors, making them reluctant to buy another charter.
With these factors considered, three main suitors almost immediately came to light early this season. These teams are Trackhouse Racing and FRM, which have already bought charters, plus a third team, 23XI Racing.
23XI seemed like a lock. However, its ownership group is outspoken about their displeasure with the ongoing charter negotiations. Fortunately for SHR, NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass still believes that 23XI is the most likely buyer.
However, in August a new suitor emerged from seemingly out of nowhere.
Wednesday evening, Jordan Bianchi of the Athletic reported that RFK racing looks likely to expand in 2025. This news follows earlier reports from Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, who said in mid-August that the team would consider expansion if Kroger joined as a sponsor.
Furthermore, Ryan Preece is a likely candidate for that ride, taking both charter and driver off the market. This expansion wouldn’t necessarily mean that both teams couldn’t expand, as one could buy a charter and one could lease a charter from an unknown owner.
When the charter sells, it will likely lead to more Silly Season moves. However, the relatively short SHR saga will be remembered for years to come, as it will affect not only the futures of its drivers but also those of other teams, drivers, and manufacturers.
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