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Which Stewart-Haas Driver Made the Best Move?

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What’s Happening?

Stewart-Haas Racing and those affiliated with the organization have dominated the headlines of Silly Season 2024. Three of the team’s four drivers have their 2024 plans set, and today, we look at those moves to see who made the right decision.

  • When Stewart-Haas Racing announced their shutdown, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, and Josh Berry immediately became some of NASCAR’s most highly coveted free agents. Each found a ride within six weeks of the original shutdown announcement.
  • Briscoe is set to take over the No. 19 car at Joe Gibbs Racing, Gragson will move to Front Row Motorsports, and Berry will compete for The Wood Brothers in the No. 21 car. Each team has potential, but which driver made the best move of the three?
  • Fans are looking closely at each of these drivers. They have been the biggest stories of Silly Season so far, and fans will wonder and speculate how the moves will work out until next year.

Chase Briscoe: Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19

Regarding the equipment, Chase Briscoe easily landed the top ride out of all three of these drivers. Joe Gibbs Racing is the flagship Toyota team, and they are a genuine Championship contender every year. This year has been more of the same for JGR, with all four drivers currently in Playoff position and Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell having multiple wins.

Briscoe joins the No. 19 team with a veteran crew chief in James Small. Small has eight wins with Martin Truex Jr., and the pair made the Championship 4 in 2021. This is a ready-made situation where Briscoe can and is expected to win races. Many fans agree that Briscoe is in the best situation of any of the current SHR drivers.

Mick Rose believes Briscoe took the best ride, but it comes with pressure.

Jeremy notes that Briscoe nabbed the most coveted ride of the bunch.

While Jennifer believes that every driver made the right decision based on the hand they were dealt, however, Briscoe easily landed the best opportunity.

Shaquille Oatmeal believes comparing these drivers too closely is unfair since these moves are very complicated, but Briscoe is still in the best situation.

Josh Berry: The Wood Brothers, No. 21

Josh Berry’s move to The Wood Brothers has plenty of pluses and minuses. It’s a single-car team that has finished outside of the top-25 in points each of the last three seasons, but before Harrison Burton’s arrival, TWB was a fringe Playoff contender. Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Blaney made the Playoffs for the team, and an alliance with Team Penske makes things even more interesting.

He does lose Rodney Childers, one of the top crew chiefs in NASCAR, but Berry could have the talent to elevate The Wood Brothers back to their pre-Burton state. Could this pairing allow Berry to perform to his potential? We will see, and many fans believe Berry can elevate The Wood Brothers.

Wood Brothers Racing fan believe that Berry could improve The Wood Brothers more than the other SHR drivers improve their teams.

Connor believes that Berry and Noah Gragson should have gotten a better opportunity.

Brian spilner is interested in what Berry can do at The Wood Brothers.

McTablecloth isn’t sure what type of a choice Berry had, but he believes losing Childers is a big loss.

Noah Gragson: Front Row Motorsports, No. Unknown

Noah Gragson’s seat is all about one word: potential. Front Row Motorsports is now a “Tier One” Ford team, and they could be on an upward trajectory to only get better as the years go on. Gragson flashed his talent in the lower series and showed more promise in 2024.

However, it’s tough to project how good Gragson and Front Row will be. Both Front Row drivers and Gragson currently sit outside of the Playoffs, so will there be immediate improvement? Many fans love the potential of his move.

AD2 Designs believes Gragson made a great move, particularly joining a “Tier One” team.

Done Pro believes Gragson got the best opportunity in terms of growth.

Sandman believes that Gragson ended up being the best of all of the SHR drivers.

Chandler Paul believes that Gragson, along with Briscoe, ended up in the best situation.

What do you think about all this? Let us know on Discord or X what your take is, and don’t forget you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and even YouTube.

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