Latest news with #Stewart-HaasRacing
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
A year after SHR's stunning announcement, its drivers have found new homes, success in Cup
CONCORD, N.C. — Chase Briscoe grew up a Tony Stewart fan, his bedroom decorated with Stewart memorabilia. So when Stewart-Haas Racing selected Briscoe ahead of the 2021 season to drive the No. 14 car Stewart had, it was a special day. 'I thought that was the car I was going to potentially retire in,' Briscoe told NBC Sports. Advertisement That changed on May 28, 2024. Stewart-Haas Racing, a four-car Cup operation that won series titles with Stewart in 2011 and Kevin Harvick in 2014, announced it would shut down after the 2024 season. Among the team's 323 employees looking for work were its four Cup drivers — Briscoe, Josh Berry, Ryan Preece and Noah Gragson. 'At the time I was bummed,' Briscoe said. 'Just the whole team shutting down. I felt like that was really my family.' AUTO: MAY 24 NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 Austin Cindric, Team Penske drivers focused on Coke 600 after tumultuous week for organization The dismissal of three high-ranking Team Penske executives, including Austin Cindric's father, came after a rules violation with Penske's IndyCar program. Advertisement A year later, three of those four former SHR drivers are in a playoff spot heading into Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 'It's just crazy how quickly things can change,' Berry said. Berry won at Las Vegas in March for the Wood Brothers to all but assure himself his first Cup playoff spot. Briscoe is 12th in points with Joe Gibbs Racing near the midpoint of the regular season. Preece, 15th in points, also holds a playoff spot for RFK Racing. Only Gragson is outside a playoff spot at this time of the season with Front Row Motorsports. Tonight, Briscoe will lead the field to the green flag for the Coca-Cola 600 after winning the pole. It's his second pole of the season after claiming the top spot for the Daytona 500 in February. Advertisement 'I think last year a lot of people looked at us as underperforming and now we're overperforming,' Berry said. 'It changes just like that. The perception has changed completely.' AUTO: MAY 17 INDYCAR 109th Running of The Indianapolis 500 Jeff Gordon: Kyle Larson is 'going to be' at Charlotte for Coke 600 well ahead of start Jeff Gordon addresses Kyle Larson's travel from the Indianapolis 500 to the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. Berry has been strong on the 1.5-mile tracks, the same length as Charlotte Motor Speedway. Along with his Las Vegas win, he finished sixth at Kansas in the most recent Cup race. He was leading at Texas when he crashed earlier this month. Advertisement Briscoe's has finished a season-best fourth four times, including twice on 1.5-mile tracks, doing so at Homestead and Kansas. Three of Preece's four top-10 finishes this season have come at a 1.5-mile track. NASCAR: Coca-Cola 600 How to watch Sunday's Cup race at Charlotte: Start time, TV info and weather The focus will be on Kyle Larson seeking redemption at the 1.5-mile oval. For Preece, going through the unsettled situation last year at Stewart-Haas Racing, in a way, wasn't new for him. 'Really, my situation has been a one-year contract since '22,' he said. 'In all reality, it's been one year on and on and on. That hasn't changed me a whole lot. … It's very satisfying to be with this group (at RFK Racing). We all kind of came together very last minute. Derrick (Finley, the crew chief) even joked about it, he said, 'We didn't pick the team, the team chose us.'' Advertisement While Gragson has had his struggles this season, he'll start eighth in tonight's race. He's had only one better starting position this season. 'I think we've all fallen into really good positions with great teams and I'm thankful for that,' Berry said. 'Thankfully, we all did enough last year to find those opportunities and come out on the other side of it.'
NBC Sports
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
A year after SHR's stunning announcement, its drivers have found new homes, success in Cup
CONCORD, N.C. — Chase Briscoe grew up a Tony Stewart fan, his bedroom decorated with Stewart memorabilia. So when Stewart-Haas Racing selected Briscoe ahead of the 2021 season to drive the No. 14 car Stewart had, it was a special day. 'I thought that was the car I was going to potentially retire in,' Briscoe told NBC Sports. That changed on May 28, 2024. Stewart-Haas Racing, a four-car Cup operation that won series titles with Stewart in 2011 and Kevin Harvick in 2014, announced it would shut down after the 2024 season. Among the team's 323 employees looking for work were its four Cup drivers — Briscoe, Josh Berry, Ryan Preece and Noah Gragson. 'At the time I was bummed,' Briscoe said. 'Just the whole team shutting down. I felt like that was really my family.' Dustin Long, A year later, three of those four former SHR drivers are in a playoff spot heading into Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 'It's just crazy how quickly things can change,' Berry said. Berry won at Las Vegas in March for the Wood Brothers to all but assure himself his first Cup playoff spot. Briscoe is 12th in points with Joe Gibbs Racing near the midpoint of the regular season. Preece, 15th in points, also holds a playoff spot for RFK Racing. Only Gragson is outside a playoff spot at this time of the season with Front Row Motorsports. Tonight, Briscoe will lead the field to the green flag for the Coca-Cola 600 after winning the pole. It's his second pole of the season after claiming the top spot for the Daytona 500 in February. 'I think last year a lot of people looked at us as underperforming and now we're overperforming,' Berry said. 'It changes just like that. The perception has changed completely.' Berry has been strong on the 1.5-mile tracks, the same length as Charlotte Motor Speedway. Along with his Las Vegas win, he finished sixth at Kansas in the most recent Cup race. He was leading at Texas when he crashed earlier this month. Briscoe's has finished a season-best fourth four times, including twice on 1.5-mile tracks, doing so at Homestead and Kansas. Three of Preece's four top-10 finishes this season have come at a 1.5-mile track. Nate Ryan, For Preece, going through the unsettled situation last year at Stewart-Haas Racing, in a way, wasn't new for him. 'Really, my situation has been a one-year contract since '22,' he said. 'In all reality, it's been one year on and on and on. That hasn't changed me a whole lot. … It's very satisfying to be with this group (at RFK Racing). We all kind of came together very last minute. Derrick (Finley, the crew chief) even joked about it, he said, 'We didn't pick the team, the team chose us.'' While Gragson has had his struggles this season, he'll start eighth in tonight's race. He's had only one better starting position this season. 'I think we've all fallen into really good positions with great teams and I'm thankful for that,' Berry said. 'Thankfully, we all did enough last year to find those opportunities and come out on the other side of it.'
Newsweek
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Former NASCAR Champion Repeats Success With NHRA Top Fuel Victory
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Former NASCAR champion Tony Stewart clinched his second NHRA Top Fuel victory during the Route 66 Nationals on Sunday. This comes after the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion secured his first NHRA Top Fuel win in April 2025 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After starting from the No. 2 qualifying position for Sunday's eliminations, Stewart had the edge over 15-time winner Justin Ashley in a head-to-head finish. In a video posted by his team following the race, Stewart reacted to the win, stating: "Winning never gets old. It just never gets old. When you win, you just wanna win more. So, it's just awesome. Where we were last year and where we are now, it's just yards of difference. Super proud of these guys." Speaking to the media ahead of the race weekend, Stewart explained, as reported by Autoweek: "Honestly, you don't think about the records. You just concentrate on the race you're trying to win that weekend. I think once you accomplish milestones like that, then you think about it and reflect on it, but you're not thinking about it in the process. You're just going out and doing your job trying to win races each week. Co-owner Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing talks with the media during a press conference introducing Josh Berry as the new driver of the #4 Stewart-Hass Racing Ford Mustang at Charlotte Motor Speedway on June 21,... Co-owner Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing talks with the media during a press conference introducing Josh Berry as the new driver of the #4 Stewart-Hass Racing Ford Mustang at Charlotte Motor Speedway on June 21, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. More"I don't think there's anything you can do in town with any of the other professional sports teams like the NHRA, and no disrespect to them. They're all amazing. "But going to a drag race and seeing two 11,000-plus-horsepower cars racing side-by-side is a feeling you can't get in in a baseball stadium, hockey arena, basketball court, or football stadium. "It just doesn't happen there, so that's what makes drag racing so unique. You can watch it on TV as much as you want, but until you go and really experience it firsthand, you don't truly know what you're missing."
Newsweek
02-05-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Tony Stewart Issues Bold Daytona 500 Statement: "Going To Be Crucified For This"
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Former NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart claimed that the iconic Daytona 500 race "doesn't mean the same now as it did 15-20 years ago." Stewart, who recently clinched his first NHRA victory, acknowledged that he would likely be "crucified by a lot of people" for his opinion. During an appearance on the Rubbin is Racing podcast (below), the former Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner explained: "When it comes to Daytona, now I'm going to be crucified by a lot of people for this. In my eyes, it doesn't mean the same now as it did 15-20 years ago. "Anybody can win, I mean, you look at some of the guys that won the Daytona 500. I don't want to go into the list of guys because they're guys that I do respect and have friendships with, but they're not guys that should have won the Daytona 500 and they've won the Daytona 500 and that's all they've won. Tony Stewart did not hold back in this interview. New episode of Rubbin is Racing out now! — Rubbin is Racing (@rubbinisracing) May 2, 2025 "They may have won one or two races outside of that. We won 49 Cup races, Jeff Gordon won 75 cup races, Richard Petty [won] 200 Cup races. Anybody in the field can win the Daytona 500 now. As much as it's a crown jewel, I would still go back, and I would trade some of my race wins to get the Daytona 500." Retired NASCAR Cup Series driver, Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Hass Racing, NASCAR looks on during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 04, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. Retired NASCAR Cup Series driver, Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Hass Racing, NASCAR looks on during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 04, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images Stewart also insisted that he wouldn't trade any of his other NASCAR trophies, of which he has 49 from Cup Series races, 3 for Cup Series championships, and 41 for Xfinity Series races, for three Daytona 500 wins. He added: "No, absolutely not okay, no way, I wouldn't trade a Championship for three Daytona 500 trophies. "Even though I don't feel like it carries as much weight as it used to, it still carries the weight because it's still the Daytona 500. It is still the marquee event on the NASCAR schedule, it still has that rich history. "The cars have got so equal that and you look at guys that are winning some of these, they're not the ones that led the most laps, they're not the ones that were up front. They were the guy that was second or third or fourth when the last lap crash happened and NASCAR hit the button to freeze the field, and they were they're the winner. I don't hold as much stock now [in the Daytona 500]." Although Stewart stepped away from NASCAR racing in 2016 and closed Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of 2024, he recently admitted that he could be tempted back. During an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio via Yardbarker, he commented: "I'm definitely planning on coming back to NASCAR races. As a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, I get a hard card. I don't know if NASCAR has the ability to revoke that or not but until they do revoke it, I'm going to take advantage of having a hard card and I definitely want to come back and see everybody. "I miss a lot of things about NASCAR and most of all the people. The people are what I enjoyed about it and the relationships I had there. Definitely looking forward to coming back and seeing everybody."
Washington Post
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Spire Motorsports releases crew chief Rodney Childers after 9 races of NASCAR season
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Spire Motorsports has parted ways with championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers after only nine races with the team. Childers, one of the winningest active crew chiefs in the Cup Series, won the 2014 championship with Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing. When that team closed at the end of last season, Childers moved to Spire to crew chief Justin Haley.
