Kevin Harvick raises questions about Tony Stewart & Gene Haas split following new team announcement

Since the announcement of Stewart-Haas Racing's closure at the end of the 2024 season, a lot of speculation has been brewing in the world of NASCAR. Now, an unexpected announcement mid-season has caused legendary racer Kevin Harvick to raise questions about a different issue altogether.

In the latest episode of 'Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour' on NASCAR on FOX, the iconic stock car driver opened up about the confusion with the SHR's newest announcement to analyst Kaitlyn Vincie. After initially planning to shut down entirely, Stewart-Haas Racing will keep a presence in NASCAR. Partner Gene Haas announced the team will operate a single charter under the 'Haas Factory Team' banner, along with fielding two entries in the Xfinity Series.

This revelation has caused Harvick to explore the possibility of a fallout between Haas and Tony Stewart. The California-based driver questioned whether Stewart decided to end the partnership due to his lack of control over the teams' competition side. Harvick also highlighted SHR's failure to sign the likes of Kyle Larson or Kyle Busch, primarily due to Stewart's lack of authority.

"I have no idea what is happening here. Now I'm confused. Is there a spat? Is there something that happened between Gene and Tony?" Harvick said.

Speaking about the history of Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick commented:

"It was Gene Haas and Joe Custer and they started up Haas and they couldn't they didn't run very well So they brought in Tony Stewart to bring in the notoriety and the people In things that they needed to do to win a championship. Well, they brought in Tony Stewart They won a championship." (1:08 onwards)

Explaining the situation further, Harvick clarified the importance of Cole Custer for the Factory Haas Team.

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A brief look at Cole Custer's 2024 Xfinity Series season so far with Stewart-Haas Racing

Having won the 2023 Championship title, Cole Custer started the 2024 Xfinity Series season with a lot of confidence. However, the #00 driver faced issues in the first two races of the season, as he managed to finish 13th at Daytona International Speedway and 16th at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

After sorting out the troubles with the car and team, Custer managed three consecutive top 5 finishes (second in Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fifth in Phoenix Raceway, and fourth in Circuit of The Americas). Of the 16 races so far, Custer has managed 13 top 10s and 7 top 5s. Additionally, he also has one DNF at Charlotte Motor Speedway (ended in 32nd position).

Despite standing in first place in the Xfinity series driver's standing with 589 points, Custer has no ride available for the 2025 season, at least for now (NASCAR or Xfinity). However, with legends like Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick backing the 26-year-old racer, the situation might change soon.