SHR insider encourages optimism amid Tony Stewart's NASCAR exit rumors

Modified May 27, 2024 18:41 GMT

Tony Stewart's future in NASCAR remains a point of interest for most, and a growing point of concern for some, especially those in Stewart Haas Racing. There are drivers, crew members, and several other employees who are naturally worried about whether they'll have a job next year or not.

Reports from The Athletic have indicated that SHR might just sell off all four of their charters at the end of the 2024 season. This has left their drivers expressing concern, claiming every race feels like an audition, while some of their employees have also reportedly started asking around for jobs next year.

But in these bleak times, SHR driver Josh Berry's crew chief, Rodney Childers, sent out a positive message.

After a 10th-place finish for Berry, the crew chief posted a group picture and penned a message of optimism centered around the #4 team.

"This picture describes everything we have going on right now on the 4 team.. We are having SO much fun. We are getting better every week.. @joshberry is driving his butt off and deserves to race on Sundays for a long time. Thank you @Overstock and everyone @StewartHaasRcng .." Childers posted.

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It's also worth mentioning that the other three SHR drivers- Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, and Noah Gragson- didn't have that good of a race in Charlotte. While Briscoe ended up in 25th place, Preece finished 26th and Gragson finished 38th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hoping Tony Stewart doesn't exit NASCAR altogether

During a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. touched on the strong rumors that suggest Tony Stewart's complete exit from NASCAR.

Earnhardt mentioned that he's heard the range of SHR's charters is between $20-$30 million per charter. But even though he heard one charter went for as high as $40 million, he claimed the true value of it wasn't that.

To Junior, the true value of an SHR charter could range between $20-$30 million, and that is the amount of money he believes one charter should ideally go for. Having said that, he raised an important question and gave his opinion on what Tony Stewart should do with SHR.

"The question is, will Stewart-Haas sell all four of them? Does Tony Stewart and [Gene] Haas get out entirely? Holy s***, that would be weird. I don’t want to speculate. But I hope that Tony Stewart doesn’t leave NASCAR entirely. That would suck. I just think he’s an icon. He’s a motorsports icon. Done it all," Earnhardt Jr. said. [1:12:52]

That being said, it'll be interesting to see how the situation at SHR develops. Would Tony Stewart decide to sell all of his charters? Or would he sell a couple and keep the other two to remain in NASCAR?

Time will tell.

About the author

Shaharyar is one of the most experienced NASCAR journalists at Sportskeeda, having also worked in the motorsports journalism industry for over 3 years. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has previously worked with Essentially Sports.

In addition to watching as many races as possible and tracking all the storylines on raceday, he aims to be attentive and objective in his reportage by cross-referencing all the information he obtains with multiple sources. Shaharyar also tries to be empathetic with his coverage and understand the emotions of athletes and fans alike.

Although he admires Max Verstappen due to the hard work that has gone behind his recent dominance, he also has a soft spot for Charles Leclerc and Ferrari. Having covered NASCAR for quite some time, Shaharyar is resigned to the fact that it will struggle to eclipse F1 due to its old-school nature, though he believes the series has its own merits, just as F1 has limitations.

Shaharyar is also an indie filmmaker and his spare time is largely spent on that field either writing, directing, or editing a story or a project to make it come to life.

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer