One of the biggest talking points of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has been Tony Stewart’s racing outfit shutting shop by the end of the year. Stewart-Haas Racing, the project that saw the now 53-year-old driver team up with Gene Haas to approach the racing world from a different angle, certainly has left a lasting legacy in NASCAR.
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Hendrick Motorsports star and arguably the most popular face on the field today, Chase Elliott, elaborated on the team’s lasting legacy in modern-day stock car racing.
The #9 Chevrolet Camaro driver, while unsure of Stewart’s current day-to-day involvement with the team that enabled Kevin Harvick to clinch the ultimate prize in the sport, was certainly sure of his admiration towards one of the powerhouse teams in the Cup Series.
The Georgia native touched on how Stewart’s involvement with Gene Haas, who had been involved in NASCAR long before the partnership came to fruition, saw the rise of SHR as a serious contender, while also stirring up Tony’s love-hate relationship with the sport over the coming years.
“I know Gene (Haas) was around long before Tony joined there, and when Tony joined, it seemed like that was when things really ramped up. It was really impressive to watch. It was cool to see a guy come in; kind of stick his neck out in certain areas, whether it be financially or just from a sheer time standpoint and being spread thin. Being an owner and a driver can probably do that to you,” Elliott told the press.
While Tony Stewart has certainly made clear that his final hurrah in NASCAR is behind us now, die-hard fans of the Columbus, Indiana native still hail ‘Smoke’ as the one to take it to the governing body without any fear of repercussions. Fellow drivers such as Elliott remember him with more or less the same sentiment.
“I always thought it was really cool that he went out and did that; had success with it and made it work. So yeah, you hate to see him go, just because I think the overall health of our sport wants and needs healthy race teams. They’ve been a healthy race team and I hate to see that,” he added.
In his post-NASCAR life, Stewart is still living life on the track, albeit one that involves top fuel dragsters on a quarter-mile strip.
