An emotional Tony Stewart announced on Tuesday to his employees at Stewart-Haas Racing that he would be shutting down the team’s doors permanently at the end of the 2024 season. With his statement, the long-running rumor of the team divesting all four of its charters suddenly became a reality and has put the spotlight on potential takers.
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Front Row Motorsports leads the charge of those interested in taking the weight off Stewart’s head. Owned by Bob Jenkins and managed by Jerry Freeze, the team is looking to add a third entry to its Cup Series effort. Denny Hamlin co-owned 23XI Racing and Justin Marks’ Trackhouse Racing are other entities that could take up one charter each. This leaves the fourth and final charter without a possible buyer.
Sources indicate Front Row, 23XI and Trackhouse will each obtain one of the SHR charters. The fourth is more unclear. Legacy, RFK and JTG have all indicated interest in expanding but I do not expect them to be in play for any of the SHR charters (and JRM is not as well). https://t.co/QWY5tEqP82
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 28, 2024
Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass confirmed through his X handle that Richard Childress Racing could be interested in the fourth seat. The team currently runs only two cars despite having the ability to field more. He wrote, “RCR does have the ability to expand to a third car so wouldn’t count them out as a possibility for the other SHR charter but also wouldn’t count them as a clear favorite.”
RCR does have the ability to expand to a third car so wouldn’t count them out as a possibility for the other SHR charter but also wouldn’t count them as a clear favorite. https://t.co/ws8uPSaxJm
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 28, 2024
23XI Racing’s new race shop, Air Speed, is built with the capacity to hold more than two cars. Pockrass revealed that Hamlin views the shop as a real estate investment and that fielding three cars would be the most efficient for him from a financial standpoint. Since the time charters were introduced, they have grown over ten times in value. Buying them from Stewart is sure to leave a big monetary hole.
Uncertainty looms over the futures of Tony Stewart’s drivers and crew chiefs
Ryan Preece is in his contract year while Josh Berry has a year left on it. Chase Briscoe had an option year that the team will now not be able to exercise. Though Noah Gragson signed a multi-year agreement with the team before the 2024 season, his future is a question mark now. Veteran crew chief Rodney Childers is perhaps the most valuable asset that Stewart has apart from the charters themselves.
Scoring 40 wins from the pit box, he is a massive factor behind Stewart-Haas Racing’s success. Intrigue surrounds his next destination. An interesting point to note is that NASCAR and the teams haven’t reached an agreement yet over the charter deal beginning in 2025. This means Stewart does not have any charters to sell until an agreement is signed.
