Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) and Tony Stewart made tall promises in the 2024 off-season about competing at the highest level again when the new season starts. Well, the time has come for them to start living up to their word. Days away from the official season-opening race at Daytona, #41 driver Ryan Preece has reminded himself and his team of the requirements for that.
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In a conversation with Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Preece said, “I think right now with Kevin [Harvick] leaving and Aric [Almirola] leaving, we as drivers need to step up as leaders. I think it is an important time at SHR to show leadership and that’s what we are all trying to do.”
With the departure of Harvick and Almirola, Chase Briscoe is now the most-tenured driver at the SHR garage. Though the leadership role naturally falls to him, Preece is right up there alongside him in support. He said to NBC back in November, “I’m already there. I’m there every day. I’m already doing this.”
He continued on the necessity of putting in good performances on the track. He said, “This year, it is kind of like a change in everybody’s demeanor. We all hated the fact that we didn’t win last year. It was time to change things and I think there were a lot of internal changes and certainly, all for the good.”
He spoke for the entire line-up when he said that the first five or six races in superspeedways and short tracks were when SHR could establish that it was a contender for a championship.
Tony Stewart will not accept mediocrity from his drivers anymore
Tony Stewart is done with not seeing his Cup Series drivers in the victory lane considering all the money that is spent on them. In a show of purpose ahead of the season opener, he said that he wouldn’t be reluctant to replace employees if they couldn’t show results.
In his words, “They are going to have to find something or we’ll find people that will find it because we can’t perform at this level. It’s just not acceptable anymore.”
Stewart is the main face of the organization and that means taking hits for drivers when they perform poorly. The former champion has done that without complaint over the last two or three years. But 2024 ought to hopefully give him a break.
