It’s pretty safe to say that 2023 wasn’t a good year for Stewart Haas Racing’s NASCAR Cup Series program. On-track performances aside, the Cup team co-owned by Tony Stewart suffered several massive blows. The first came with the announcement of Kevin Harvick’s retirement at the end of 2023. Then there were the circulating rumors of Aric Almirola following in Harvick’s footsteps, which later turned out to be true. And now, there is the sponsor migration situation.
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Hunt Brothers Pizza, a sponsor associated with Kevin Harvick’s #4 team, will no longer be on a Stewart Haas Cup car in 2024. Instead, the Nashville-based pizza chain would jump the SHR Fords to make their way onto the Penske Fords, with the driver being 2x Cup champion, Joey Logano.
Scott Hunt, the CEO of the pizza chain said after the announcement, “We are thrilled to team up with Joey Logano and Team Penske, a winning team and driver who both share our company’s values and commitment to being the best in our respective industries.”
It’s worth mentioning that Tony Stewart’s NASCAR organization also lost a key partner in Busch Beer as the St. Louis-based brand would be sponsoring Ross Chastain following Harvick’s departure.
Could Tony Stewart pull his stock from NASCAR and leave?
Of course, no NASCAR fan would want Tony Stewart to leave the sport, but at this moment, Stewart has a lot on his plate. Most notably, he is the driver and the owner of the SRX Series. Then there’s also Stewart’s team in the NHRA, another form of racecar driving in which he balances his duties as an owner and a driver. In fact, his driver duties are set to increase from the next year along with his familial commitments.
But more important than that is the fact that Stewart is experiencing relatively more success in his other commitments outside of NASCAR.
So all of these factors, Stewart’s interest and stakes in other series, SHR’s lack of competitiveness, and a dwindling sponsor portfolio on the Cup Side could perhaps make Smoke weigh up his options regarding a decision about his future in NASCAR.
