Stewart-Haas Racing drivers have had the most taxing regular season this year. The team announced that it would be closing down permanently at the end of the season forcing them all to look for jobs elsewhere. While some have already found new homes others haven’t. The two-week break that NASCAR has taken after the weekend at Indianapolis comes as a welcome relief across the roster at this point.
Advertisement
Josh Berry, the driver of the iconic No. 4 car, will be jumping into late models for KHI in the CARS Tour during the break. He will be racing at Hickory and at Florida. The Cup Series rookie is set to join Wood Brothers Racing next year and currently sits 22nd in the driver standings far off from making it to the playoffs on points. He could still get through by securing a victory in one of the four regular-season races that remain.
25-year-old Noah Gragson has got a packed schedule of leisure planned for the break. He told Stewart-Haas Racing, “I’m going to California for the break and then probably go golf at Vegas and then I’ve got a wedding to go to.” Gragson has signed a multi-year agreement to join Front Row Motorsports beginning in 2025. He currently sits 23rd in the driver standings after a ninth-place result at Indianapolis.
Ryan Preece is the one Cup Series driver from Stewart-Haas Racing to not yet find a seat for next year. He revealed that his plans for the break were to visit his family in Connecticut and then take a vacation in the Outer Banks. He also admitted that he and wife, Heather, haven’t taken a vacation in nearly a decade now. Maybe a good diversion from everything is what he needs to be back on track.
2023 Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer has been declared as the driver for the Haas Factory team that will be rolled out next year. Custer currently tops the Xfinity Series standings and has got big plans for these two weeks. He is expecting the birth of his first son with Kari Custer whom he has been married to since January 2023. The final driver to open up his break plans was Riley Herbst.
Herbst will be flying overseas to be on a trip with his family. He currently sits fifth in the Xfinity Series driver standings after winning at the Indianapolis Oval last weekend. Word around the garage is that he could be piloting a third entry from 23XI Racing next year. But of course, these are just rumors until confirmed by an official party. Either way, work won’t be at the forefront of his mind for a few days.
