Stewart-Haas Racing started 2024 with the disadvantage of not having veterans Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola as a part of its Cup Series line-up. Replacing them were Josh Berry and Noah Gragson. Along with Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece, the four-member team was given the responsibility of taking the Tony Stewart co-owned outfit back to winning ways.
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While they haven’t yet reached that mark, the journey has no doubt begun and is heading strong. Currently the most experienced driver on the roster, Chase Briscoe explained to NBC what has changed within the team from 2023 to 2024. “As the whole company, we’ve been more competitive this year than we were last year,” he said.
“As far as working with them guys, it’s been awesome. It’s probably been the most the four drivers have ever talked amongst each other at Stewart-Haas.” He detailed that the close working relationship that he shares with his teammates has resulted in the members of their race shops working together. Briscoe believes that this is one of the key reasons for the improvement of the team’s results from last year.
He continued, “I wouldn’t say it feels like a startup team. It feels like I just moved to another established team. It just feels different. Even when you go to the shop, the vibe in the building is different, I would say. And some of that’s kind of not been the same as it was 6 weeks ago.” Highly appreciative of all the changes that have happened, he revealed that the transformation went as deep as personality and contribution changes in team meetings.
Briscoe said in another recent interview with heavy.com that when Harvick was still in the team, their collective morale rested on the icon’s performance. He reiterated that Stewart-Haas Racing was far more cohesive now, as opposed to when it was just four teams working on their own cars in the past.
How has the positivity in the race shop reflected on the race track for Tony Stewart’s team?
After 7 races in the ongoing season, Stewart’s drivers are yet to collect a win. Briscoe stands highest on the points table at 18th place with two top-10 finishes. Next to him is Josh Berry in 23rd place. Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece are at 30th and 31st, respectively. Despite the underwhelming view of the current numbers, strong qualifying runs have come the team’s way and rendered things better than they were in 2023.
One of the four drivers will hopefully grab a victory in the upcoming races and lift Stewart’s hopes again. Meanwhile, it should also be noted that talks of the team downsizing to fewer entries starting as soon as 2025 have been gathering weight.
