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Tony Stewart’s NASCAR Woes Worsen in 2024 as SHR Drivers Express Their Displeasure After Miserable Busch Clash Outing
Tony Stewart’s NASCAR Woes Worsen in 2024 as SHR Drivers Express Their Displeasure After Miserable Busch Clash Outing
“We’re not at the top of the hill looking down anymore. We’re at the bottom of the hill looking up.” 2023 was a year of massive pressure for Stewart-Haas Racing. From going winless all season to losing Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola, the team run by Tony Stewart was in dire need of changing direction. Coming into 2024, the new talent at SHR had a lot riding on their shoulders. But things haven’t gone their way so far.
After the 2024 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum resulted in major heartbreak for SHR’s new drivers, Chase Briscoe once again emerges as the man who needs to lead the team that seems to have lost its stride. With all eyes on Tony Stewart as he prepares for the NHRA, can Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, and Ryan Preece keep up with Briscoe to help even the playing field?
Tony Stewart will have to look up at the hill for a tad bit longer
The Clash at the Coliseum was anything but a piece of cake for Stewart-Haas Racing, with only one driver making it into the top 10 after carving his way through the field. Looking at his previous poor outings, Ryan Preece was looking to start the 2024 season on a solid note by locking 12th place in final qualifying. Unfortunately, he failed to convert the decent qualifying position into a top 10, finishing 11th.
Tony Stewart’s NASCAR Woes Worsen in 2024
For him, a major grievance throughout the race was the car’s balance, and he felt long runs were a department that still needed work. NBC quoted him, “I felt like we were really good on restarts. But for the long runs, we struggled, and I feel like 11th was kind of a victory for us.” Despite what the #41 driver had to say, there was a possibility of converting the 12th-place qualifying spot to a solid top-5 finish, considering Chase Briscoe’s mega drive. Having said that, Preece’s performance was miles better than how Noah Gragson’s redemption race went down.
Gragson qualified 17th in final practice and looked solid at the start, but communication errors plagued much of the race for the #10 driver. These errors led to Gragson falling down by a few laps, meaning he technically finished only 147 of the 151 laps. He stated, “Our communication mishaps as a team going into the race with the modified schedule – we were misinformed on some stuff. Other than that, I’m proud of these guys and proud of the effort, thankful for the hard work, and just grateful to be back out here.” But perhaps the largest disappointment of them all came from the experienced camp of Josh Berry.
When the 33-year-old was teamed up with Kevin Harvick’s iconic crew chief, Rodney Childers, the expectations were higher than ever. And perhaps the pressure got the best of Berry, who failed to qualify for the Clash at the Coliseum feature race, owing to a lowly 25th-place finish in final practice.
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So, with both new faces at SHR failing to impress, it was up to Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe to deliver some good news to Tony Stewart. And while Ryan Preece managed to wipe a little bit of the pain away, it was largely Briscoe’s mega comeback that drove Stewart-Haas Racing a step forward this race.
Chase Briscoe led by example at a time of crisis for Stewart-Haas Racing
As final practice for the Clash at the Coliseum drew to a close, Chase Briscoe felt he’d failed to do a good enough job to qualify. With his mind already on the plane ride back home, it was a major shock when Briscoe made it through by the smallest of margins, qualifying 22nd. But what no one expected was the mega drive he would deliver to match Ryan Blaney’s performance, driving his #14 Ford Mustang from the back of the field to 7th.
After the race, Stewart-Haas Racing’s most experienced driver reflected, “It’s a good way to start the season with a little bit of confidence. It was going to be kind of a kick in the b*tt if we didn’t make the race. So it was nice to just make the race and then be able to go forward and pass cars, and a lot of good cars, too. This doesn’t really mean anything for the rest of the year. But for our confidence and from a team-building standpoint, I feel like it’s a really good start.”
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A former Ferrari engineer has criticised the decision to bring in Lewis Hamilton and thinks the Brit’s presence will mean “a lot of potential for drama”.
At the age of 40, seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton will form a formidable driver partnership with Charles Leclerc. His big switch comes at the expense of Carlos Sainz, who has performed well for the Italian squad but who was axed so they had room for their blockbuster new signing.
But not everyone of a Ferrari persuasion is convinced that it will go well. Ernest Knoors, who spent many years as an engineer at Maranello, specialising in power units, worries that Hamilton’s presence could do more harm than good for a team that is finding its groove under Frederic Vasseur.
“A big name like Hamilton also brings a lot of politics and if politics within Ferrari are not managed well, then there is a lot of potential for drama,” he told Formule1.nl. “Hamilton has the tendency that if things do not work out, he turns his whole car upside down and starts experimenting.
“Ferrari believes very much in the big personalities and will follow him. But Hamilton is just someone you have to guide a little bit and not give the freedom to rebuild the whole car, because then it will go completely wrong. So I do not know if it is such a smart move, but of course it is nice for the sport.”
News of Hamilton’s planned move broke on February 1, coinciding with football’s Transfer Deadline Day. That the back pages of many newspapers were dominated by the decision of Hamilton to swap Mercedes for Ferrari was testament to the magnitude of the announcement.
Sainz was not surprised as he had been informed by his team of the plan ahead of it being made public. But the Spaniard responded well with two victories to date this season and five further appearances on the podium, on the way to what looks likely to be a fifth-placed finish in the championship – two spots and 54 points ahead of Hamilton.
Sainz has signed for Williams next year and, after several years of running at the front of the grid, will focus on his new challenge of helping restore one of the grid’s most historic teams to its former glory. But Knoors believes he should have been kept on by Ferrari instead.
The Dutchman added: “I see Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari more as a PR move. With all due respect, Hamilton is not going to take that Ferrari from P6 to P1. He will get the most out of it, but what Ferrari has to do is make that car faster. And if you make that car faster, you can easily drive at the front with the current line-up.
“Besides, as a team you have to look further on the horizon. If Hamilton becomes champion in the coming years, he and Ferrari will become immortal. But if you want to build a team with talent for the next five years, are you going to build on Hamilton? No, because he will really be finished after two or three years. That is why I would have kept the very strong line-up that Ferrari has now.”
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Chase Elliott had a front-row seat for one of NASCAR’s most bizarre moments of the 2024 Cup Series season. At the start of Stage 2, the pace car dove onto pit road in front of Elliott; however, it was a tad too late. The pace car made contact with the sand barrels at the entry of pit road and caused a red flag for cleanup.
Initially, there was some speculation on the NBC Sports broadcast, even from the No. 9 team, that Elliott made contact with the pace car. Fortunately, the pace car didn’t slide across the No. 9 car’s nose, but it undoubtedly provided one of NASCAR’s craziest red flag moments in recent memory.
Below, you can listen to Elliott and the No. 9 team react to the pace car crashing into the sand barrels on pit road at Phoenix during Championship Weekend!
Reflecting on the recent retirement of 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., Earnhardt didn’t mince words about the toll NASCAR takes on its drivers. Speaking candidly, the two-time Daytona 500 winner admitted that the pressure to perform every week left him feeling miserable for most of his racing career—a sentiment he believes is shared by many of his peers.
“Right or wrong, racing made me a miserable person 90% of the time,” Earnhardt confessed. “And him too. I mean, ask Kyle Busch, ask anybody—unless you’re winning, you’re not happy.”
For these elite drivers, the sport is a relentless grind. A podium finish might bring temporary relief, but anything short of victory is often a source of frustration. The immense effort poured into preparation and execution rarely feels like it pays off unless the checkered flag is theirs.
Earnhardt highlighted the mental toll of falling short, explaining how the relentless focus on winning can overshadow the joy of simply competing. Even a solid performance feels hollow compared to the euphoria of a win.
“Unless you’re winning, you’re not happy at all,” he said. “You’re okay with a good run, but for the most part, all the effort it takes just to run good—it doesn’t weigh out.”
For drivers, the stakes are sky-high every week. Sponsors, fans, and teams demand nothing less than excellence, leaving little room for error or personal satisfaction in anything less than a dominant performance.
Earnhardt also shared insights into his friendship with Martin Truex Jr., who recently announced his retirement. While the two often spend time hunting together during NASCAR’s off-season, Earnhardt noted that the stress of racing even creeps into their leisure activities.
“When I’m with him during hunting season, it’s always in the back of his mind,” Earnhardt said. “It’s that stressful part of the year when he’s as miserable as he’s going to be.”
Now, with Truex stepping away from the track, Earnhardt looks forward to seeing a lighter, happier version of his long-time friend. Without the weight of weekly competition hanging over him, Truex might finally be able to relax and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle he cherishes.
“It’ll be fun to see him loosen up,” Earnhardt added.
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