AVONDALE, Ariz. — Founded in 2002, Stewart-Haas Racing will run its final NASCAR Cup Series race this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
It was announced earlier this season that the four-car team will close at the end of the year.
Heading to the finale at Phoenix, the team’s four drivers took time to reflect on their time with the organization, which is co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas.
Josh Berry concludes his one and only season with the team on Sunday.
“It’s most definitely been a whirlwind over the past, really, two years just taking it all in,” Berry said. “But honestly, I’m just really grateful for my time at SHR and the opportunity I got to drive the 4 car and race in the Cup Series. It was just such a life-changing opportunity for me. It’s been a challenge at times, and it’s been a challenge navigating through all the change and what our futures are and everything that’s been going on.
“But the reality of this is it’s still sad because there are a lot of great people, great men and women at Stewart Haas Racing, tons and tons of great people all across the board that made that place what it is and made it great. So I’m just thankful for the opportunity to get to race with those guys and learn from them and get to compete with them.” Obviously, I’m looking forward to next year and thankful I got an opportunity, but still I’m going to look back very fondly on this year.”
It was also Noah Gragson’s only season with the team.
“The people are the most important thing, and being able to build relationships with what were once strangers in January to near and dear friends today – the people we go to battle with every weekend. So, it’s definitely emotional,” Gragson explained. “I’ve only been there for less than a year, but at the same time there have been guys who have been there for two decades. To be able to see everybody come together when Chase Briscoe won, that was big and powerful and moving for the company as a whole.
“It kind of sparked a lot of excitement under everybody’s tails, and I’m just extremely grateful for the opportunity that Tony (Stewart, co-owner) and Greg Zipadelli (chief competition officer) gave me to be able to get back into the sport, and to do it at the highest level of the Cup Series means the world to me. I’m tremendously grateful for that, tremendously grateful for the friendships and experiences and memories that we’ve been able to make over the past year. It’s allowed me to get back on my feet in the Cup Series, and we’ve had some strong runs and it’s given me my confidence back.
“So, it’s definitely going to be emotional at Phoenix when that checkered flag drops, and I’ve only been there for a year,” Gragson added. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for other guys and gals who have been there for a much longer period of time. We’re one group, we’re in it to the end, and just extremely grateful. It’s going to be a bittersweet week, for sure.”
Chase Briscoe started with SHR in the Xfinity Series in 2018 and is finishing his fourth season in the Cup Series.
“May feels like it was just the other day, honestly, when we found out the news. So it’s crazy that we’re at the very end, right? To know that it’s all coming to an end is definitely bittersweet,” Briscoe said. “I was telling the guys last weekend at Martinsville, where we were eight days away from the company literally locking the doors, and we were still able to bring a car that, honestly, should’ve sat on the pole. That’s just a testament to everybody, and it’s just really, really cool and special that they’ve continued to put in that effort given the circumstances.
“But it’s going to be a tough weekend at Phoenix for a lot of different people and for a lot of different reasons. Hopefully, we can go out on top,” said Briscoe, who earned one of his two Cup Series wins at Phoenix. “That would be the coolest thing, if you could win the final race. And for me, just this whole season’s been really cool, just to obviously get a win in the final season for SHR and to get the 14 car at least where it’s competitive in its final season. That was something that was really important to me.
“I can’t believe it’s coming to an end. It’s definitely a sad ending to it all, and it’s definitely going to be a tough weekend.”
Finally, Ryan Preece has raced for SHR since 2002.
“For me, the May, June, July months were tough, really tough, I think tough for everybody, tough for our team, but what I appreciate the most is my group of team members and that the guys haven’t quit,” Preece said. “They haven’t quit and I think it’s shown. It’s almost built this thick skin layer on us because, when you look at late August, September, October, we’ve been strong. Have we been winning like we want to be? No. I don’t think our company is there. But I also think that we’ve persevered in times when everybody’s just like, ‘Well, **** it, we’re moving on to our next deal.’ Everybody here said, ‘We’ve got 10 more, we’ve got eight more, we’ve got six more, we’ve got four more.’
“And not to just be done, but to try and finish on a note that we’re proud of. I think that’s the thing that I take away most from being at this organization, the group of people that we’ve been surrounded by, and the perseverance that each and every one of them has,” Preece said. “You know, wherever they end up going, whatever team, they’re going to be lucky to have them because they’ve taken a tough time and made the most of it. And, as far as the team goes, I think those are the people that you want around you when you go to war. You don’t want somebody that’s going to run and hide. You want somebody who’s going to fight.”