This year, Stewart-Haas Racing has a new logo, new drivers, and a new outlook on the season. Josh Berry and Noah Gragson know the pressure is on this NASCAR season.
Berry, a Cup Series rookie this year and Gragson, who struggled in his own rookie season at Legacy Motor Club are hoping to help right the ship. Stewart-Haas Racing has fallen from its days of contending for championships.
In 2023, the team couldn’t even get Kevin Harvick into Victory Lane. Ahead of 2024, Berry and Gragson both talked to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports about the upcoming season. Pressure might be too light of a word for the job these SHR drivers have before them.
“I think you always feel pressure to perform,” Berry explained. “From my side of things, this is the most certainty I’ve had in actually having a two-year deal in my entire career. So, it’s a fresh start but it’s something that I’m really excited for. We all know we gotta step up, we all know we gotta perform and run well. That’s no different anywhere you go.
“I think for us we’re all ready to go and get racing, I think we have a great group. Like I said, the vibe in the shop, everybody at Stewart-Haas, they’re excited and they’re hungry and they want to get better and perform. We know it’s going to be a process, we know it’s not going to be easy but I think we have a great group ready to tackle it.”
Gragson is joining Stewart-Haas Racing with just a single sponsor. If anyone needs to perform, it is him.
“Everything helps when you’re running good, right?” Gragson said. “That being said it’s one of those things where, yeah, I do feel a little pressure where we do need to run good. Not for any reason in particular but as a whole everything gets better when you run good.”
Stewart-Haas Racing needs a good season
There is no two ways about it, SHR has been in a downhill spiral and something has to happen. Tony Stewart says it isn’t his fault. He doesn’t put the cars together, he isn’t a crew chief, he doesn’t drive the cars – his name is on the building, though.
It is strange for Smoke to try and abdicate his responsibilities for the organization. He owns the team, if it doesn’t perform, he has to make changes. This year, Josh Berry and Noah Gragson join the roster, but it remains to be seen how successful they will be.
Stewart-Haas Racing is used to winning races and championships. So, last year was a wake-up call. This year might be a kick in the butt. When we think about the top drivers heading into the season, I’m not sure any of the SHR drivers are on that list.
So, what are we supposed to expect from this organization this year? I’m not sure. However, all of these drivers will have to go out and prove themselves in just over a week.
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