Insider: Title-winning NASCAR team likely selling all four charters

Tony Stewart. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Insider: Championship-winning NASCAR team likely selling all four charters after 2024

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated 5/23/24

It seems the days of seeing Stewart-Haas Racing cars in the NASCAR Cup Series may soon be coming to an end.

While rumors about the team selling one or more charters have been floating around the garage area for weeks, NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi has shed some new light on the future of the team and its charter situation.

"According to team sources, the likelihood is that SHR divests itself of all four charters." - @TheAthletic https://t.co/Mg1YUNOjkD
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) May 23, 2024

According to sources within both Stewart-Haas Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the latter has become a frontrunner to buy one of SHR's charters and expand their Cup Series operation to three cars. Bianchi also says that, "According to team sources, the likelihood is that SHR divests itself of all four charters."

A world without Stewart-Haas Racing as a NASCAR Cup Series team would be strange, as the team has competed in NASCAR's top series since 2009, winning championships with Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick in 2011 and 2014, respectively.

According to the article, it seems like Front Row Motorsports, a team that has competed in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2004, is the frontrunner to buy a charter from the team. Front Row's general manager, Jerry Freeze, says in the article that, "Bob has this desire to be three cars; we were at one time, and I think he had a lot of regret that we sold the one charter we had."

Front Row's lineup for 2024 currently consists of 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell and third-year driver Todd Gilliland, but their 2025 lineup is still unknown. McDowell has already inked a deal for 2025 and beyond with Spire Motorsports, and if the team were to buy an additional charter, that's at least two seats that would be open for the taking — potentially by former SHR drivers looking for new rides.

Chase Briscoe is the only Stewart-Haas driver who has won in the NASCAR Cup Series, but Noah Gragson and rookie Josh Berry have shown flashes of potential this season. Ryan Preece has been the slowest of the bunch, but an early season penalty at Atlanta makes his season look worse than it's actually been.

With the No. 21 car potentially coming open if the Wood Brothers decide to release Harrison Burton at the end of the year, that could open up three Ford seats for SHR's four drivers. Of course, it's not official yet that Stewart-Haas will sell any of their charters, but if they do, NASCAR free agency will certainly be a story to follow.

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