Denny Hamlin suggests Gene Haas, Tony Stewart were 'done screwing with' NASCAR

Denny Hamlin said on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast that he believes Gene Haas and Tony Stewart are “done screwing” with NASCAR after announcing last week that Stewart-Haas Racing will shut down operations after the 2024 Cup Series season.

Hamlin added that the cost to maintain a four-car race team and struggles to find sponsorship dollars likely drove SHR to extinction.

“Not ideal to have a four-car team shutting down but I think they’re just done with NASCAR. Just done screwing with them,” Hamlin said. “They had their Ford deal that ran up at the end of this year. That was gonna be a big financial hit. Sponsorship wasn’t flowing out of its ears at the organization. And so, versus Gene and Tony just keep putting more money into this and keep sinking money into it to put on NASCAR’s show, I think they said screw this, we’re out. We’re not gonna sit here and go under financial water just to keep your show going. That doesn’t make sense to us.

“They made a decision and it’s gonna leave a bunch of people unemployed. But I think the good ones will find homes certainly. And there will be teams that expand and try to get some of the good employees out of there.”

Denny Hamlin blames NASCAR sponsorship model for Stewart-Haas Racing closure

SHR notably lost likely in the low eight figures in annual sponsorship revenue with the departures of Anheuser-Busch, Smithfield Foods and Hunt Brothers Pizza. Stewart said in February that major changes could take place, and that’s indeed happening now. SHR’s tenure will end after 15 years and with two Cup Series championships and 69 wins.

Hamlin, who has been critical of NASCAR’s disinterest in covering teams’ operating costs, said that if the sanctioning body was in fact doing that, SHR would not be closing shop.

“I think this happened over time,” Hamlin said. “You can debate how it happened over time… Had NASCAR’s media dollars covered what it costs to run a car, they would not be shutting down. But unfortunately, we’re still under a sponsorship model that forces us to get millions and millions of dollars in sponsorship just to break even. What that does is it forces teams like SHR to have a tough decision when it comes down to it. And they don’t have the sponsorship that they had in years’ past. I think that they’re tired of dealing with the higher-ups and they’re just done with it.”