NASCAR insider addresses Dale Earnhardt Jr. potentially purchasing Stewart-Haas charters
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his JR Motorsports outfit has not pursued purchasing a charter from the soon-to-be-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing, according to FOX Sports NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass.
Pockrass shared shortly after news broke that Stewart-Haas Racing will shutter at the end of the 2024 season that he spoke with Earnhardt last week and picked up this tidbit. Stewart-Haas has four charters this season.
Pockrass reported that Front Row, 23XI and Trackhouse are expected to buy three of the four charters. That leaves the possibility for a change of heart from Earnhardt and Co. as the fourth charter from Stewart-Haas gets shopped.
The organization announced the news on Tuesday afternoon with a joint press release from Tony Stewart and Gene Haas.
“We have made the difficult decision to close Stewart-Haas Racing at the conclusion of the 2024 season,” the statement read. “It is a decision that did not come easily, nor was it made quickly.
“Racing is a labor-intensive, humbling sport. It requires unwavering commitment and vast resources, with a 365-day mindset to be better than everyone else. It’s part of what makes success so rewarding.
“But the commitment needed to extract maximum performance while providing sustainability is incredibly demanding, and we’ve reached a point in our respective personal and business lives where it’s time to pass the torch.”
Stewart-Haas Racing as it currently exists came about in 2009. Originally Haas CNC Racing was formed in 2002, when Haas elected to form his own team. Stewart was later added to the mix in 2009 as a driver in a deal that gave him a 50% stake in the company.
Chevrolet provided the team’s engines and chassis until 2016, when the organization began using Ford engines and building chassis in-house.
All of it, though, proved quite taxing. And on Tuesday, an emotional Stewart informed the team that Stewart-Haas Racing would be closing down at year’s end.
“We’re proud of all the wins and championships we’ve earned since joining together in 2009, but even more special is the culture we built and the friendships we forged as we committed to a common cause — winning races and collecting trophies.
“That is the same commitment we made to our personnel, our partners and our fans coming into this year, and that commitment will remain through the season finale at Phoenix.
“We have tremendous respect and appreciation for all of our employees, and we will work diligently to assist them during this transition to find new opportunities beyond the 2024 race season.”
On3’s Thomas Goldkamp and Brian Jones contributed to this report.