NASCAR insider reveals when news about Stewart-Haas Racing’s future could come
Tuesday could be the day the NASCAR world has been waiting for regarding some news pertaining to the future of Stewart-Haas Racing, per FOX’s Bob Pockrass.
Pockrass earmarked Tuesday as a possible resolution date for the future of the racing team over the weekend, “SHR drivers and crews indicate they are expecting to find out Tuesday afternoon about the future of the organization,” he posted on X on Saturday afternoon. Now, he’s updated his prediction with a time, as well.
“If any SHR news comes today, would expect it to more than likely come out late afternoon,” Pockrass wrote this morning, believing that if there’s any news regarding the team, it’ll come later in the news cycle.
The rumors have been swirling, with many around the sport theorizing Stewart-Haas Racing could leave the sport as a whole, at the least ending their Cup Series participation. That’s certainly leaving their drivers, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, Ryan Preece and Josh Berry, in a precarious position.
Regardless, it seems as if even their wheelmen don’t know what’s going to happen, as Briscoe, who grew up a huge Tony Stewart fan, has been kept in the dark, he told Pockrass.
“I am not really allowed to [talk to other teams] until somebody tells me what I can do — until they tell me if they’re picking me back up for next year or if there is a next year, nobody really knows for next year,” Briscoe said at Darlington, via Pockrass.
“I push for answers, but nobody knows anything. It’s crazy. I feel like when there are rumors people know stuff, but it seems nobody knows anything.”
As for Gragson, he just returned to the Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing, and it’s been a formidable marriage so far. He’s not stressing over the situation though, and he believes he’ll land on his feet regardless of the outcome.
“There are some nights that you think, ‘Man I don’t know what’s going to happen’ and then I just try to remind myself to focus on trying to run good for this week and just being present-minded and whatnot,” Gragson said, via Pockrass. “It’s a tough sport as it is and when you’ve got those type of distractions, it doesn’t make it any easier.”
“You can’t stress over it too much, but definitely want to try and be in the know. I have a great business manager. … But at the end of the day, it does somewhat at this time of year keep you up at night if you don’t have anything signed. I don’t have anything right now signed for next year and don’t know the future, but I know I’m in good hands.”
Alas, Tuesday will likely be a major day for Stewart-Haas Racing, as an announcement seems to be coming. We’ll see if they stay in the Cup Series with a downsized team, or if the team decides to leave the sport entirely after immense success over the last decade and change.