Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Drew Blickensderfer opens up about team struggles in 2023

There is no denying that Stewart-Haas Racing had a rough 2023 season. However, crew chief Drew Blickensderfer laid it all out yesterday. Put simply, the NASCAR team just didn’t live up to expectations, even with an all-time great like Kevin Harvick.

Drew Blickensderfer was on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Friday. He was open and honest about the struggles that SHR faced in the 2023 season. It was apparent that they were lagging behind, even among a field of Fords that lagged.

To put it simply, Stewart-Haas Racing couldn’t even get Harvick into Victory Lane.

“We’ve talked about that as a management group at Stewart-Haas,” Blickensderfer said. “The expectations are going to be different than they were. But what we need to see is steady progress. We think all of our race car drivers can win races and drive race cars really well. We didn’t have race cars last year that Kevin Harvick can win in. And that as a company we need to fix.

“You’ve gotta judge yourself on that. So, getting our race ars faster will not only help these young guys, but help the whole company. … I think Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece, and Josh Berry are great race car drivers that can win races. And I know Noah Gragson is.”

🎙️@StewartHaasRcng crew chief Drew Blickensderfer said the organization as a whole needs to be better in 2024.

🗣️ "We didn't have race cars last year that Kevin Harvick could win in. And that as a company, we need to fix." pic.twitter.com/saOwGBKeKi

— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) December 29, 2023

Blickensderfer will be the crew chief for Noah Gragson in 2024. That will be an interesting pairing to watch. The crew chief also pointed to the new Mustang Dark Horse as a positive step for Stewart-Haas Racing and the Fords as a whole.

Stewart-Haas Racing has to turn things around

No longer is Kevin Harvick, the 47-year-old veteran, around. He’s moved on into retirement. So, now, Ryan Preece and rookie Josh Berry are the eldest drivers on the team. The two are both 33-years-old, just three days apart in age.

From there, you have 29-year-old Chase Briscoe, who has been with SHR the longest in the Cup Series. So, is he the leader now? Of course, there is Noah Gragson, the 25-year-old wild child of NASCAR.

Blickensderfer is right. SHR has to change things in 2024. If they don’t see improvement, then they are doing something wrong. Even as teams like Team Penske and even Front Row Motorsports honed in on their setups, SHR was behind.

While Stewart-Haas Racing is changing its expectations from championships to race wins, there is still a level of success they plan to uphold. We will have to wait and see if that happens in the new season.