Troubles at SHR
Rumors abound of Stewart-Haas Racing considering selling charters. Owner Tony Stewart began the season by publicly calling out his team's performance. What is SHR in the post-Kevin Harvick era, and what should they do about it?
Rumors abound of Stewart-Haas Racing selling charters:
Adam Stern
That, after owner Tony Stewart began the season by publicly calling out his team's performance:
Kelly Crandall
The organization has been struggling for years, but until this year having Kevin Harvick has allowed the group to have the appearance of contending.
Justin BarberWhen you look at the team without Harvick (for me, a top-5 driver all-time) in recent years, they are what they've been: a group of fringe playoff teams. These numbers are from non-super speedways, regular season races only:
| Driver | Season | ASP | AFP | ARP | Avg. PFAE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Harvick (4) | 2020 | 9.35 | 5.96 | 7.20 | 8.788 |
| Clint Bowyer (10), Cole Custer (14), Aric Almirola (41) | 2020 | 14.13 | 15.20 | 14.49 | 1.855 |
| Kevin Harvick (4) | 2021 | 9.64 | 11.82 | 10.43 | 2.933 |
| Chase Briscoe (10), Cole Custer (14), Aric Almirola (41) | 2021 | 21.14 | 21.17 | 19.93 | -1.201 |
| Kevin Harvick (4) | 2022 | 18.75 | 10.95 | 11.68 | 7.926 |
| Aric Almirola (10), Cole Custer (14), Chase Briscoe (41) | 2022 | 16.40 | 19.22 | 17.11 | -1.379 |
| Kevin Harvick (4) | 2023 | 16.35 | 12.20 | 11.31 | 5.734 |
| Aric Almirola (10), Ryan Preece (14), Chase Briscoe (41) | 2023 | 22.93 | 21.02 | 19.58 | -0.392 |
This has been going on a while. They were hit hard by the move to the NextGen. They've had plenty of time to identify talent in the shop and in the race car. It's possible they have the talent but indeed have them spread out too thin across four cars and (until this year, I think) only two winning drivers. Now they've got four good-for-their-price drivers but are miring them in mediocre equipment and high expectations. I predict another year of the same!
It's not clear what SHR is good at without Harvick. Pick a discipline – short tracks, intermediates, or road courses. Focus on it. Figure it out.