Stewart Haas Racing’s declaration of exit from NASCAR essentially meant that the team’s storied legacy would cease to exist. It wasn’t a pleasant sight for Tony Stewart, who watched his team go from competing for championships to barely staying relevant in modern-day stock-car racing.

However, Gene Haas, with the support of Brad Keselowski, managed to keep this racing project alive. Although the Haas Racing outfit has had its fair share of trouble being competitive, a technical alliance with RFK Racing could help them immensely. At least this is what Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, thinks about this new partnership.

No more uncertainty surrounding Haas Factory Team OEM support

Securing a charter to run a new racing program was only half the job done by Gene Haas. With SHR losing its manufacturer support with Ford by the end of the 2025 season, there were concerns regarding the team’s OEM support. But all of those questions were put to rest as Joe Custer announced RFK Racing as their technical partner; And, of course, Cole Custer being promoted back to Cup Series in the No. 41 car.

Sharing his take on how an alliance with Brad Keselowski’s team would aid HFT, Freddie Kraft via the Door Bumper Clear podcast opined, “They’ve helped Rick Ware Racing out tremendously this year. They’ve had a big step up in their performance. I think Cody finished 18th yesterday. It’s a great run for them, a lot of surviving for them, and being at the right place at the right time. That alliance is now paying off, so now hopefully that can transcend and continue with Haas Factor Racing.”

Many thought that a single charter team of what’s left of SHR racing would be a tough spot going into the 2025 season. However, a partnership with a competitive team like RFK Racing allows the Haas Factory Team to set ambitious goals. It’s safe to say they are on the right track and will continue their new program under the Ford banner.

However, there’s more to this alliance between the Haas Factory team and RFK Racing, according to veteran insider Brett Griffins. Perhaps Brad Keselowski’s team could engineer this strategic partnership into a team expansion going forward.

Is RFK Racing now a favorite to add a third charter?

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Ever since SHR announced that it was closing down its NASCAR operations, the next big question was: which teams would look to expand with the addition of charters? In total, four charters were available on the market. The likes of 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Front Row Motorsports were rumored to be in the running to get hold of the SHR charters.

FRM is expected to have bagged a charter for themselves; the Haas Factory Team retained one for themselves. So in theory, there are two SHR charters available for the team to bid for. However, with RFK Racing now forging ties with HFT, they could be the new favorites according to Brett Griffins.

“This would be my question if I had Joe Custer sitting beside me today. You have control over who you let by your charters and if you’re going to have an alliance with RFK, is RFK gonna get a charter? … So we heard RFK, we heard RCR rumblings that they may wanna expand. So if you had control where they are going and you’re forming a big alliance, I’m just curious if RFK would potentially be back in play for one,” Griffins said on the podcast.

The silly-season drama has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride so far in 2024. And with still no official confirmation on the remaining two SHR charters, a lot more changes are expected to shape up teams before the start of the 2025 season.