It is the end of an era for Stewart Haas Racing, as the team has decided to split up after racing together for 22 years. After facing some financial problems, only Gene Haas will take over and run the operations under a new name, Haas Factory Team. Although as of now the team has 4 charters, HFT has decided to reduce it to one Cup Series charter and two Xfinity Series charters starting in 2025.

The reduced charters meant drivers and charters joining other teams, and this is heartbreaking news for many fans. As this is the team’s final run in the playoffs, many hope that Chase Briscoe can pull off a miracle. However, before the Talladega race, during the pre-race interviews, it was another ‘Chase’ who was asked about the team’s departure, and here’s what he has to say.

Although Chase Elliott never raced with SHR, he has interacted with the team on and off the tracks. It is almost impossible to avoid your rivals, and so far Elliott has always seen SHR in that capacity. Some of the main interactions between the driver and the team have been on track, and it seems like Elliott will miss racing against Tony Stewart’s drivers.

Before the race at Talladega, Kelly Crandal from Racer.com asked Chase Elliott about how he feels about SHR Racing. “Chase, Stewart-Haas’s tenure comes to an end in the Cup Series. Obviously, they’re going to rebrand and do things a little differently. But, Stewart-Haas Racing—what do you think their legacy is? How will you remember what that company did over the last however many years?”

In response to the question, Elliott spoke about how much respect he has for Tony Stewart. He went on to say, “I’ve always gotten along really well with him and looked up to him as a kid when I was watching him race. So I think that kind of skews my opinion a little bit.” Stewart will be leaving NASCAR this year, and Elliott mentioned how he doesn’t know enough about the co-owners involvement with the team as of now.

No matter the current scenario, Stewart-Haas Racing has had some great victories since 2009. Iterating the same Chase Elliott further explained, “When Tony joined, it seemed like that was when things really ramped up and improved. At that point, it was really impressive to watch because there weren’t a lot of driver-owners that had success in the sport—very few.”

The HMS driver also acknowledged everything that Stewart has achieved with the team before finally stating, “I thought it was really cool to see a guy come in and stick his neck out in certain areas, whether it be financially or just from a sheer time standpoint, being spread thin.”

Chase Elliott mentioned his respect for Tony Stewart. He concluded his answer by saying, “So, yeah, you hate to see him go just because I think the overall health of our sport wants and needs healthy race teams, and they’ve been a healthy race team. I hate to see that, but I think they’ve had a solid legacy.” Together, Tony Stewart and Gene Haas have achieved many accolades in the sport, so let’s take a look at how they have done so far.

Stewart Haas Racing’s achievements over the years

With Chase Briscoe’s win at Darlington, Stewart Haas Racing completed 70 Cup Series wins since 2002. This includes wins from drivers like Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, Cole Custer, and Chase Briscoe.

But that’s not all, Tony Stewart went on to become the first SHR Cup Series champion with his triumph back in 2011. Kevin Harvick is another driver who accumulated multiple wins and brought home the second title for the team in 2014.

You must be mistaken if that’s all they have achieved so far.

• The Xfinity Series team itself has 22 wins under its belt, and they also managed to win a title.
• Stewart Haas Racing has also dabbled in the craftsman truck series and ARCA, which gives the team more stories to add to their legacy. Although the team has yet to grow its name in the lower tiers of stock racing, the team is set to leave a lasting mark on its fans.

With Haas Factory Racing starting next year, what are your thoughts on Tony Stewart leaving the team?