Dale Earnhardt Jr Confirms Tony Stewart’s Dark Horse “Will Be in Cup Next Year” as Silly Season Heats Up

NASCAR’s 2024 Silly Season peaked when Tony Stewart and Gene Haas decided to call it quits. After over two decades of stellar Cup racing, the team will exit the Cup garage, grinding to a painful halt after a long hustle of earning two driver’s championships and 65 wins so far. Meanwhile, its four drivers, who are going to be free agents by the end of this season, are putting on a great show.

One of these young racers received a lukewarm reception from SHR just last year after getting bailed out from Legacy Motor Club under less-than-ideal circumstances. Even though much wasn’t expected from him, Dale Earnhardt Jr thinks this talented 25-year-old wheelman has a bright future ahead next year. With six top-10 finishes and two top-5 finishes this year, Gragson is proving his mettle in his semi-sophomore season. He also posted the fastest speed at the Iowa practice session, highlighting why his main sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, is clinging to him.

Sharing his opinions on the Dale Junior Download podcast, Junior declared Gragson’s glittering prospect for 2025, “Noah Gragson will probably be in Cup next year again…Because Noah too has created partnerships that love him. They want to go take their millions to where Noah goes. So I think that Noah ends up in a pretty decent spot.”

The same applies to Chase Briscoe, as his top-notch sponsor, Mahindra Tractors, makes him a sure-fire shot for Joe Gibbs Racing. With a career-best average finish of 17.176 after 17 races this year, eight top-10 finishes, and one top-5 finish under his belt, what also works in his favor is the timely retirement of  Martin Truex Jr. If things go according to plan, Briscoe might just be able to cut the Gordian knot. So, what’s the situation there?

Chase and his wife Marissa have a two-and-half-year-old and are expecting twins along the way. Knowing how competitive getting a seat in the top tier of NASCAR, he didn’t wait until the end of the SHR meeting where the team announced the news of its closure to start texting around. Finding himself in a precarious situation, he helplessly admitted to Autoweek on Tuesday, “I’m just trying to make sure that I’m not left out. I don’t have anything to fall back on. I’m not like some of the other people where they have family business or something like that.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr also believes in Briscoe’s good fortune. “I think Joe Gibbs Racing is…they have had a couple of tough things happen in terms of partnerships and sponsors over the last couple of years. And they’re looking to stabilize financially.

“A driver like Briscoe who has got great talent but also has great partners, it’s a hard deal to turn down.” To Junior and others’ relief, Briscoe is in a far better place now. In a SiriusXM interview, he sounded quite optimistic when he said, “It’s nice to feel wanted.”

Although Stewart-Haas Racing is shutting down soon, the two drivers cultivated a healthy work environment this season. Gragson’s crew chief talked about their remarkable teamwork, which worked wonders.

SHR teammates live up to their jobs

Last year, Noah Gragson was in trainer and former NASCAR driver Josh Wise’s fitness program. He confessed that the program spoonfed him a clear-cut plan. However, upon joining SHR, the young student struggled to prepare for races on his own. Gragson’s crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer, saw immense potential in him and devised a plan. He united with Briscoe’s crew chief, Richard Boswell.

The No. 10 and the No. 14 teams put their heads together for joint meetings. Crew chief Blickensderfer confessed that this strategy helped them run well in races, which eventually caught the attention of veterans like Dale Earnhardt Jr. He said, “It’s helped us be more efficient throughout the weekend…They did a lot of their homework by themselves. Noah likes to do it in a group setting. So, it was kind of new for us as well. We’ve kind of adapted and figured it out. It’s really helped speed up some of our communication from Saturday to Saturday night and then on Sunday as well.”

Unfortunately, this compatible teamwork will be short-lived. We have our fingers crossed for the future rides where the SHR drivers will land.