Disappointed Kevin Harvick Pulling No Punches Amidst Tony Stewart’s SHR Disbandment Unites Racing Fandom

Headlines around Tony Stewart’s silence over Stewart-Haas Racing’s charter-selling rumors have been making rounds for at least a year. Everyone knew it was about to happen, but what they didn’t realize was that reality would be even worse. The team announced recently that they were shutting down the organization at the end of the current season, 15 years and 2 Cup championships later!

Unsurprisingly, the news had everyone shell-shocked because SHR isn’t just any team. Owned by NASCAR royalty-esque figure Tony Stewart along with Gene Haas, the team was once a top contender in the tourney. So naturally, even the team’s former driver, Kevin Harvick, was left visibly heartbroken to see the place he once called home – that helped him achieve championship glory back in 2014 – set to vanish into thin air soon. 

Kevin Harvick cannot comprehend a ‘4ever’ end to SHR

After a long period of speculation, team owners Gene Haas and Tony Stewart finally released a heartbreaking statement on Tuesday, marking the end of a legacy. “We have made the difficult decision to close Stewart-Haas Racing after the 2024 season. It is a decision that did not come easily, nor was it made quickly,” part of the release read. As soon as the news dropped, the NASCAR community rallied to express distress at the unfortunate development. And among them was ‘The Closer.’ 

On Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the veteran expressed the unbelievable nature of the news. He even added a trenchant one-liner about the situation, saying, “It’s unbelievable to me, really, that we went from 4ever to 4ward to 4sale in 6 months!” before adding, “I don’t even know how you could possibly imagine sitting here today and thinking six months later that Stewart-Haas Racing is going to announce that they’re basically folding.” 

But perhaps the team’s woes aren’t just limited to their current season’s mostly lackluster performances so far. It had reportedly been a long time coming, especially with veterans like Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola leaving, taking with them big sponsors including Anheuser-Busch and Smithfield, among six others. Shedding some light on this, the 2014 Cup winner mentioned how his crew was integral to the team’s success and how his departure might have propelled the SHR’s untimely demise.

“I think the people around the #4 car over the last 10 years are really what held that company together. That company was held together by the success of the #4 car, Rodney Childers, and that group of people, I think. Once that backbone of that went away, it started poking some holes,” he said. Furthermore, the veteran also presented his listeners with a very interesting insight that might indicate what went wrong. He said, “[Owning a team is] a full-time job, it’s a 24*7 job, and it’s not a knock on [the] owners…Gene and Tony were great to me. But they are hands-off owners and they have people in place to do their jobs.”

Giving his take on what could’ve been done differently to avoid this, Harvick said, “I think it wouldn’t have been a hard fix because you have a lot of people. It’s just structure, organization, and management that could have pushed it forward to make it right.” While team owners like Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs are consistently seen at venues, cheering for their racers, was Stewart and Haas’ absence a major factor in their team’s downfall? After all, the two owners seemed way more preoccupied with other ventures.

While Gene Haas is leaning more toward his other motorsports commitments, notably the Haas F1 team, Tony Stewart has been taking a keen interest in drag racing. Last year, ‘Smoke’ and his wife, Leah Pruett, announced that Stewart would take over her racing duties in the NHRA dragster. It’s safe to say that the two-time Cup champion’s journey hasn’t been smooth, and SHR has borne the brunt of it, with fans not mincing words when criticizing the management.

Fans respond to Harvick’s response to SHR’s folding

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This is not the first time Tony Stewart and Gene Haas have faced criticism for their absence. In 2023, fans had bashed ‘Smoke’ when he was nowhere to be seen during Harvick’s farewell photo session. This time, too, fans weren’t pleased at the retired racer’s revelations. One user said, “Kevin ain’t angry, he’s just disappointed.” 

A Reddit user, meanwhile, highlighting Kevin’s words, said, “He says Tony and Gene were hands-off and hired others to do their jobs for them. Goes on to say in this era, you need to be involved with the team every day. Ultimately was an org structure and management issue that caused the team to fail. Said it wouldn’t take a lot to right the ship. Also, says the 4 team kept the company afloat.” 

Notably, when Harvick joined SHR after his long stint with Richard Childress Racing in 2014, it was only one championship old (with co-owner Tony Stewart in 2011) but with a promising future. Taking over the #4, which had only shown lackluster finishes until then, Harvick evidently transformed the team by winning his maiden Cup championship in his first year under Tony Stewart. And from then on, the #4 became synonymous with consistency and high finishes. Up until 2023, when Harvick retired, the No. 4 had finished in the top 5 in the final standings in 7 of 10 seasons. 

So it’s safe to say every stakeholder at SHR worked closely from the ground up to get it to a championship-winning team. Since Harvick put a lot of time and effort into growing that team himself, the pinch of it closing down, that too, within a year of his exit, must be bothering him plenty.

On the other hand, others drew a connection between Harvick’s retirement time and the team’s closure. Coincidence or not, one does wonder if he knew it was coming sooner than later! One fan commented, “Kevin speaking facts. You have to wonder if he had any suspicions. But then, if you’re retiring, why would you care? He picked the perfect time to dip.” 

However, a user also sympathized with the former #4’s emotions and wrote, “I can’t begin to imagine the mixed emotions he must be feeling about the team completely collapsing just after he left. Undoubtedly he cared a lot about the people there, so it must be eating away at him that this is how it went down.” 

While the situation itself is not funny, Harvick, being Harvick, could not help but have a play of words. His ‘4Ever to 4Ward to 4Sale’ phrase caught some people’s eyes. Fans quickly noticed, and they took a play at it, with one writing, “Would’ve worked with 4closure too”. Another fan added, “Quintessential Kevin Harvick. It’s funny. It hurts a little, and it’s true.”

Well, while Harvick’s joke might be funny, the whole situation certainly isn’t.