Has Tony Stewart’s Mismanagement of SHR ‘Soured’ His Relationship With Kevin Harvick?

Many argue that the glory days of Stewart-Haas Racing ended when Kevin Harvick made his last laps in the #4 Ford at Phoenix last November. But even The Closer expressed ‘surprise’ at seeing his long-time friend Tony Stewart’s NASCAR venture go from “4Ever to 4Ward to 4Sale” in only a few months since, on a recent release of “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour”.

After all, the woes were barely apparent on the surface for Stewart-Haas when Harvick was getting ready to hang up his helmet full-time… or were they? The former spotter for SHR’s #14 car, Brett Griffin, & his podcast partner, Freddie Kraft, like thousands of others online, agreed upon one fact.

Harvick’s condescending views last week on his podcast about Gene Haas and Stewart’s “hands-off” ownership approach are only “the second time” he has taken a shot at what seems to be a steadily souring relationship. This is now causing many to speculate if Smoke has lost the fire of one of his strongest admirers, who gifted his race team one-half of their unforgettable 15-year-long championship glory.

Are cracks forming within the Tony Stewart-Kevin Harvick relationship?

Stewart & Harvick’s well-known camaraderie has been evident through various exchanges throughout their respective NASCAR careers. So close has been their friendship, that when Tony Stewart announced his desire to move on from Joe Gibbs Racing to start his race team in 2009, Kevin Harvick ditched Richard Childress Racing after driving the #29 for almost a decade. Consequently, this switch helped his acquaintance tally 69 race wins and 2 championships to SHR’s trophy cabinet in NASCAR’s premier division.

Through the decades, Harvick and Stewart’s lives would find various points of confluence, like that time during Smoke’s farewell tour in 2016, when The Closer would demand his friend/team owner to join him for dual burnouts on the backstretch after a victory for his #4 car at the Bristol Night Race. Or even that time when Harvick, in his swansong season, paid tribute to Smoke‘s first-ever Brickyard win at the same racetrack with a matching paint scheme and helmet, which he would later gift to his friend following his retirement.

But news of all the collected memories within the garages of Stewart-Haas disintegrating to dust seems to have put their friendship at a shaky juncture in recent times. The cast of Door Bumper Clear would bring these developments to light in a recent segment, where Brett Griffin, the former spotter for Harvick’s broadcast booth partner Clint Bowyer, during his time at SHR, replacing Stewart in the #14 car, talked about Harvick’s ‘surprise’ expressed earlier on Happy Hour. “I mean he gets on this podcast and he says how surprised he is to see this happen. I got a couple perspectives on this, having obviously, worked at Stewart-Haas,” began Griffin.

Brett Griffin elaborated on Harvick’s claims about the hush-hush work culture with an anecdote from a friend still working for SHR. He said, “Having a lot of friends that are there. Our buddy, Justice, who’s the IT guy, was one of the first people that I sent a text to when the news came out. But they knew that morning that they were going to be told that charters were being sold, a lot of them did not know they were going to be told that all the charters were being sold. I think they were under the impression that they’re selling two, and keeping two.”

He continued, “So I think there was some surprise there for the employees which I mean that ultimately that sucks. Griffin then concluded, “But for Kevin Harvick to say he was surprised, I’m not surprised.”

The spotter for Bubba Wallace, Freddie Kraft, picked up on his podmate’s sentiments with another harrowing perspective: “A driver and a spotter from Stewart-Haas Racing were on the trip with us… they technically got fired on their day off. And to that point you know it’s just a shame. There are so many good guys over there.. Championship-winning team members that got caught blindsided. That was the biggest thing I took away from it…” The insider then referred to how even the team’s drivers hadn’t “been told anything,” before the announcements of foreclosure.

But when speaking about Harvick’s growing resentment, Kraft would attempt to explain the assumed reasons saying, “And Kevin I don’t want to speak for Kevin, but Kevin’s very dry humor. He takes shots all the time, like pokes the bear a little bit, and him and Tony were really good friends, from what I recall.. Remember when in Wilkesboro he drove the five cars, and he said it was nice to see the owner twice this week or hear from the owner more than once this week, and now he’s taking these shots here. So it seems like that’s a little bit soured somewhere but yeah it’s just an unfortunate deal for a lot of people…”

Although the scenario of a faltering bond with Tony Stewart is only speculation, Harvick’s latest comments post-SHR misfortunes, paint a sad picture indeed, for a companionship forged through decades of trials and tribulations in NASCAR’s premier division. Even more so, considering “Uncle Smoke” to Kevin’s kids, he may end up not keeping a promise he once made to their father only last year, quoting, “Your family is my family.”

A legacy forged in guts and glory faces a friendship test.

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Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart made their first-ever outings at a top 3 National Touring Series race back in 1995. Stewart would fail to qualify at a solitary Busch Series (now known as the Xfinity Series) race in Homestead. Harvick made two appearances in his dad Mike Harvick’s self-owned #72 truck, ending his induction season with a fateful DNQ after his second Truck Series run at Phoenix.

Regardless, about half a decade later, both drivers would win the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year only a season apart, with Stewart winning the accolade in 1999 and Harvick claiming his in 2001. As we stand, the duo have etched their names permanently in NASCAR history, combining to win 4 out of 24 championships since the turn of the millennium.

But off-track, this excerpt from Stewart’s 4-minute-long “4ever proud” message to Harvick before his retirement aptly sums up their deeper connection: “When others misunderstood us, we understood each other. That mutual respect as a competitor grew into a friendship. And that friendship allowed me to get to know the man behind the visor… Your family is my family. And behind the pranks and the cheeky moments, it’s been a joy to see your dedication- DeLana, Keelan, and Piper. Hopefully, they know, I’ll always be Uncle Smoke. And as a friend, there is no one who cares more about the people in his life… You’ve given me advice when I didn’t need it and now I get to return the favor.” 

Disclosures by Harvick post-retirement shed light on Tony’s own ‘advice,’ during Harvick’s farewell tour, which centered on ‘letting one’s guard down’ and allowing “the fans and the racetracks and the sport” to help him “go back and tell the story and just enjoy it.”

As it all happens, the gutwrenching anticipation of Stewart-Haas Racing’s disbandment suggests there won’t be many more stories for the team to create but only relics to reminisce over a soon-to-be-forgotten past. Will Smoke and The Closer’s extensive relationship join the forthcoming wreck? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.