Kevin Harvick Defends Tony Stewart’s Champ Against Harsh Criticism from Racing Community

The situation at Stewart-Haas Racing has been nothing short of confusing, even for the team owners, Gene Haas and Tony Stewart. Initially, they announced plans to sell all four charters at the end of 2024, leaving all the drivers scrambling to find new teams. But now, things have changed. Haas, the co-owner, has decided to keep one Cup charter and two Xfinity garages for the Haas Factory Team.

Gene, working alongside Joe Custer—the guy who helped him start Stewart-Haas Racing with Tony Stewart (aka Smoke)—wants to keep a foothold in NASCAR to promote his automation and tooling business. The driver most likely to get behind the Cup seat is Cole Custer, who has family ties with the team, which naturally stirred up some friction between fans and decision-makers at the Haas Factory Team. But according to Kevin Harvick, the fans might be wrong this time.

‘It would frustrate’ Kevin Harvick if Cole Custer doesn’t get the stint at Haas

According to the press release from Gene Haas, Joe Custer is set to be the president of the Haas factory team. Whilst the ‘new’ team will operate out of the existing Stewart-Haas headquarters in North Carolina, the driver lineup for both Cup and Xfinity is yet to be announced. This is where one clear option reveals itself. Cole Custer is definitely the ideal prospect for the Haas Factory Team to have onboard.

Apart from being the son of the team’s president, Cole Custer has already shown more than his fair share of skill on the track. So far this season, the #00 driver has brought home 13 top-tens and 7 top-fives, along with four pole positions. As the points leader in the Xfinity Series this season, Custer is well on his way to another championship. Add to that the fact that Custer himself stated, “It would be a dream come true to get to run that (HFT) Cup car.”

However, the #00 driver’s ties to Joe Custer have prompted many fans to sideline his skillset to cry nepotism. This prompted Kevin Harvick to jump to the Xfinity star’s defense as he shared on the Happy Hour podcast; “Here’s the part that I don’t like about all of this is that Cole Custer gets dragged in the middle of all this stuff, right? It’s his dad running the team, and Cole does a hell of a job. Cole does a great job.”

According to Harvick, the only thing that casts a shadow on Cole Custer’s journey toward the top is his ties to Haas executives. Instead of fans commending the star based on merit, his seat in the sport is unfortunately largely credited to Joe Custer and his position in NASCAR by many fans.

However, Harvick believes it is time to give credit where it is indeed due. The former SHR veteran further added, “He’s the most experienced driver that you can go get. He’s within all the things that are entangled in the Haas and Joe Custer situation, and Cole has been able to deal with it and succeed, doing the things that he needs to do. Cole Custer is a great race-car driver and I think that, if he isn’t the one driving it, it would frustrate me.”

With Denny Hamlin also having high hopes that Cole Custer will get promoted to Cup racing, Harvick is ensuring that his opinion is accounted for as well. That being said, the former SHR driver also highlighted a key factor that HFT needs to focus on to get to winning ways.

Harvick believes going back to old ways is the only way forward for Gene Haas

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It’s no secret that a majority of Kevin Harvick’s 60 Cup Series wins came during his time at Stewart-Haas Racing. But, from a time when Harvick could bring home multiple wins in a season, how did SHR get to a point where making it into the playoffs was a major uncertainty? For many, the answer lies in a change in the ethos within the organization.

Back when Kevin Harvick joined SHR, he observed one distinct attribute that drove the team forward. The veteran shared, “When I went to Stewart-Haas Racing, it was never about money. It was always, what do you need to win? And that was the thing that Tony and his group brought. What do you need to win? And Gene Haas backed it up, he was like, okay, whatever you need to win.” 

In a sport where corners cannot be cut (quite literally), adequate expenditure on development is a must for growth. If a team spends too much on a paid driver and focuses on making a profit from racing, then they can never truly reach the peak of dominance. Instead of shelling out cash on personnel, focusing on infrastructure and team development is much more important for Kevin Harvick.

After all, sustainability will be the key to a stable future for Gene Haas in the Cup Series. To do so, money will need to be spent wisely. Harvick concluded, “If they’re going to be competitive, it can’t be run off of dollars and cents. It has to be run off of, ‘I’m here to fix this and I’m gonna spend some of my money.’ You better back the Brinks truck up so you can keep the people because it doesn’t run well without good people.” 

After looking at the situation at the Haas Factory Team, do you think Gene Haas is making the right call by sticking with the sport?