Kyle Petty Brutally Slams Tony Stewart’s “Anomaly” With 6-Word Claim

Tony Stewart and Co. has weathered a rollercoaster journey this season. They began with Kevin Harvick’s retirement announcement, followed by uncertainty around Aric Almirola’s future plans. The loss of significant sponsor Busch Light added to their woes, while Chase Briscoe‘s penalty worsened the situation. There is a shadow of doubt over their manufacturer, Ford, for the upcoming season. Lastly, the underperformance of SHR drivers has fallen short of the expectations of Tony Stewart.

Despite the potential for triumph, the multicar team has encountered obstacles due to internal shifts and setbacks, which have placed them in a defensive stance. Kevin Harvick remains the lone driver who has sustained a steady performance level, even though he has not clinched any wins. The reason behind SHR’s shift was highlighted by Kyle Petty, who provided insight into the changes that transpired this year and the subsequent effects on Stewart‘s team.

Kyle Petty exposed the game-changing shift that Impacted Tony Stewart and Co.

During the initial half of the season, it appeared that Chevrolet had the upper hand, with William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch securing victories. The lone Ford driver, defending champion Joey Logano, managed to clinch just one win. However, the dynamics shifted when Ryan Blaney, driving a Ford Mustang, ended his 59-race winless streak with a victory at the Coca-Cola 600. As the season progressed, Ford’s fortunes changed drastically with RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher securing three wins in regular season’s last five races and Michael McDowell claiming a victory at IMS.

The wins achieved by Ford teams operating on relatively lower budgets raised questions about the performance of mega Ford teams like SHR and Team Penske. Except for Harvick, Briscoe, and Almirola, both collectively managed only eight top-10 finishes throughout the regular season. Recently, Kyle Petty shed light on this challenging season of SHR.

During the NASCAR NBC Podcast, Kyle Petty highlighted the significant shift in the current season’s landscape. He emphasized, “It would be different if we were looking at this and saying, okay this is where we are at and it’s an anomaly that Michael McDowell wins at Indy; it’s an anomaly that Chris Buescher has won these races. But it’s not an anomaly, it is the norm. It is the norm in 2023.”

“It’s an anomaly that Joey Logano can you know put his car in top-5.
“It’s an anomaly that Ryan Blaney can put his car in top-5.
“It’s an anomaly did Stewart Haas Racing can put two cars in top-15, I mean, that’s where they’ve been this year. So it is just fascinating to me that this paradigm, how that has just shifted; that world has turned upside down unlike any other manufacturers in the world I’ve seen in a long long time,” Petty concluded.

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In analyzing the challenges that SHR drivers encountered, Kyle Petty attributed their difficulties due to a variance in mindset. He elaborated on this explanation while speaking on the same podcast.

Kyle Petty unveils the underlying cause behind the paradox

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Kyle Petty highlighted the impact of a “culture shift” that has transformed the teams. While engineering plays a central role in the sport, he believes that success still hinges on people—how they collaborate, support one another, and function as a cohesive unit. Petty drew attention to the cultures of the RFK Racing team and Front Row Racing as examples.

Discussing the culture within RFK, Petty observed, “They believe in Brad, Brad believes in Chris Buescher, he has believed in Chris Buescher from the very beginning and that goes a long way, and they believe in Micheal McDowell over at Front Row and all those guys believe in each other.”

In contrast, Petty compared this to the dynamics within larger teams. He said, “I think when you get to some of these bigger teams, then it’s a little but different culture. It’s a little bit different little bit more … it not as personable, you don’t see the entire team at Pizza Hut like you do with Front Row. […] That’s little bit old school right there.”

Given the ongoing discussion surrounding the cultural shift’s potential impact, Kevin Harvick of SHR has already secured a place in the playoffs. A lingering question persists: Could he possibly secure the championship?

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