Phoenix Practice Highlight: SHR’s Dire State Despite Tony Stewart’s Desperate Off-Season Image Refresh

For Kevin Harvick, the 2024 season is providing an insight into NASCAR that the veteran never had the opportunity to witness as a driver, thoroughly enjoying his time with FOX after his departure from the Cup Series last year. However, as for the team he left behind, things aren’t looking so great. Despite Tony Stewart and Co.’s best efforts to revamp the morale within the Stewart-Haas Racing camp as they entered the season with a squad of inexperienced drivers, they seem to have fallen short, as the team suffered a dismal practice campaign at the 2024 Shriners Children’s 500.

Will SHR get back on ‘top of the hill’ among the Fords?

For Tony Stewart, this weekend is rather eventful, as his attention is away from the Cup Series and on the NHRA series as the SHR boss makes his Top Fuel debut. But even there, a dropped cylinder rained on Stewart’s parade, slowing him down to 3.905. While his time in the dragster was hampered by the cylinder, the SHR Cup squad had a similar fate in the final practice ahead of qualifying at Phoenix Raceway.

The famed #4 SHR Mustang was way out of its natural habitat, with Josh Berry ranking 29th with a top timing of 27.901 while his teammates were right there with him. Ryan Preece in the United Rentals Ford ranked just higher than Berry with a time of 27.894, which is marginally better, if at all. Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe, however, were able to find two-tenths over their teammates in the Mustang Dark Horse. Gragson clocked a 27.860, while Briscoe was the fastest SHR driver with a time of 27.811 in the Mahindra Tractors Ford.

In contrast, Joey Logano, who also clocked a staggering 27.446 in the Ford, was nearly half a second quicker than the SHR team. Safe to say, the SHR’s Mustang Dark Horse was certainly on the back foot. There seemed to be a 2 mph difference between the two Mustangs. With that said, it’s safe to say Tony Stewart will definitely not be too pleased with his team once he returns from the NHRA.

Additionally, over the winter break, Tony Stewart had made the goals and ambitions for SHR clear going forward. He shared his vision in a team meeting, when he said, “We’ve all got a lot of work to do. We’re looking up the hill. We’re not at the top of the hill looking down anymore, we’re at the bottom of the hill looking up, and this is the group of people that can get us where we need to be. But I’m excited about what we have on tap, I think we got a group of drivers that, for the first time, all truly want to work together to make each other better.”

In short, while Tony Stewart was critical of the shortcomings SHR had to face not just in terms of losing out on Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola but also going winless last season, he felt the team was going in the right direction, with veteran crew chiefs joining their redemption arc to help support their young squad. Unfortunately, it seems like the team still has ways to go before they can get back on top of that hill based on pure pace in practice and qualifying.

READ MORE: The Perfect Lap at Phoenix by Kevin Harvick; The Greatest to Ever Conquer The Track

While it’s safe to say Stewart-Haas Racing has a long road ahead of them toward recovery, it’s also worth taking a look at the exciting new 1/4-mile adventure Tony Stewart has embarked on in the NHRA!

A ‘nerve-wracking’ Top Fuel debut

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Tony Stewart is no stranger to dominating multiple categories of motorsport. Whether it’s his USAC triple crown or his decorated IndyCar career, the SHR boss’s ventures outside the Cup Series have largely been successful. So when his Top Fuel dragster driver for SHR and, more importantly, his wife, Leah Pruett, was faced with the prospect of hanging up the drag racing gloves to build a family with Stewart, he felt, “Someone has to drive the car.”

READ MORE: NASCAR News: Reports of SHR’s New 6-Car Hauler Involved in Multicar Wreck Surface Ahead of Phoenix

So as the 2024 Gator Nationals are in progress, Tony Stewart made his much-anticipated Top Fuel debut. With it came many new fans that were well-appreciated by SHR driver and 4-time champion, Matt Hagan. However, Stewart was rather nervous for his rookie debut, as he shared, “It’s a little embarrassing to be a 52-year-old rookie. From the staging lanes until the time we actually get to make that run, it will probably be the most nerve-wracking.”

Unfortunately, Stewart may have predicted his misfortune in the first run in an interview on Friday. He was quoted by The Gainesville Sun as saying, “During a race weekend, things are going to happen that don’t happen during testing.” And unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened as a loose cylinder lodged into his dragster, resulting in an 11th-place finish. Still, according to Leah Pruett, it takes at least 100 drag starts before an NHRA rookie season to be competitive, and Stewart only has 29 due to the weather.

With that being said, the multi-disciplinary champion is no stranger to adversity, and his championship-winning driver, Matt Hagan, also believes that Tony Stewart’s future in the NHRA is bright.