SHR Driver Tipped to Drive the 3rd Cup Car for Michael Jordan’s Team After Tony Stewart’s NASCAR Exit

On Tuesday, Stewart-Haas Racing finally made the disappointing announcement of shutting their doors, effective after “the conclusion of the 2024 season.” As Tony Stewart and Gene Haas’ joint statement made waves on official social media platforms, they assured fans it was a decision “that did not come easily, nor was it made quickly.” And with that, the futures of 6 drivers and around 300 employees go up in smoke following a year-long rumor of SHR’s total dissolution from the NASCAR Cup Series.

Add to that four coveted starting spots suddenly up for grabs, courtesy of a Mustang stable neighing uncertainly, and it seems like chaos awaits the conclusion of another unresolved conflict—the charter negotiations. Regardless, alongside expansion frontrunners Front Row Motorsports (FRM), Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing could benefit big-time from SHR’s impending misfortunes. And it seems like Riley Herbst‘s name is in the hat for potential contenders to drive their third car as soon as 2025.

Is 23XI Racing ready to expand with Riley Herbst & Monster Energy already?

Although Tony Stewart’s team last won a race in 2022 with Kevin Harvick in the Cup Series, many overlook their 2023 Xfinity campaign with Cole Custer and Riley Herbst. Custer won three races last season en route to winning his own and Stewart-Haas Racing’s first-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. In his respectable advances, Herbst won his series-first race in Las Vegas while missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2019, when the #98 driver was a part of Joe Gibbs Racing.

As Bob Pockrass stated earlier in his column for FOX Sports, following the recent developments, Stewart-Haas Racing has four charters that it can sell. Further, as per the information available, it is indicated three of them might go to existing Cup organizations.

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The speculated teams, as of now are FRM, Trackhouse, and 23XI Racing, technical allies of a certain Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series. 23XI’s other co-owner, Denny Hamlin, has been behind the wheel of JGR’s #11 Toyota for almost two decades, garnering an impressive 54 premier-tier wins.

Certainly, Coach Gibbs’ race team could use the Monster Energy sponsorship money that Herbst warrants owing to his well-known association with the energy drink brand. The 25-year-old Nevada native moving to JGR looks highly unlikely. Moreover, even if NASCAR ‘exemplified’ the older four-car organizations of Gibbs and Hendrick, Martin Truex Jr’s retirement in 2025 is still only speculation.

And even if MTJ decided to hang up his helmet at the end of 2024, a stronger case could be made for former Joe Gibbs drivers, Noah Gragson & Ryan Preece, to replace him in the #19 seat. Notably, SHR’s #41 driver, Preece, has won two Xfinity Series races in the same #18 Toyota that Joe Gibbs fielded for Herbst in his penultimate winless season at their organization during the 2020 season.

Ironically, Gragson made his Xfinity debut in the same car, yet again, finishing P2 at Richmond two years prior. Moreover, Gragson & Truex Jr share a common sponsor rumored to be taking its name off a JGR car with MTJ’s retirement, providing an interesting development for the #10 driver’s uncertain advances.

Nevertheless, Pockrass hinted at a mutual ray of sunshine shared between JGR’s much smaller allies, 23XI Racing eyeing a third full-time car & Herbst having a sponsor, alongside a slightly tougher predicament for FRM in landing the rising star’s signature. The FOX journalist stated that the team will be pursuing drivers if they obtain charters. Thus, they would need sponsorship as well.

Herbst has made six registered starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, with his best-ever P9 finish at Talladega only coming last year. Four of those 6 outings have come with Rick Ware Racing, SHR’s technical allies, and Herbst has been announced to be sharing the #15 seat with Kaz Grala over a maximum of thirteen race weekends.

Riley Herbst needs to bank on his former team’s four starting spots

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Moving onto the two teams projected as the ‘possible landing spots’ for Herbst, 23XI Racing won at Talladega only last month with Tyler Reddick driving a big-money-sponsored car backed by his team owner’s billion-dollar sneaker brand, “Jordan.” On the other hand, FRM recently announced that their #34 driver, Michael McDowell, will join Spire Motorsports and its #71 team in 2025.

Adding to the Ford Performance-backed team’s dilemma, their other driver, Todd Gilliland’s contract ends this year. Nevertheless, FRM general manager Jerry Freeze admitted earlier that they’re always looking to expand. Hence, keeping hold of Gilliland could be crucial if Front Row does decide to add a third car to their roster.

Moreover, 23XI could benefit greatly from FRM’s ordeal, as their current full-time drivers, Bubba Wallace (#23) and Reddick (#45), appear comfortably secure in their respective seats. Therefore, the only way sponsor-sweetheart Herbst or his five SHR teammates could drive a 23XI car is if they cash in on any of their former team’s four starting spots awaiting new owners. However, with Corey Heim preparing to take the part-time #50 entry out for a premier-series spin in Nashville next month, another uncertain development arises amidst all the speculations.

Apart from competing full-time in the Truck Series, Heim is the reserve driver for TRD teams, Legacy Motor Club, and 23XI Racing. The 21-year-old’s apparent talent and existing roles could propel him above Herbst within all three Toyota-backed organizations.

Regardless, a growing team such as 23XI Racing, which only recently launched their brand-new $16 million headquarters “Airspeed” in Huntersville, NC, could warrant an even bigger SHR star. Perhaps the likes of Chase Briscoe? Yet, recent rumors suggest the #14 driver is the frontrunner to replace Harrison Burton behind the wheel of the #21 Wood Brothers car.