“I give these guys the tools to do the job and we just haven’t got it done the last couple of years.” That is what Tony Stewart boldly stated at the beginning of 2024. Stewart-Haas Racing, once a glorious team, was in a dry spell for almost two years. The final axe fell in May this year when Stewart announced that SHR would cease to exist after 2024. But amidst the building pressure, Chase Briscoe found the will to deliver his final gift to the championship-winning team.

“I feel like I run better under heavy pressure,” a dewy-eyed Briscoe said after winning the Southern 500. Stewart could not witness this beautiful moment for his team and tried to make up for it on social media. Yet some NASCAR fans did not accept his compensatory actions.

Tony Stewart missed the moment his team shone

Clearly, Chase Briscoe accepted Tony Stewart’s challenge and proved his mettle on the racetrack. He had won his last Cup Series race back at Phoenix in 2022. This year, he worked hard, clinching 3 top-five and 7 top-ten finishes. After Stewart declared that SHR would soon shutter, Briscoe was the first driver to land a future ride in Joe Gibbs Racing. However, he still lacked the spark to end his long winless streak. And he found that spark at Darlington Raceway.

During the last few exhilarating laps, Chase Briscoe found himself breaking three hearts simultaneously. For one, Kyle Larson looked to be the potential winner as he led most of the laps and won two stages. Then Kyle Busch failed to charge after Briscoe for a much-awaited win. Finally, Chris Buescher lost his playoff spot as Briscoe became the 14th driver to crack the playoffs. Although Tony Stewart was absent, he tried to make up for it—he called Briscoe and later posted on X: “The No. 14 is in Victory Lane and locked into the Playoffs. So damn proud of @ChaseBriscoe_14 and everyone at @StewartHaasRcng.”

Chase Briscoe was indeed overflowing with emotions for his team members, most of whose futures are yet to be secured. “For all 320 employees, everybody, to be able to race for a championship in their final year, man, unbelievable. This group, the day that we found out that the team wasn’t going to exist anymore, we went over to the shop floor, we all looked at each other and said, ‘We’re in this till the end. We’re not going to give this up.’” 

And NASCAR fans also shared in this emotional victory for the fading SHR team, yet they did not hold back from calling out Tony Stewart’s glaring absence.

Fans bash the absentee team owner

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Well, Chase Briscoe did achieve a redemption win at the Southern 500. Several months of hardship and struggle finally gave way to the perfect season-ending victory. Now, fans cannot help but notice the absence of Tony Stewart, who delivered so much pressure early in the season. One fan took a sarcastic jibe at Stewart’s NHRA races, implying he is more busy there than in NASCAR. “I’m sure you were glad to be there to see it. Just kidding we know you can’t be bothered.” Stewart wrote heartily about his team’s success, yet one fan was in doubt. “Were you even at the track for your team’s big win?” Somebody else also quipped: “Were you there? Doubtful.”

Other people adopted milder tones in reacting to Tony Stewart’s absence. One fan quipped that Smoke has abandoned all his NASCAR hopes, despite being a veteran Cup Series driver himself. “Really wish we saw you there smoke.. I know it wasn’t expected but it would have been amazing to see the O.G.” Another fan bordered on protests, as Stewart was not there to witness his 70-time Cup race-winning team achieve success. “Has smoke even been to a race this year… :(“

Evidently, 49-time Cup race winner Tony Stewart clearly lost a bit of his team leader esteem. His compensatory actions on social media to congratulate his team clearly did not strike a chord with the fans.