“We’re proud of all the wins…but even more special is the culture we built and the friendships we forged.” This line may be heart-warming, but it was part of a broader message that shattered thousands of hopes and dreams. Stewart-Haas Racing announced its closure almost ten months ago. But the wounds are still fresh, as Tony Stewart’s former employee remembers.

Since coming into existence in 2008, SHR has achieved the peaks of NASCAR. The team’s achievements include 102 victories across the three NASCAR tiers and three championships. Clinching these wins involved going through heartbreaks and happy moments – so a former insider is still nostalgic.

Tony Stewart’s team still haunts people

The fissures started appearing in 2023. It was Kevin Harvick’s last season in SHR, and the 2014 Cup Series champion failed to notch a race victory. A slew of sponsors left Tony Stewart’s fold, such as Busch Light, Smithfield Foods, and Anheuser-Busch. Then Harvick and Aric Almirola left the team at the end of 2023. All these alarm bells were ringing loudly for the team. Even as the fresh four-driver grid embarked on the 2024 season seeking new heights, the announcement in May was the last nail in the coffin. Employees and drivers alike were thrown into an abyss of uncertainty after all the time and energy invested into building the team.

Greg Zipadelli was the former Competition Director of Stewart-Haas Racing. Even after the 2025 season kicked off, he cannot help but reflect on Tony Stewart‘s earth-shattering announcement in 2024. “It was a shock to everybody, right? I mean, I think we as a group did a good job building that place from a two-car team to a four-car team…winning Cup championships, Xfinity championships in a 13-year period. So very proud of what our group over there did over the years…I’m still kind of sad about it, to be honest with you. And the way it just happened…I know things aren’t forever. But I thought that was going to be a longer duration. But hey, it is what it is.” 

Greg Zipadelli also recounted the optimistic side of the announcement. He worked in the team since 2012, prior to which he was a Joe Gibbs Racing crew chief for Tony Stewart and Joey Logano. So Zipadelli saw an opportunity last year: “When it happened, at that point I was like, Hey, maybe this is my sign to walk away and enjoy my life. I have been very fortunate in all forms of racing that I’ve done…in Cup racing with Tony winning championships…winning races as the Competition Director, Vice President. I couldn’t ask for that part of my life to be better.”

One of the four outgoing drivers hailed Zipadelli for his efforts before the team broke apart.

Helping him through a revival

2024 was the first season in Stewart-Haas Racing for two drivers. One was then-rookie Josh Berry and the other was Noah Gragson. The latter’s history was a bit more colorful. In 2023, Gragson was positioned for Cup Series glamor with Legacy Motor Club. Its co-owners Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson are two of the greatest legends of NASCAR. However, Gragson had to bow out of that star-studded team due to a social media controversy. When he reached that low in his career, Tony Stewart threw a lifeline to Gragson. He drove the No. 10 Ford for SHR, previously driven by Danica Patrick and Aric Almirola.

So before the Cup Series team disbanded, Noah Gragson recalled the people who helped him through his revival. They include Tony Stewart and Greg Zipadelli. Gragson said in November last year: “I’m just extremely grateful for the opportunity that Tony and Greg Zipadelli gave me to be able to get back into the sport, and to do it at the highest level of the Cup Series means the world to me. I’m tremendously grateful for that, tremendously grateful for the friendships and experiences and memories that we’ve been able to make over the past year. It’s allowed me to get back on my feet in the Cup Series, and we’ve had some strong runs and it’s given me my confidence back.”

Evidently, Tony Stewart’s team has a treasure trove of memories to cherish for a lifetime. Hopefully, the pain of closure will get better with time.