From its 2009 start with Tony Stewart at the wheel to its closure after the 2024 season, the team won Cup titles, a Daytona 500 and races across three national series.
Stewart-Haas Racing was a NASCAR team co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas. It ran Cup and Xfinity cars from 2009, won titles with Stewart in 2011 and Kevin Harvick in 2014, and closed in 2024. The team was based in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
Stewart-Haas Racing was an American stock car team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series from 2009 until the end of 2024. Tony Stewart, a three-time Cup champion, and Gene Haas, the founder of Haas Automation, co-owned the operation from its base in Kannapolis, North Carolina. The team shut down its Cup and Xfinity programmes after the 2024 season.
How did Tony Stewart and Gene Haas create the team?
Tony Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing, where he had been driving, because he wanted a team of his own. In July 2008 it was announced that he would join Gene Haas as driver and owner for 2009, taking a 50% stake. Haas CNC Racing was merged into the new venture, which took the name Stewart-Haas Racing.
The announcement came on 10 July 2008, and it was more than a change of seat for Stewart. Haas wanted his new partner behind the wheel so that he could help attract sponsors and personnel. The team went on to sign several high-level sponsors and experienced staff while leaning on its alliance with Hendrick Motorsports.
Commentators have linked the decision to Joe Gibbs Racing's move from Chevrolet to Toyota, although no single reason has ever been pinned down. The partnership moved quickly on the track. Stewart won the 2009 Sprint All-Star Race, the first win for Gene Haas as an owner, and then delivered the team's first points-paying win in the 2009 Pocono 500.
A team built around Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, with two Cup titles, a Daytona 500 win and a closure after the 2024 season.
Why did the team switch from Chevrolet to Ford?
From its founding until 2016 the team ran Chevrolet cars, with engines and chassis supplied by Hendrick Motorsports. On 24 February 2016 it was announced that the team would move to Ford for the 2017 season, receiving engines from Roush-Yates Engines. From 2017 it also built its chassis in-house.
The move paid off within a season. Kevin Harvick rebounded in 2017 with wins at Sonoma and Texas and finished third in the standings. Kurt Busch took his first Daytona 500 that year, which was both the first win for the team in a Ford and the organisation's first Daytona 500 victory.
The Xfinity Series programme restarted in the same period, giving the organisation a second series alongside the Cup team.
How did the No. 4 car become the team's flagship?
The No. 4 car began life as the No. 39 car, driven by Ryan Newman from 2009 to 2013. Kevin Harvick took over the renumbered No. 4 in 2014 and drove it until 2023, winning the second Cup championship for the team in 2014.
Newman's early years were eventful. In 2009 he led the first 25 laps at Bristol, and at Talladega he was passed in the closing laps before finishing third after a multi-car incident that sent Carl Edwards airborne. The following season produced the first NASCAR win for the No. 39, at Phoenix, and in 2011 Newman won at New Hampshire, which gave the team its first 1-2 finish with Stewart.
Newman's contract was not renewed after 2013, with the team citing a lack of funding. The team then signed Kurt Busch for a fourth car, and the renumbered No. 4 arrived with Harvick in 2014. He won in only his second start with the team at the spring Phoenix race, and he then took Darlington after leading 239 of 374 laps.
Harvick's run to the 2014 title ended at Homestead, where he clinched the championship. In 2015 he recorded 28 top 10s but lost the title to Kyle Busch by one point. His later seasons were marked by penalties as well as wins, and a post-race inspection in 2018 stripped the team of 40 owner and driver points and cost Harvick his place in the Final Four.
Harvick added a milestone win at Richmond in 2022, and on 12 January 2023 he announced his retirement. Josh Berry replaced him in 2024 and scored a season-best third-place finish at Darlington and New Hampshire.
What happened to the No. 10 car?
The No. 10 began as the No. 35 car of Tommy Baldwin Racing. Danica Patrick drove it from 2012 to 2017, and Aric Almirola then drove it from 2018 to 2023. Almirola delivered the car's first win in 2018 before announcing his retirement in January 2022, a decision he later reversed.
Patrick was hired for the full 2013 schedule, which made the organisation the first in the sport's history to hire a woman for a complete Cup season. She started that year on pole for the Daytona 500, the first woman to do so, and she finished eighth in the race. She also became the first woman to lead a lap in the 500.
Results were harder to come by after that opening. Patrick struggled to crack the top 10 in most races, with her best finish a seventh at Kansas in 2014. Her sponsorship was also unstable. In January 2017 Nature's Bakery pulled out of its deal, and the team filed a $31 million lawsuit for breach of contract. The case was settled in May 2017, and Patrick was released at the end of the season.
Almirola arrived with Smithfield Foods as the new primary sponsor and enjoyed a much better run. He won the 1000Bulbs.com 500 in the fall of 2018, the first win for the No. 10, and finished that season fifth in points, the highest of his career. He collected a string of consistent finishes after that, although he did not win again.
Noah Gragson took the car over for 2024. He scored a career-best third-place finish at Talladega, but the team was hit with an L1 penalty after the Atlanta race that cost 35 owner and driver points. That was the final chapter for the No. 10 before the shutdown was announced.
How did the No. 14 car build its history?
Tony Stewart drove the No. 14 from 2009 to 2016, and the number was chosen as a tribute to the open-wheel legend A. J. Foyt. Clint Bowyer followed from 2017 to 2020, and Chase Briscoe drove the car from 2021 to 2024. Between them the car produced a Cup title and a Rookie of the Year award.
Stewart's title came in 2011. He won five Chase races at Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Martinsville, Texas and Homestead, and drew level with Carl Edwards in points before winning the tiebreaker on victories. The title also made him the only driver to win championships under the Winston Cup, Nextel Cup and Sprint Cup banners.
Injury then disrupted the car. On 5 August 2013 Stewart broke his right leg in a sprint car accident, and a run of substitutes drove the car for the rest of that season, with Mark Martin taking most of the remaining races. Stewart announced on 30 September 2015 that he would retire after 2016, and he returned from a sand rail injury in 2016 to pass Denny Hamlin on the last lap at Sonoma, ending an 84-race winless streak.
Clint Bowyer's first season with the team was a struggle, but 2018 brought two wins at Martinsville and Michigan. He announced his full-time retirement on 8 October 2020, moving to a broadcasting role with NASCAR on Fox.
Chase Briscoe moved up from the Xfinity side for 2021 and won the Rookie of the Year honour. In 2022 he won at Phoenix, leading 101 of 312 laps, and that victory joined the list of drivers who have won a Cup race. In 2023 an L3 penalty over a counterfeit engine panel duct cost the team 125 owner and driver points, and the crew chief was suspended and fined. Briscoe broke a 73-race winless streak at the 2024 Southern 500 to make the playoffs.
How did the No. 41 car develop?
The No. 41 was the fourth and last team added to the operation, debuting in 2014 with Kurt Busch. Busch announced his move on 26 August 2013, and Gene Haas sponsored the full season through Haas Automation. Later drivers included Daniel Suarez, Cole Custer and Ryan Preece, and the car ran until the shutdown.
The signing caused friction. Ryan Newman's contract was not renewed, and The signing also came while Tony Stewart was sidelined by his leg injury, and Stewart publicly called Busch a huge asset. Busch silenced many critics by winning the 2014 STP 500 at Martinsville in only his sixth race with the team, earning his 25th career victory and his first since 2011.
Busch's form dipped in 2015 when he was suspended while an investigation into domestic violence allegations was carried out. He returned to win at Richmond and Michigan that year and finished eighth in the standings. In 2016 Monster Energy became a co-primary sponsor, and SHR bought a charter from the defunct Michael Waltrip Racing to secure Busch a place in every race.
Busch's 2017 Daytona 500 win, achieved by passing Kyle Larson on the last lap, was the first for SHR in a Ford. A 58-race winless streak ended at the Bristol night race in 2018. Busch announced on 2 December 2018 that he would not return.
Daniel Suarez arrived from Joe Gibbs Racing for 2019 with Arris International as sponsor. He had a difficult year with four top-five finishes and 11 top 10s, and he did not reach the Playoffs. Cole Custer then took the car in 2020 and won at Kentucky that year with a four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap.
The No. 41 team was fined after the Charlotte Roval in October 2022. On 11 October 2022 Custer and crew chief Mike Shiplett were fined $100,000 after Custer intentionally slowed on the last lap to help a teammate advance. Ryan Preece took over the car for 2023.
Preece's season was marked by a serious crash at Daytona's night race on 26 August 2023. After contact from behind, his car was lifted and rolled roughly ten times before settling on its wheels, and he left under his own power. The roof hatch detached early in the crash, and the incident raised safety concerns about the roof hatch design.
What did the Xfinity and truck programmes add?
The Xfinity Series programme began in 2017, when Cole Custer drove the No. 00 Ford with Haas Automation as primary sponsor. Custer won seven races in 2019 and claimed the Xfinity championship in 2023. The truck effort of 2014 introduced him as a teenager, and Gene Haas became one of a select group of owners to win in all three national series.
Custer's Xfinity career was among the team's most consistent. In 2017 he led almost every lap at the Ford EcoBoost 300 and won stages along the way. By 2018 he had six poles and a race win at Texas, and in 2019 he added seven wins and five poles. In 2024 he won at Pocono and Bristol and took the regular season championship.
The truck programme was built around Custer as a 16-year-old driver. He won the pole at Gateway and then at New Hampshire, where he won the race and became the youngest winner in Truck Series history. The truck team closed afterwards, and Custer moved on to JR Motorsports in 2015.
Beyond the top tiers, Ryan Preece won the ARCA Menards Series West race at Sonoma in 2023 from pole, leading 50 of 64 laps. The esports arm of the business won the inaugural eNASCAR Heat Pro League championship in 2019 and was rebranded in 2020,.
Why did the team close after 2024?
On 28 May 2024 the shutdown of the Cup and Xfinity teams was announced, with 323 job losses. The charters were sold to other teams, and Gene Haas kept one of them. The decision ended the Cup and Xfinity operations, which had produced titles and race wins in both series.
The leadership had already been changing. On 2 August 2022 the president, Brett Frood, announced he would step down from the role. Brian McKinley was promoted to chief commercial officer and Greg Zipadelli became chief competition officer, while Joe Custer remained co-president.
The charters were sold in separate deals. One went to Front Row Motorsports for $20-25 million, and another went to 23XI Racing. A third charter was sold to Trackhouse Racing. On 20 June 2024 Gene Haas confirmed he would keep one charter and restructure the team as Haas Factory Team, with Joe Custer as president.
Key results at a glance
| Car | Driver | Years | Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 39 and No. 4 | Ryan Newman | 2009-2013 | First 1-2 finish with Stewart in 2011 |
| No. 4 | Kevin Harvick | 2014-2023 | Cup title for the team in 2014 |
| No. 10 | Danica Patrick | 2012-2017 | Daytona 500 pole in 2013 |
| No. 10 | Aric Almirola | 2018-2023 | First win for the No. 10 in 2018 |
| No. 14 | Tony Stewart | 2009-2016 | Cup title in 2011 |
| No. 14 | Chase Briscoe | 2021-2024 | First Cup win at Phoenix in 2022 |
| No. 41 | Kurt Busch | 2014-2018 | Daytona 500 win in 2017 |
| No. 41 | Cole Custer | 2020-2022 | First career win at Kentucky in 2020 |
What was the team's legacy?
Stewart-Haas Racing won in all three national touring divisions, a feat it shared with only a handful of other organisations. Its Cup titles, its Daytona 500 win in 2017 and its work with drivers including Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch left a lasting mark on NASCAR. The name carried weight in the garage from 2009 to 2024.
The team's identity was built on two strong personalities. Tony Stewart brought a driver's instinct and a championship pedigree, while Gene Haas brought the resources of a manufacturing business and a long history in motorsports. Together they shaped a team that combined driver ownership with serious manufacturing backing.
Some of that legacy continues through Haas Factory Team, which kept one charter and the Xfinity entries.
