NASCAR community was shocked when it was announced that Tony Stewart and Gene Haas would part ways as Stewart Haas Racing will cease to operate at the end of the 2024 season. Financial constraints and poor performance led to the owner making this difficult call that also made almost 300 people jobless.
Tony Stewart recently talked about the decision and spilled out the reason for it. He admitted the team was in dire need of financial assistance after losing top sponsors because of the retirement of Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola. The only was to resolve the situation was to ask Gene Haas to write a hefty check which he wasn’t willing to ask. So, they had to make the difficult call.
Gene was going to have to write a check. But I wasn’t willing to ask him to write, honestly. The amount that we were behind in budget for next year with some of our deals changing and losing a couple of our partners…it financially just put us in the wrong spot, and it continued. So, both Gene’s group and our group decided to shut it down at the end of the year.Tony Stewart said via Query & Company.
But it seems, Stewart should have asked Haas to write a small check and downsize the team to reduce the costs, as the majority owner isn’t leaving NASCAR like him. Gene Haas would field one Cup car and two Xfinity cars from the 2025 season under the Haas Factory team brand like the used to do in the past before Stewart joined.
Tony Stewart speaks on his life as he is set to become a father
Leah Pruett and Tony Stewart is set to become parents of a baby boy this year. While speaking about it, the ex-SHR driver hilariously pointed out that he is scared to death about becoming a father while also driving in the NHRA replacing his wife temporarily.
I’ll be honest I’m scared to death. When we made the announcement here in Indy at the PRI show in December that Leah was going to step out of the car, I told everyone I wasn’t sure if I was more scared of starting a family or driving an 11,000-horsepower car that I wasn’t used to driving yet. Then the more people I talked to I said ‘I’m screwed either way on this.’Tony Stewart said.
The veteran racer is really excited about the chapter of his racing career in the drag racing scene alongside the responsibilities he would have as a new parent. It would be interesting to see what is ahead for the NHRA power couple in the future.
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