<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2qsj9g_0wOA4xwX00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2qsj9g_0wOA4xwX00" width="1500" height="982" ><figcaption>Sponsored</figcaption></figure>Back in May, NASCAR Ford team Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) announced that it would cease operations at the end of the 2024 racing season, closing the book of one of the most successful organizations in modern stock car racing. Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart, part-owner of SHR, finally explained the factors that ultimately led to SHR’s closure.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3tEyDi_0wOA4xwX00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3tEyDi_0wOA4xwX00" width="1500" height="997" ></figure>Stewart sat down with former SHR driver, Kevin Harvick, to discuss SHR on the Happy Hour podcast. Stewart likened the decision to pull the plug on SHR to the feeling he got when he found out Harvick was retiring, signaling the end of an era.“I don’t know that it’s even bittersweet. It’s more bitter than sweet, I feel like,” Stewart said. “It’s a tough decision, but things in life change. Your priorities change, and variables outside of your control change as well.”Stewart went on to explain that changes in the sport also drove his decision to shut down SHR.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">“It’s a tough decision, but things in life change.” <a href="https://twitter.com/TonyStewart?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TonyStewart</a> talks with <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinHarvick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KevinHarvick</a> about the closing of Stewart-Haas Racing. <a href="https://t.co/uUWp6DzKcU">pic.twitter.com/uUWp6DzKcU</a>— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) <a href="https://twitter.com/HarvickHappyPod/status/1849452765732274605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>“NASCAR… you and I have been around it for a long time,” Stewart told Harvick. “It is not what it used to be. It is drastically different than what it used to be. And that’s ok for some people, and for some people it’s not. I guess I’m one of those people.”SHR is different than other, larger teams like Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports. While they have businesses behind them, like Penske Truck Rentals and HendrickCars.com, SHR had to solely focus on third-party sponsors, which proved to be a hurdle for the team.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=23hjG0_0wOA4xwX00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=23hjG0_0wOA4xwX00" width="1500" height="1000" ></figure>Stewart said that he still holds a lot of respect for the France family, which has owned NASCAR since its beginnings, and that he is thankful for the time he spent behind the wheel and as a team owner. However, he’s not quite sure that he’s happy with the direction it’s going, referencing the ongoing lawsuit involving NASCAR Ford team Front Row Motorsports and Toyota team 23XI Racing, which sued the sanctioning body over its charter system.“Their battle with NASCAR, and the direction that things are going, it’s not a direction I want to be a part of,” Stewart said. “There’s things that I see that I definitely don’t like.”</div></body>

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NewsBreak

Tony Stewart Reveals What Led To NASCAR Ford Team Closure

Back in May, NASCAR Ford team Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) announced that it would cease operations at the end of the 2024 racing season, closing the book of one of the most successful organizations in modern stock car racing. Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart, part-owner of SHR, finally explained the factors that ultimately led to SHR’s closure.