'It's Really Sad What's Happening' at Stewart-Haas Racing on Eve of NASCAR Playoffs

When Stewart-Haas Racing announced in May it was closing at the end of the 2024 season the attention turned immediately to who would acquire the charters, where would the drivers and crew chiefs go, and the formation of Haas Factory Team.

No one outside the organization thought about the more than 300 people losing their jobs until Chase Briscoe won the Cook Out Southern 500 to gain a playoff berth.

Inside the organization, the questions and concerns were a lot different.

SHR crew chief Richard Boswell first noted the importance of the Darlington victory, the opportunity to go for a NASCAR Cup championship in the organization’s final 10 weeks of existence during Sunday night’s telecast on USA Network. It was a topic that was addressed again in post-race interviews, and for the first time the reality of what SHR’s last hoorah would mean to hundreds of people became more than a statistic.

“It’s really sad what’s happening because I’ve been at Stewart-Haas Racing for eight years,” Boswell said. “This is the best I’ve ever seen four Cup drivers work together; the best I’ve ever seen four crew chiefs work together. I’ll be honest, (it’s) like I’ve got four teams helping me for these next three weeks. That’s what I’m looking forward to. I’m looking forward to going to battle with all four teams.

“I think I told Chase at the beginning of the year we needed a mantra for the season and for the year. It was going to be one goal for all. That was the (No.) 14. I think (Sunday night) that just came full circle and came to fruition.”

Briscoe described the regular season’s final race as the “last bullet in the chamber.”

“We’ve been shutting down since May, and they haven’t shut us off yet,” Briscoe said.

Boswell admits that SHR’s closing in a few weeks is sad.

“It sucks!” says Boswell, who doesn’t hide his emotions when he talks about the team’s closing. “This is family. Every employee there I would have at Christmas dinner.

“I think the struggle and the difficulty that’s come with it has been we have a job to do, and that hasn’t changed. Whether it’s 60 hours a week or not, it’s turned into 70. I can’t tell you how many guys I have in my office every week wondering what do I think, where should I go? I’m worried about my future.

“You have to have those conversations just from an empathy standpoint. You have to take those guys in and let them know that you care. That’s just added more work and more hours. I would say that’s been the biggest difference, is just trying to be mindful of what everybody is going through, but also know we have a job to do, try to do our best to bring the best cars we can every week.”

It’s that emotion, that desire by more than 300 people to make sure no one ever forgets SHR that could make Briscoe the toughest championship challenger.