Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Stewart-Haas Racing reportedly ready to sack Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece if downsizing occurs in 2025

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Justin P Joy | Last updated 5/7/24

Ex-NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart’s Stewart-Haas Racing is going through a massive performance slump. Since 2022, they haven’t won a single race in the top-tier and haven’t been a contender for one as well. They have shown some signs of progress in the last month, but it’s nowhere close to where they should be.

One of the major challenges they are facing is the probability of downsizing their operations. They haven’t yet extended their partnership deal with Ford, which is ending this season. There have been multiple reports that suggest that Tony Stewart and Gene Haas are planning to reduce their operations to become a two-car team.

Now according to Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass, if the team decided to undertake this route, the driver that would stay are Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry. This means Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece would lose their seats and would have to look for a new team ahead of the 2025 season. Briscoe’s seat is guaranteed, as he is the only SHR racer with a strong sponsorship deal and has been the most consistent racer for the team.

Berry over Gragson is tough choice, though, as they have been mostly performing at the same level, with the latter having some better outings. But when things are evaluated from a sponsorship side, the No. 10 Ford driver might not be able to get SHR what they want. Preece may exit regardless of the downsizing plan, as he has failed to produce any solid runs for the team in 2023.

Harrison Burton is reportedly on his way out of Cup as well

Another racer who has been struggling in the Cup series over the last few seasons has been Wood Brothers Racing driver Harrison Burton. According reports from Fox Sports, it seems that the young driver might not have a seat in the 2025 season.

"Harrison Burton is in the last year of his contract and with his continued struggles, his return to Wood Brothers Racing (which has an alliance with Team Penske) seems unlikely at the moment," Bob Pockrass said.

If the Noah Gragson is released from SHR, he would give Harrison Burton a run for his money to get a new seat. While Gragson has issues with getting huge sponsorship, he could get personal sponsorship that would be able to sustain small teams, which makes him a good option. Hence, for Preece and Burton, this seems like it could be the end of the road at least for 2025.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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