By: Zach Arnold

Stewart-Haas Racing will be a completely different team from what NASCAR fans are used to heading into the new season. Currently, they have three of four full-time seats filled with the fourth seat still awaiting the release of who will take it.

SHR has always had a veteran on their team, as five years ago their driver lineup consisted of four – Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, and Aric Almirola. After 2018, they started reeling in younger drivers to their program.

Two veterans had kept their seats until they both left after the 2023 season due to retirement. Harvick had raced full-time with SHR since 2014, after originally debuting in the Cup Series with Richard Childress Racing in 2001. Meanwhile, Almirola’s debut came in 2007, followed by four seasons with SHR, which began in 2019.

Almirola did not have any dominant seasons while at SHR, but he brought valuable experience to the team along with Harvick that helped younger drivers prepare for Cup Series racing level such as Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, and Cole Custer.

Briscoe is entering his third full-time season with SHR. He will be the longest-tenured driver with the team in 2024, which really shows how new the team will be from past seasons. The 28-year-old has captured one Cup Series win with the team back in 2022 at Phoenix Raceway.

Ryan Preece is the second driver who has had the most time with SHR; however, that time is only one full-time season. He signed with the team between the 2022-2023 offseason and unfortunately did not transition into the Cup Series that well, only recording one top-five and two top-tens.

Josh Berry is the third driver who has a full-time schedule with SHR in 2024, as he is taking over the No. 4 car, previously driven by Harvick since 2014. For the last couple of seasons, Berry has driven a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

The last seat that remains open is the No. 10 car. There have been rumors around the NASCAR garage of who may be a top candidate for the seat; however, nothing official as of today. It’ll be interesting to see if SHR chooses a young driver to add to the team, or if they sign a veteran to bring experience.