NASCAR: Will Stewart-Haas Racing finally end lineup trend?
By Asher Fair
Stewart-Haas Racing have changed their driver lineup for five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series seasons. But is that trend finally set to change?
Five years, five new NASCAR Cup Series drivers for Stewart-Haas Racing: in 2021, that new driver is Chase Briscoe, who competed for the organization’s Xfinity Series team for two seasons as a full-time driver prior to his promotion ahead of the 36-race season.
Briscoe replaced Clint Bowyer behind the wheel of the #14 Ford, marking five consecutive seasons of driver changes for Stewart-Haas Racing.
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They haven’t maintained the same driver lineup from one year to the next since the 2015 and 2016 seasons, when they retained Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch.
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Stewart retired after 2016 and Bowyer replaced him behind the wheel of the #14 Chevrolet-turned-Ford. Patrick retired after 2017 and was replaced by Aric Almirola behind the wheel of the #10 Ford.
Busch left for Chip Ganassi Racing after the 2018 season, leaving the #41 Ford to Daniel Suarez, who was replaced by rookie Cole Custer after the 2019 campaign. But by moving Briscoe into the #14 Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing are moving toward a future that hopefully features less driver turnover.
Could we see their driver lineup change trend end after the 2021 season?
If it is going to end, this is probably when it will end.
Harvick isn’t getting any younger, but before winning a career-high nine races in 2020, he signed a multi-year contract extension to continue competing through the 2023 season. Even amid a season of struggles for the team in 2021, he has been by far and away the top driver.
So no changes are set to come for the #4 Ford at any point in the foreseeable future.
Custer, 23, is seen as a long-term option, as is the 26-year-old Briscoe. There are some questions surrounding Almirola’s contract after he signed another extension to continue piloting the #10 Ford.
But Almirola is responsible for the team’s one win in 2021, and despite his lack of a win last year, he had a career year statistically. At 37 years old, he is by no means ready to retire. He also has substantial backing from Smithfield and has had them as his primary sponsor since 2012. As long as nothing changes on that front, he could and should be back in 2022.
Certain reports even state that the extension he signed last year was a multi-year extension, and Stewart recently confirmed to Beyond the Flag that there are no plans to change the team’s driver lineup after the 2021 season.
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“We don’t have any plans to make any changes right now,” he said. “We’re happy with our lineup, we’re happy with our guys. We feel like they’ve all contributed and worked really well together to try to find solutions. This is the lineup I want for next season.”