NASCAR: 4 driver moves that won't pay off (and 1 that will)
By Asher Fair
Last year's NASCAR Cup Series silly season may not have been nearly as crazy as it was in 2022, but there were a still quite a few big changes that took place in the driver lineup for 2024.
Whether it's because of retirements, lack of performance, or simply drivers deciding to move on to new teams, several teams enter the 2024 season with different looks.
Which of those driver changes will pay off? Here are four that won't -- and one that will.
No. 1 - Won't: Josh Berry to Stewart-Haas Racing
I like what Josh Berry brings to Stewart-Haas Racing. As Tony Stewart made clear, he was hired for his talent, not because his father came in and bought him his way into a NASCAR Cup Series ride out of high school.
But you simply cannot replace a driver like Kevin Harvick and expect similar results, at least not right away. We're talking about a former champion who ranks top 10 on the all-time wins list. He was also the only Stewart-Haas Racing driver to qualify for the playoffs in what was, by all accounts, the team's worst ever season in 2023.
As much as everybody wants to see one of the sport's ultimate "good guys" succeed after landing a long-awaited Cup Series opportunity, it's unrealistic to expect him to come in and immediately make a big impact behind the wheel of the No. 4 Ford.