So, where do we even start with Darlington? The race had an unexpected winner as Chase Briscoe took the win, which is similar to what happened with Harrison Burton at Daytona. It was not just that, but the fact that the second time in a row, Kyle Busch finished second, and this time he missed the chance at the playoffs. On another note, Tyler Reddick was given the title of the regular season championship, but those are just the highlights.
After Chase Briscoe won the Cook Out Southen 500, news came out that he was moving to Joe Gibbs Racing for the next season. This is only happening as Stewart-Haas Racing decided to split up with Tony moving to the NHRA and Haas continuing with reduced charters. Now with the No. 14 SHR Ford making its way into the playoffs, the co-owner of 23XI Racing discussed which charter the team decided to keep. As we know, making it into the playoffs means millions of dollars, so let’s dive in to see what Hamlin had to say about the Darlington race.
Denny Hamlin’s take on the Haas Factory Team’s Cup Series charter
Denny Hamlin had a bittersweet day at Darlington as his driver from 23XI Racing was crowned the regular season champion. The Cup Series title is still up for grabs, and Chase Briscoe became the last driver to make it into the playoffs by way of winning a race. Briscoe joined SHR in 2021 and has been driving the No. 14 car ever since. With the charter making its way into the playoffs, the team at Denny Hamlin’s Actions Detrimental podcast questioned if SHR decided to keep the No. 14 charter or had already decided on which car they were going to keep.
Speaking of how the No. 14 car has its moments but didn’t always perform when needed, Hamlin said, “The 14 car, you know, we go to some racetracks, and they were really bad.” Hamlin elaborated, saying, “Some of the Stewart-Haas cars I’ve seen were way off the pace—like one or two of the cars would be way off the pace for a little while during a race—and then, you know, they come back and finish okay.”
Speaking about Briscoe’s strength at road courses, Denny Hamlin explained, “But I think the track lends itself okay to Chase. I think, you know, he’s pretty good on road courses. We’ve got a couple of those in the playoffs.” Anticipating how well Briscoe will do in the playoffs, Hamlin predicted, “If he can get to the Round of Eight, there’s one there, I believe, in the final eight—I think, yeah, it’s in the Round of 12. So, I mean, he’s going to have an opportunity. He’s good on short tracks.”
The JGR No.11 driver shared how he believes that Chase Briscoe could make it into the top 8, however, the top “would be a stretch.” After acknowledging how unpredictable the sport is, Hamlin asked, “Who’s to say how this thing’s going to turn out?” Upon hearing the discussion, one of the podcast co-hosts asked Hamlin, as a team owner, if Haas could tell NASCAR that they want to keep the No. 14 charter at this point or did they decided on the cars when the decision to sell was made.
Hamlin cleared the doubt out with a guess, saying, “No, my guess is that when you’re bidding, or when you’re making a purchase, you’re designating which charter you’re purchasing, so I don’t think that changes.” According to the 23XI Racing co-owner, Haas Factory Team must have already made the decision as to which charters to keep and sell, while hoping that they kept the No. 14 for the financial benefits that it comes with.
Let’s take a look at all the changes on the grid because of SHR disbanding.
Where are all the Stewart-Haas Racing drivers going for 2025?
As of now, three out of four drivers from SHR have found seats in the Cup Series for 2025. This includes Josh Berry, who will be going to Wood Brothers Racing. Noah Gragson found a seat in Front Row Motorsports, and the winner of Darlington, Chase Briscoe, is going to Joe Gibbs Racing. Among all the drivers, Ryan Preece is still looking for a new team, and so far there is no update on that front. While the drivers have all found new seats for next season, the same cannot be said for the charters.
So far, many teams are looking to expand their presence in the Cup Series and this includes Front Row Motorsports, which made an official statement about doing the same. 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, is also on the lookout to add another car to their team. The third time to mention their desire to expand was Trackhouse Racing, who have 3 charters in the Cup Series with Shane van Gisbergen making his way to the team.
With that said, do you think that the Haas Factory team got lucky and decided to preserve the No. 14 car for themselves? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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