AVONDALE, Ariz. — Every offseason brings about change, and the conclusion of Sunday’s (Nov. 10) NASCAR Cup Series championship race will see the emotional, tearful end of Stewart-Haas Racing along with the final race in Martin Truex Jr.’s illustrious full-time Cup career.
Unlike SHR’s closure, Truex’s race at Phoenix will not be a permanent goodbye. He’ll be back at the Daytona 500 next February, and he has every intention of making sporadic starts through NASCAR’s top three series in 2025.
“I’ve got to talk to Coach [Joe Gibbs] about the [Joe Gibbs Racing] Xfinity car,” Truex said. “We will see what the options are there. I would like to run a few of those next year for sure. I haven’t really looked into [the Craftsman Truck Series] at all – not sure about that – but I’m open to doing some things, so hopefully can have some fun next year and that will include some racing. So we will see how that all plays out.”
As for this weekend, it’s been business as usual for Truex, as he won the pole — his second consecutive pole and the 25th of his career — in Saturday’s (Nov. 9) qualifying session. He hasn’t found victory lane in his final full-time year, and doing so will be his biggest priority.
“I guess it hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I’m excited for the weekend,” Truex said. “I had a good practice yesterday, and I think as far as preparation, it’s been the same as usual, so we’ll see how it goes.
“I’m not sure it’s really sunk in yet. … I’m not super emotional I guess, so we’ll see what happens after the race. I’m looking forward to having a fun weekend and hopefully a great day tomorrow.”
There’s a lot for Truex to be proud of as he reflects on what he’s accomplished and starts his next chapter. Truex started his career with only two wins in his first nine full-time seasons, only for the switch to be flipped after getting paired with crew chief Cole Pearn at Furniture Row Racing in 2015.
Between FRR and Joe Gibbs Racing, Truex went on to win a whopping 32 races and the 2017 championship in the final 10 seasons of his career. It was an improbable rise that will end in retirement as a surefire NASCAR Hall of Famer.
“My career, I think, I’m most proud of is … doing the things I was able to do,” Truex said. “Being able to be around in the Cup Series and in this garage as long as I have. The way it started and the way it ended are two completely different stories, I think. Just the perseverance, I think. The hard work and how none of it came easy.
“My success in the Cup Series was certainly very, very difficult to achieve and so I’m very proud of that. But I’m also very thankful for the opportunities and the people I’ve gotten to work with. Just feel really grateful and lucky to be able to do what I did and have the success that we did.”
For SHR, Sunday’s race will be a far different story. It’s one of sadness, bittersweet and heart-wrenching pain as the team that won 70 Cup races and two Cup championships will be forever lost to history.
SHR helped solidify Josh Berry and Noah Gragson as mainstay Cup drivers. And while they only had one season with the team, they are forever grateful of the chance SHR presented to them.
“They’ve given me an opportunity to get back on my feet in the Cup Series and to get back in the garage and prove myself and to compete on Sundays,” Gragson said.
“There’s a lot of great people that work there, and I’m just really grateful for the opportunity that I got,” Berry added. “Really grateful for all the people that I got to race with all year, and that’s what I’m going to miss the most. I’m going to miss the whole No. 4 team and really all the people there that have been so good to me.”
Indeed, it’s the people that make the closure of SHR the gut-wrenching moment it is. People that have worked closely together and bonded for more than a decade; all of them will have to move on and find another place of work to remain in this industry.
“It’s been challenging,” Gragson said. “There’s been individuals that have been there close to 20-25 years. So it’s definitely challenging for the company as a whole coming to Phoenix with the emotions and the preparation of things.
“… It’s tough because I came into the year a stranger to all these people, and we’ve been able to make so many memories and grow our relationships to close friendships, and I couldn’t even imagine what it’s like for the people who’ve been there for 20 years.”
There’s no active driver with more ties to SHR than Chase Briscoe, as he’s been with the team since 2018 and full time in Cup since 2021. He scored his first of two wins at Phoenix in 2022 and pulled off an emotional win in this fall’s Southern 500 to end a two-year drought for SHR in the series’ winner’s circle.
“It’s just bittersweet,” Briscoe said. “It’s one of those things where we’re all enjoying it and trying to make the most out of it and have fun with it. But we also know that the hours are dwindling down, that it’s going to honestly come to an end pretty quickly now.”
He’ll be moving into a great opportunity for JGR as Truex’s replacement for 2025, but it won’t be without a heartfelt, tearful end at the place he’s called home for the majority of his career.
“I don’t think it’s really hit all of us,” Briscoe said. “We know that it’s a thing and it’s happening, and there’s nothing we can do about it. … I’m sure the emotions will be way different after the race. Even before the race, it will be one thing. But after the race, I was talking to some of my guys earlier. Like, man, we’re probably going to cry after we put the tailgate up on Sunday.”
Teams and drivers have come and gone throughout the NASCAR ranks in its 76-year history. The painful, tear-jerking goodbyes never get any easier, and the departure of a longtime team and a longtime driver will leave the 2025 grid that much more unrecognizable than the year before it.
Follow Stephen Stumpf on X at @stephen_stumpf
About the author
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly columns include “Stat Sheet” and “4 Burning Questions.” He also writes commentary, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Can find on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.
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I have been a Briscoe fan for years now, and a Tony/SHR fan for longer, but all good things must apparently come to an end.
RIP SHR, and on to Chase in the 19 at JGR.