Last Sunday, NASCAR bid goodbye to one of its most successful drivers. With 826 Cup Series starts and 60 wins to his name, Kevin Harvick was among the most experienced and successful drivers on the grid for more than a decade. However, after his dream run in 2020 which saw him enter victory lane nine times, he secured just two wins from 2021–23. It had a lot to do with his team, Stewart-Haas Racing—at least Dale Earnhardt Jr seems to think so.

Harvick left Richard Childress Racing‘s #29 cockpit in 2014 and joined SHR’s #4 team. While he was impressive with them for the first seven years, winning 35 races and a championship, it has been a downward spiral ever since. Dale Jr, in this year’s final iteration of The Dale Jr. Download, shared concerns about Tony Stewart‘s team, even saying that Harvick was the sole individual carrying the team forward this season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr takes a dig at Tony Stewart following Kevin Harvick’s 2023 heroics

It is no secret that Stewart-Haas Racing enjoyed an amazing spell in the 2010s. However, post-COVID-19, it hasn’t been as great for them. Their biggest low came in the 2023 campaign as they went winless for the first time in 15 Cup Series seasons.

It was back in 2008 that Gene Haas’s team last went winless. In fact, after that dry spell, they enjoyed an amazing run having won 69 races from 2009 to 2022. Kevin Harvick winning the title in 2014 was certainly a game-changer. Since then, SHR went on to register more than four victories for five seasons from 2014 to 2020.

However, what’s concerning is that after the end of the 2020 season, they have just won four times. Harvick won two of those. Unsurprisingly, he was their savior even in the recently-concluded season where he was the only one to qualify for the playoffs.

While that speaks volumes of things at SHR, Dale Earnhardt Jr didn’t shy away from venting out his frustration about it. In the latest episode of The Dale Jr. Download podcast, the veteran expressed how Harvick did an impressive job in the 2023 campaign.

He said, “Kevin Harvick, who’s our guest this week, I don’t know what he expected, or they expected. We certainly know that Kevin’s had better years, but when I look at this team, I judge the company as an organization and he outperformed the rest of the Stewart-Haas Racing cars by a good margin weekly.”

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Junior further explained how, despite not winning a single race, Harvick did a fine job. He said, “And so, I feel like that the organization has slipped a bit. But he has really kind of been able to carry the torch, so to speak, for them. And not winning, I’m sure, was disappointing for Kevin.”

He added, “I mean, then the last race-led laps run up front had a solid ending. I think that his fans were probably somewhat disappointed. But all of that you can shove aside because this is his final year.” Indeed, Harvick gave his all to help SHR before retiring. However, the team now has a daunting task to fill the void his departure has left.

Stewart-Haas Racing has a mountain to climb for the 2024 Cup Series season

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It is worth noting that barring Kevin Harvick, none of the other three Stewart-Haas Racing drivers finished higher than 22nd. While it is an appalling statistic, Aric Almirola parting ways with the team doesn’t help SHR’s case either. Harvick’s replacement Josh Berry could turn out to be an interesting addition but only time can decide that.

As of now, Chase Briscoe remains the team’s longest-tenured driver, having been with them since 2021. That is not long enough, and SHR’s fourth driver Ryan Preece has had his fair share of struggles. Without a doubt, Tony Stewart’s team will miss Harvick’s leadership and it will be interesting to see how they go about it.

While there have been rumors about Noah Gragson joining SHR, there have not been any announcements. Even in the case that he joins, the team will have four drivers with a total of just one win in the Cup Series so far. It is an alarming situation and it would surely take something special to avoid a winless run like the 2023 season.

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