Stepping up their game is Tony Stewart’s Stewart-Haas Racing. With old lions taking their time off, the Ford camp has welcomed two new drivers into the stable with the likes of Josh Berry, who will be in the seat of the #4 replacing the 2014 Cup Series champion, Kevin Harvick. Another latest addition to the team is controversial youngster, Noah Gragson who will look to obliterate his past demons following his eviction from Legacy Motor Club.

But can the young squadron with Chase Briscoe as its leader take on the pack in the absence of a seasoned veteran like Harvick and bring back the Ford camp out of the rut? Will they be able to perform with a chip on their shoulders? Well, Briscoe certainly thinks he will excel under pressure. But can Gragson and Berry emulate the same? Let’s see what the drivers have to say.

Chase Briscoe leads the fight for Stewart-Haas Racing in the “pressure-packed” season

Fellow Hoosier, Chase Briscoe, is now the most experienced driver at SHR with veterans – Harvick and Aric Almirola deciding to call it quits from Cup Series. Harvick will suit up as Fox Sports’ new voice in the booth alongside his former SHR teammate, Clint Bowyer, whereas former #10 driver, Almirola, will step down to be Joe Gibbs’ part-time Xfinity driver in the #20 Toyota.

While the bossman Stewart is stoked to have four young guns, doing their best for the team, the absence of a seasoned driver like Harvick is most likely to affect the team. But, Briscoe believes otherwise. Even though he is of the opinion – “We’re definitely fully capable of being the leader, but our results have to back that up. That’s what we’re trying to do,” the #14 driver strongly believes he can outperform and take the fight to the competition even under pressure. 

In fact, in a recent exclusive with Bob Pockrass, Briscoe said, “I definitely feel like in my cup career this is the most pressure-packed season. Or just the most pressure in general that I’m gonna have on myself. You know from a performance standpoint I need to pick it up to kind of what I did the sophomore year.  Last year was not acceptable by any means and with having new younger drivers coming in, you know, I feel like I have to definitely prove my worth and prove that you know I can do that top guy there. Obviously, from a sponsor standpoint, it’s super important to run good.” 

Watch This Story: Noah Gragson expresses his discontent over his unsuccessful debut with Stewart-Haas Racing

On a closing note, he voiced his enthusiasm, taking on the responsibility as the squadron leader, saying, “There’s definitely I feel like more pressure on me this year than any other season I’ve ever had in the Cup Series but my entire career I’ve always just ran better when I have a ton of pressure on myself. So, I’m kind of looking forward to it, honestly just trying to compartmentalize things and honestly, make some stuff in my head about just having some extra pressure on myself, yeah I’m looking forward to it.” 

While Briscoe is ready to take charge, what can we make of his teammates?

Ryan Preece and the new duo of Josh Berry and Gragson divulge their expectations

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2023 was nothing more than a bad nightmare for SHR and its drivers. All four drivers lost their way in the tournament with just the #4 Ford making it into the playoff. And it was only to get ousted in the first eliminator. The team also lost major sponsorship deals including Harvick’s billion-dollar partner, Busch Light to Trackhouse Racing.

Despite all the setbacks, Stewart welcomed HMS‘s super-sub, Josh Berry and Noah Gragson, into the team. With all hopes riding on them in 2024, the trio of Ryan Preece, Berry and Gragson opened up to Pockrass. Even after his 10-flip barrel roll at Daytona last year, Preece is hell-bent on conquering the track, mentioning it as he detailed his thoughts.

He said, “I’ve said it my entire career And then this year I feel like there’s there’s kind of been that It’s kind of like a change. It was time to change things and I feel like there’s been a lot of internal changes and certainly all for the good. And we’re all eager to get to Daytona, get to LA. Super speedways were certainly one of our strong suits and short tracks were really good for us as well.” 

Berry, on the other hand, was determined to step up his game and prove his mettle, saying, “It’s a fresh start, but something that I’m really excited for. And yeah, I mean, we all know we all know we got to we all know we got to step up. We all know we’ve got to perform and run well. That’s no different anywhere you go, right? I think so for us, we’re just all ready to go and get racing.” 

As a closing note, Gragson also chimed in with his take, saying, “Well, everything helps when you’re running good, right? With that being said, it’s one of those things where, yeah, I do feel a little pressure where we do need to run good, not for any reason in particular, but as a whole, everything gets better when you run good.” 

Can SHR redeem itself from last year’s humiliation with the new speedsters in the team? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

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