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Tony Stewart Has Last Laugh Against Gene Haas As Potential Ownership Fallout Reaches Premature Conclusion

Published 11/16/2022, 9:15 AM EST

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In the buildup to the 2023 NASCAR Cup season, the signing season has been in full swing. Now, the latest news comes from the Stewart-Haas Racing camp. As it turns out, they have officially confirmed that Ryan Preece will take over the #41 seat from Cole Custer. Preece will undoubtedly be excited to be back in racing action after a year away as a reserve for SHR, and Tony Stewart will be delighted at the news.

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As for Custer himself, he will be moving down to the Xfinity Series for the upcoming campaign. It is worth mentioning that there was a battle of wills between team owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas. Haas wanted to retain Custer for another season, but Stewart was pushing to recruit Preece in the #41 car. Now, it looks like the 3-time Cup Series champion has won the battle.

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How did fans react to the Tony Stewart-backed driver winning the seat?

Naturally, social media was abuzz with the news of Preece’s promotion and Custer’s demotion. suffice to say, many of the comments were not too kind to Custer. Many people observed that Cole Custer had been largely unspectacular in his NASCAR Cup career. His only saving grace was his 2020 Quaker State 400 win at the Kentucky Speedway, which would be his only win.

Others acknowledged that while Ryan Preece may not be a top-class driver, he is dependable. Some likened him to former NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, who they argued, had the ability to drive any car. A few fans were even left wondering about the last time there was an internal driver demotion.

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Some people even wondered why Stewart-Haas Racing kept their options between Preece and Custer. Especially when there was a free agent called Kyle Busch, who was ripe for the picking. Fans even predicted that this situation will force the Xfinity Series drivers to perform better to earn a promotion to the Cup Series.

WATCH THIS STORY: Amid Kevin Harvick Bombshell & Tony Stewart-Gene Haas Feud, Hailie Deegan NASCAR Revelation Leaves Fans Excited

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Motorsports author for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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