In May 2024, Tony Stewart stood before his employees at the Stewart-Haas Racing shop with a heavy heart and a heartbreaking announcement. After 16 seasons in NASCAR’s top series, Stewart-Haas Racing was shutting down. The emotion in his voice told the story of a team that had once ruled the sport but was now forced to step away. “Racing is a labor-intensive, humbling sport. It requires unwavering commitment and vast resources. We’ve reached a point where it’s time to pass the torch,” Stewart said.

Racing demands time, energy, money, and unwavering commitment. They had run out of fuel on all fronts. Facing manufacturer cuts and waning sponsorship, Stewart felt the pressure pile up. But what hurt most wasn’t the end—it was the backlash. “The bashing I got online and on social media was very unjust,” Stewart later admitted. But even as the doors prepared to close, he remained focused on doing right by the 320-plus employees who helped build the team into a championship-winning operation.

They didn’t want a pity party. They just wanted one more shot. And they got it. Just weeks before the closure of their operations in NASCAR’s regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway, a spark lit the darkness. With everything crumbling around him, Chase Briscoe gave SHR one final hurrah. He didn’t just win a race—he gave the team, and Stewart, one last memory worth holding onto. Interestingly, this win came at a track that had never been kind to Stewart, i.e., Darlington.

Chase Briscoe’s Darlington magic etched in SHR history

They say Darlington is ‘Too Tough to Tame,’ and no one knows better than Tony Stewart. In his legendary career, Smoke won 49 races but never won a single race at Darlington Speedway. But on one unforgettable Sunday night in September 2024, Chase Briscoe wrestled it into submission. SHR hadn’t won in 73 races. Their future was sealed. Most expected another quiet night. But Chase Briscoe had other plans.

In a chaotic, caution-filled Southern 500, he made a bold, three-wide move on Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson on Lap 342 for the lead. Behind him, Kyle Busch charged with fresh tires, desperate for a win to make the playoffs. But Briscoe held him off. For 17 grueling laps, he fought the pressure, the loose car, and the doubt. Then came the checkered flag. Briscoe didn’t just win a race. He ended SHR’s prolonged drought, locked himself into the playoffs, and gave the team a reason to believe again.

Briscoe’s tears in victory lane told the full story. “Everybody knows I’m a diehard Tony Stewart fan. To get this No. 14 back in victory lane… in our final year… man, God is so good. To get this No. 14 car back in Victory Lane for all 320-something employees and to be able to race for a championship in their final year is unbelievable… We kept saying we had one bullet left in the chamber—and that bullet hit,” he said in victory lane.

It was more than a feel-good win. SHR had been a major force in NASCAR. Stewart legitimized the team when he joined in 2009, winning a championship in 2011. Kevin Harvick added another title in 2014. Over 16 seasons, SHR earned 70 Cup wins. But in its final season, the team had been stuck in decline. Briscoe’s win didn’t erase that, but it reminded everyone that SHR was once a part of the Big 4 and a powerhouse NASCAR team.

Later Tony Stewart echoed those feelings on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. “To see Chase get that done at Darlington and win a crown jewel race—it was a huge boost. We needed that,” he said. Stewart’s voice cracked as he described the joy and the heartbreak of it all. Meanwhile, for Briscoe, it was a career-defining moment. “It’s the Southern 500. A crown jewel. People just look at you differently after you win here,” he said. Now, he wants more.

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Briscoe eyes back-to-back Darlington wins!

As the 2025 season returns to Darlington, Chase Briscoe is back with a new team, a new number, and new expectations. Now driving the No. 19 car for Joe Gibbs Racing, replacing the retired Martin Truex Jr., Briscoe comes in looking to repeat his Southern 500 magic. But things have changed. This year, he’s trying to adjust to life at JGR. It’s been a learning curve. “Honestly, I did not anticipate it being this different,” Briscoe admitted in a recent interview.

“I thought I would just do my normal thing, and I’d go faster because the cars were better,” he further added. But JGR demands more. Every race is a chance to win. Every mistake is amplified. So far, Briscoe has shown promise. He won the pole for the Daytona 500—Toyota’s first ever at the event. He’s picked up a pair of top-five finishes, including a fourth at Homestead and Daytona. He ran ninth at Martinsville. It’s not dominant, but it’s progress.

And Briscoe sees the upside. “The capability of the car is there, and that’s exciting for me as a driver,” he added. And now, he’s back at Darlington—the place that changed everything. No matter what happens this weekend, Briscoe has already etched his name into Darlington history—and into the heart of Tony Stewart. His win wasn’t just a checkered flag. It was a farewell letter. A final bow for SHR. And maybe, just maybe, the beginning of a new legacy.