There is no denying that Stewart-Haas Racing had a rough 2023 season. However, crew chief Drew Blickensderfer laid it all out yesterday. Put simply, the NASCAR team just didn’t live up to expectations, even with an all-time great like Kevin Harvick.
Drew Blickensderfer was on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Friday. He was open and honest about the struggles that SHR faced in the 2023 season. It was apparent that they were lagging behind, even among a field of Fords that lagged.
To put it simply, Stewart-Haas Racing couldn’t even get Harvick into Victory Lane.
“We’ve talked about that as a management group at Stewart-Haas,” Blickensderfer said. “The expectations are going to be different than they were. But what we need to see is steady progress. We think all of our race car drivers can win races and drive race cars really well. We didn’t have race cars last year that Kevin Harvick can win in. And that as a company we need to fix.
“You’ve gotta judge yourself on that. So, getting our race ars faster will not only help these young guys, but help the whole company. … I think Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece, and Josh Berry are great race car drivers that can win races. And I know Noah Gragson is.”