SHR owner Tony Stewart’s driver pays tribute to him with a special helmet for final race in Phoenix

Stewart Haas Racing driver Noah Gragson will pay tribute to team co-owner Tony Stewart with a special helmet design for the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Gragson offered fans an early glimpse of the tribute design ahead of the penultimate race weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

SHR will be closing shop after the 2024 season, as Stewart steps away from the team he joined as co-owner and driver in 2009. Gene Haas will rebrand the organization, fielding a single entry under the new Haas Factory Team banner, with Cole Custer driving the #41 entry.

Gragson announced on his Instagram Stories that he would pay tribute to 'The Smoke' during his final race weekend with Stewart-Haas Racing at Phoenix. While he didn't reveal the full helmet design, he shared a sneak peek featuring a striking combination of gold and neon yellow colors.

"Got a @tsrsmoke tribute helmet for Phoenix," the caption on his Instagram story read, dated October 28.

Noah Gragson on Instagram (@noahgragson)

Gragson joined SHR for his sophomore season in the NASCAR Cup Series, after getting suspended midway through his rookie season with Legacy Motor Club. This season, the #10 SHR driver was unable to make the playoffs and currently sits 25th in the standings, ahead of teammates Ryan Preece and Josh Berry.

The 26-year-old has signed a deal to join Front Row Motorsports for the upcoming season. However, the team refused to sign the new charter deal and is currently involved in a lawsuit against NASCAR, alongside Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin's co-owned 23XI Racing. The hearing for the preliminary injunction is set for November 4.

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Tony Stewart reveals reason behind shutting down Stewart Haas Racing

In an in-depth conversation with former Stewart Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart discussed the various factors that influenced his decision to step away from co-owning the NASCAR Cup Series team alongside Gene Haas.

The 3x Cup champion said that his priorities have shifted, as he is now focused on NHRA and preparing for his fatherhood journey. He also expressed dissatisfaction with the current direction of the sport, mentioning the ongoing legal battle involving 23XI, FRM, and NASCAR.

"It's a tough decision but things in life change, your priorities change, and variables outside of your control change as well. You and I have been around for a long time, it [NASCAR] is not what it used to be," he said [from 20:00].

"This is a time where things are drastically changing in the sport, you look at what is going on 23XI and Front Row Motorsports right now with their battle with NASCAR and the direction that things are going. Its not a direction that I want to be a part of. This is the right time, this was never a part of a masterplan, but as this year has gone on, this has become very clear that this is the right time for me to get out of the sport. There's things that I see that I definitely don't like," he added. [20:38]

Stewart also said that the sponsorship landscape has drastically changed over the years, and landing sponsors has become difficult for all teams.