Gene Haas NASCAR and F1 teams in turmoil. Now for sale?

Sports Business Journal reports that charter sales at Stewart Haas Racing are a “hot topic” of discussion within the NASCAR garage.

Many insiders have indicated that rumors regarding the potential sale of the team’s charters are circulating within the Cup Series.

Although Gene Haas has publicly denied he is thinking about selling his F1 team, AutoRacing1.com sources tell us otherwise, but so far, his asking price has been unrealistic.

While NASCAR Cup Series charter sales have reached record figures in recent times, the uncertainty surrounding the new charter deal has created doubts for potential buyers. However, newer teams such as 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing and Legacy Motor Club are reportedly looking to expand, with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports team also considering buying a charter.

January 14, 2024

To say F1 and NASCAR team owner Gene Haas had a bad end to the 2023 NASCAR and F1 seasons is probably an understatement.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Has Haas spread himself too thin, owning both a F1 team and co-owning a NASCAR Cup team with Tony Stewart?

His F1 team finished dead last in points and as a result, the team received the lowest prize money payout. After 8 years in the sport, the team does not have a single podium finish.

As a result, Haas decided to fire Team Boss Guenther Steiner and Technical Lead Simone Resta resigned.

Haas refuses to sell his F1 team to Andretti, thinking he can turn it around.

Over on the NASCAR side, the Stewart Haas Cup teams all failed to secure a single win last season.

This is a major issue for SHR and resulted in eight sponsors not returning for 2024.

The partners page on their website shows Busch Light, Gearwrench, Go Bowling, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Magical Vacation Planner, Pristine Auction, Rheem, and Smithfield all gone.

Speaking to Formula 1’s Official Website, Haas was discussing the matter of Steiner’s departure, and went on to talk about the future of his team, insisting there are no plans to offload the outfit.

“I didn’t get into F1 to sell [the team],” he said. “I did it because I wanted to race. Guenther [Steiner] had the same perspective. We’re not here to cash out, we want to race and be competitive. If you look at any team, historically, they have had a lot of good years and a lot of bad years.

“Surviving is one of the characteristics of getting better. As long as you can survive, you always have another year to prove your worthiness. This is a big change. Losing Guenther is going to cause the team to have to focus on other aspects. We will hopefully come out better for it,” he added.

Haas refuses to make the investment in infrastructure needed to turn the F1 team around.

Instead Haas F1 Team was founded on a different philosophy, with chassis being outsourced from Dallara, as well buying as many components as the rules allow from Ferrari. Haas claims it still is expensive, despite the $140-Million mandatory cost cap.

However, infrastructure has a separate $20 million cost cap allowance but according to reports, Haas refuses to invest in what is needed to design and build the entire car themselves like all the winning teams do.

He said: “There is a perception we spend a lot less money; we’re usually within $10m of the ‘performance’ budget limit. I just think we don’t do a very good job of spending that money.

“Many teams have had previous investments in their infrastructure, buildings, equipment and personnel. Our model was to outsource a lot of that. We spend a lot of money. We haven’t exceeded the cap, but we’re pretty darn close to it,” totally ignoring the topic of the extra $20 million he could spend on infrastructure so his team would not have to outsource.