However, if you think about Stewart’s personal career path and how he rose through the ranks, his position starts to make sense. He may not support the idea that such drivers represent his organization based on his own experience as a driver rising through the ranks.
This aspect was recently explored by NASCAR observer TJ Majors during a discussion on a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast. His point of view shed further light on Stewart’s stance on the “pay drivers” issue.
Highlights Spitter mentions why Tony Stewart, not hiring a paid chauffeur, makes sense
Offering his insights into Stewart’s remarks, Xfinity Series observer Josh Berry brought the discussion into focus. Interestingly enough, Stewart’s comments came around the time it was announced that Perry had become the driver of the No. 4 car for SHR starting next season.
TJ Majors stated, “You know he has his ways, and that’s what he likes. He’s always been an old-school racer, and that’s how he worked his way up the ranks. He likes to see others do the same. Obviously there are… drivers with money, but in This stage we need those too.”
he added“I think he’s got a good mix of things. But Tony is a racer. He’s going to like guys like Bryce (Ryan)… Josh (Perry) would come along the same way… We probably all knew Tony would say something like that.”
The racing team, led by Tony Stewart, has struggled this season
Given the current state of Stewart-Haas Racing, the outlook is bleak. Although we know that Josh Berry will join the team as a replacement for Kevin Harvick next season. The rest of their list still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of performance. As it stands, the team appears to have a weakness in their driver line-up.
Earlier, race analyst Larry McReynolds spoke about the problems with SHR. He mentioned how taking Harvick out of the equation showed that the team was nowhere in terms of competing with other drivers. This is a very unsettling fact, given that this is Harvick’s final season. However, if in any case Perry is not able to perform at the same level that Harvick is doing now, the team will almost certainly hit rock bottom next year.
Moreover, the situation for Stewart and Gene Haas’ team has become increasingly difficult due to the recent wave of penalties. This unfortunate turn of events likely didn’t sit well with Haas, especially considering his NASCAR and Formula 1 team were struggling in the bottom half of the field.