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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tony Stewart put his NASCAR team on blast ahead of the Daytona 500 and in the wake of a winless 2023 season: get to victory lane, hang banners — or else.

Stewart-Haas Racing is in more than a small slump. SHR has been downright dismal.

The team, once among NASCAR’s best, hasn’t won in the last 84 Cup races headed into Sunday’s Daytona 500. This season’s four-driver lineup, which includes holdovers Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece and newcomers Josh Berry and Noah Gragson, have a combined one career Cup victory — Briscoe won in 2022 at Phoenix.

Stewart, so fiery as a driver he was nicknamed Smoke, had enough of the failures. The three-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame driver said the standard at SHR — where Stewart and recent retiree Kevin Harvick each won championships — was set too high for the team to now languish far outside title contention.

“We’re going to have to get some races into it,” Stewart said this month on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, “but if we’re not having the results we’re looking for, we’re going to start making some major changes. Everybody knows that. Everybody understands that.”

SHR’s stumbles on the track led to other losses off it, with premier sponsors Anheuser-Busch and Smithfield leaving the team. SHR’s deal with Ford ends after this season and negotiations could hinge on how many checkered flags Berry, Briscoe, Gragson and Preece chase.

The four drivers have heard the criticism — already harsh from fans and the media — but it hits harder when it comes from Stewart.

“We hear everybody, we hear you guys, we’re not just ignoring it,” Preece said. “And as you heard Tony say, mediocrity isn’t acceptable.”

Aric Almirola and Harvick both left at the end of last season. They were veteran leaders in the race shop and at the track, and their voices will be missed. But even a proven winner such as Harvick wasn’t immune to the troubles that plagued the Fords in 2023. He won 37 races and the 2014 title in his 10 seasons at SHR, including nine wins in 2020, but scuffled to just six top-five finishes in his farewell season.

Now a Fox Sports broadcaster, Harvick compared SHR’s current station to one Hendrick Motorsports endured in 2018 when Jimmie Johnson, William Byron and Alex Bowman all went winless and Chase Elliott won three times. Johnson was a veteran on the backend of his full-time career while Byron, Bowman and Elliott were young and inexperienced. It was a rebuilding effort that followed the retirements of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.

Much like Stewart ripped SHR, team owner Rick Hendrick didn’t hold back in 2019, saying “Last year sucked. I ain’t gonna do that no more.”

Harvick said it’s up to Berry, Briscoe, Gragson and Preece to see SHR through back into one of the elite teams in NASCAR.

“Hey, we need to rebuild this and we need to refresh it with some young faces from the driver’s seat and let’s build our group around this,” Harvick said. “With that, I think there’s probably other things that come with that process and where they go and where they’re at, I don’t think any of us will really know until they start the season and you start to see what the strengths and weakness of what they have.”

Here are the SHR drivers on hot seats:

• Josh Berry, 33, No. 4 Ford.

Berry did win five career races in the second-tier Xfinity Series but is winless in 12 career Cup starts. Berry spent last season as a substitute driver in the Cup Series. He made starts for both Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman at Hendrick and for Gragson at Legacy Motor Club.

“Tony has been a great leader and had a lot of success in this sport. I can completely understand why he would say that he wants us to perform better,” Berry said. “That’s naturally as an owner what he’s expected to do and that’s what we expect of ourselves. I don’t think any of us, I didn’t walk into this deal expecting everybody to pat me on the back and tell me how easy it’s going to be and how nice they’re going to be to me. I knew it’s going to be hard. I know I’m going to have to work at this. I know we’re going to have to perform.”

• Chase Briscoe, 29, No. 14 Ford.

Briscoe has just one win in 108 career Cup starts. He has the most starts among the four SHR drivers and could be feeling the most heat as the longest-tenured driver to start racing for a championship. Briscoe was 30th in the standings last year.

• Noah Gragson, 25, No. 10 Ford.

Gragson is winless with just one top-five finish in 39 career starts. Gragson was excited for a second chance at a NASCAR career after his “like” of an insensitive meme of George Floyd led to the end of his brief tenure at Legacy Motor Club. Gragson, who won 13 races in the Xfinity Series driving for JR Motorsports and was the 2022 championship runner-up, ran 21 races in Cup with Legacy before his suspension.

“We’ve done a lot of self-reflecting and soul searching over the past handful of months and trying to become the best leader possible,” Gragson said. “I think that’s what in 20 years when I look back I feel like, man, if I was the best leader for my team and the best piece of the puzzle for my team and did the best job, I’ll be satisfied with myself.”

• Ryan Preece, 33, No. 41 Ford

Preece was just as underwhelming in his first season at SHR as he was in his previous stop with JTG Daugherty Racing. He’s winless in 151 career races and had just two top-10 finishes last season.

“Preece has the personality that he’s going to speak up and voice his opinion on what things are,” Harvick said. “Ryan’s not going to be shy about speaking his mind and that’s what it’s going to take to be the leader.”

Maybe Preece can learn a thing or two about how to speak out from his fed-up boss.

“We had two miserable years in a row,” Stewart said. “I’m tired of taking the blame from everybody on why the cars aren’t running good. I think the fans need a reality check and a reminder that I’m not the crew chief, I’m not the engineer, I don’t dictate the setups on the cars. I give these guys the tools to do the job and we just haven’t got it done the last couple years.”

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski is a National League All-Star replacement, giving the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander a chance to break Paul Skenes‘ record for the fewest big league appearances before playing in the Midsummer Classic.

Misiorowski was named Friday night to replace Chicago Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who will be unavailable for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta because he is scheduled to start Saturday at the New York Yankees.

The 23-year-old Misiorowski has made just five starts for the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA while averaging 99.3 mph on his fastball, with 89 pitches that have reached 100 mph.

If he pitches at Truist Park, Misiorowski will make it consecutive years for a player to set the mark for fewest big league games before an All-Star showing.

Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander getting ready for his second All-Star appearance, had made 11 starts in the majors when he was chosen as the NL starter for last year’s All-Star Game at Texas. He pitched a scoreless inning.

“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Misiorowski, who said he was given the news a few minutes before the Brewers’ 8-3 victory over Washington. “It’s awesome. It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor.”

Misiorowski is the 30th first-time All-Star and 16th replacement this year. There are now 80 total All-Stars.

“He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is a starting AL outfielder for his seventh All-Star nod. “He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time so I think he deserved it and it’s going be pretty cool for him and his family.”

Carlos Rodón, Carlos Estévez and Casey Mize were named replacement pitchers on the AL roster.

The New York Yankees‘ Rodón, an All-Star for the third time in five seasons, will replace teammate Max Fried for Tuesday’s game in Atlanta. Fried will be unavailable because he is scheduled to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

In his final start before the All-Star game, Rodón allowed four hits and struck out eight in eight innings in an 11-0 victory over the Cubs.

“This one’s a little special for me,” said Rodón, an All-Star in 2021 and ’22 who was 3-8 in his first season with the Yankees two years ago before rebounding. “I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t to going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”

The Kansas City Royals‘ Estévez replaces Texas’ Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to start at Houston on Saturday night. Estévez was a 2023 All-Star when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

Mize takes the spot held by Boston‘s Garrett Crochet, who is scheduled to start Saturday against Tampa Bay. Mize gives the Tigers six All-Stars, most of any team and tied for the franchise record.

Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia will replace Tampa Bay‘s Brandon Lowe, who went on the injured list with left oblique tightness. The additions of Estévez and Garcia give the Royals four All-Stars, matching their 2024 total.

The Seattle Mariners announced center fielder Julio Rodríguez will not participate, and he was replaced by teammate Randy Arozarena. Rodríguez had been voted onto the AL roster via the players’ ballot. The Mariners, who have five All-Stars, said Rodríguez will use the break to “recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”

Arozarena is an All-Star for the second time. He started in left field for the AL two years ago, when he was with Tampa Bay. Arozarena was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2023 Home Run Derby.

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a first-time All-Star, is replacing Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is scheduled to start Saturday night at Arizona. Rasmussen is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 18 starts.

San Diego added a third NL All-Star reliever in lefty Adrián Morejón, who replaces Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler. The Phillies’ right-hander is scheduled to start at San Diego on Saturday night. Morejón entered the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in 45 appearances.

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Bellinger goes deep for 3rd time after Cubs rob HR

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Bellinger goes deep for 3rd time after Cubs rob HR

NEW YORK — Robbed an inning earlier, Cody Bellinger wasn’t sure his first three-homer game had been swiped away again.

“I didn’t know at first,” he said. “For that third one to finally get over feels pretty good.”

Bellinger hit three two-run homers against his former team and was denied a fourth by a spectacular catch, leading the Yankees to an 11-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

Aaron Judge made a trio of outstanding grabs in right field for the Yankees, who have won five straight games following a a six-game losing streak.

Bellinger, whose dad Clay played for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, is a two-time All-Star and 2019 NL MVP.

He spent 2023 and 2024 with the Cubs, hitting .266 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs in 130 games last year while missing time because of a broken right rib. The Cubs traded him to New York in December with $52.5 million remaining on his contract and agreed to pay the Yankees $5 million.

He homered in a three-run third off Chris Flexen and in the fifth against Caleb Thielbar for this 18th multihomer game. Bellinger nearly went deep in the seventh but was robbed by Kyle Tucker on a drive above the right-field wall.

“I was watching it. He timed it up perfect, so I was a little sick about it, honestly,” Bellinger said. “But it was a good catch.”

“Boys were giving me a hard time after he robbed it. Boonie was giving me hard time,” Bellinger added.

A four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner, Tucker snatched the ball as a fan tried for it, the spectator clasping both sides of the outfielder’s glove.

“I caught the ball and he caught my glove, so I figured even if I dropped it they’d probably look at it and get it overturned,” Tucker said. “I’ve probably had some encounters with me trying to go into the stands and catching a ball and me hitting someone’s hand or whatever but I don’t know if anyone’s ever actually kind of caught my glove while doing it.”

Bellinger homered in the eighth off Jordan Wicks, just above the red glove of leaping center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and into the dark glove of a kid in the front row.

“The fan just beat to the spot,” Crow-Armstrong said. “He just had a better chance of catching it higher than I did.”

Bellinger, who had rounded first, watched and then smiled when he saw he had hit No. 3.

“Glad the fan caught it before PCA could grab it,” said Bellinger, who met the boy after and got the ball back. “I’ve seen PCA rob so many homers. He’s a freak athlete out there.”

Bellinger is batting .406 over a career-high 16-game hitting streak, raising his average to .285 with 16 homers and 54 RBIs.

He had spoken with his Cubs ex-teammates during batting practice.

“No, no, no revenge,” he said. “Honestly, ultimately it was just fun to be out there. I saw a bunch of guys I hadn’t seen in a while and I shared a bunch of good memories with them for these past two years.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and manager Aaron Boone encouraged Bellinger to emerge from the dugout for a curtain call.

“He was a little reluctant, but then the Bell-lin-ger” over the dugout got pretty loud. So I think he succumbed to it,” Boone said. “Belly’s loved being here and loved playing here in a meaningful place to him, going back to his childhood.”

Bellinger turns 30 on Sunday and can opt out of the final season of his contract this fall. With long balls and wide smiles, he seems to have found a home in the Yankees clubhouse.

He tried not to make much of getting the three homers against the Cubs, but Bellinger’s teammates could sense the significance.

“It’s always good to go against your old teammates that you spend a lot of time with, you know, you respect,” Boone said. “To perform right away against them I’m sure probably is a little cherry on top for him.”

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M’s Raleigh hits 2 more HRs, brings total to 38

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M's Raleigh hits 2 more HRs, brings total to 38

DETROIT — Cal Raleigh hit his 37th and 38th home runs in Seattle‘s 12-3 victory over Detroit on Friday night to move within one of Barry Bonds’ 2001 major league record for homers before the All-Star break.

Raleigh hit a solo homer off former teammate Tyler Holton in the eighth to tie the American League record of 37 before the All-Star break set by Reggie Jackson in 1969 and matched by Chris Davis in 2013.

“[Holton] and I are really good friends, and I’ve caught a lot of his pitches,” said Raleigh, who was in the lineup as the designated hitter instead of at catcher. “I don’t think that helped much, but I’m sure he’s not very happy with me.”

Raleigh hit a grand slam off Brant Hurter in the ninth.

“I didn’t even know it was a record until just now,” Raleigh said. “I don’t have words for it, I guess. I’m just very grateful and thankful.”

It was Raleigh’s eighth multihomer game this season, tying Jackson (also in 1969) for the most such games before the All-Star break in MLB history, according to ESPN Research. He also tied Ken Griffey Jr. for the most multihomer games in Mariners franchise history.

Seattle has two games left in Detroit before the break.

“Cal Raleigh … this is just unbelievable,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “He’s already set the AL record and now he’s only one short of Barry. There are two games, so who knows?”

Raleigh hit 10 homers in March and April, 12 in May, 11 in June and has five in July.

“This is a very boring comment, but baseball is all about consistency,” Wilson said. “This hasn’t been one hot streak, he’s doing this month after month. That says everything.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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