NASCAR
Everything You Need to Know About the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), Including Format, Drivers, Cars, and Schedule
Kyle Dalton began covering sports in 1992 after he graduated from the University of Texas school of journalism. He published his book Burned Orange: Tom Penders and 10 Years at the University of Texas in 2000, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. Kyle expertly covers the NFL, NASCAR, and NCAA football. Kyle finds inspiration in the unscripted drama of sports, the compelling journeys and life stories of the athletes who play the games, and he enjoys reading the work of Mitch Albom. He is a rabid consumer of all sports on all platforms: TV, Twitter, podcasts, live events, and more.
Get to know Kyle Dalton betterUpdated12 Jun 2021
The Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) is a new racing series that features 10 full-time drivers, including series co-founder Tony Stewart, Helio Castroneves, Bill Elliott, and Tony Kanaan. Those are undeniably some of the biggest names in motorsports history. And that’s not past tense. Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 for a record-tying fourth time last month.
Those drivers and a local driver will compete in a six-race schedule on various short tracks around the nation and it all gets underway on June 12 and air on CBS. Here’s a breakdown of the format, the drivers, the schedule, and everything you need to know about the new racing series.
What is the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) format?
The Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) inaugural race will take place on June 12. The format will be the same at all six races throughout the season and consists of three parts.
The short-track action starts with a pair of 15-minute heat races, with these prelims used to determine the starting lineup for the feature race. The feature race is a 100-lap event.
Drivers earn points in both the heat races and the feature that will count toward the season-ending championship.
Who are the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) drivers?
The weekly field for the SRX series features a who’s who of drivers, including Castroneves and his four Indianapolis 500 crowns. Castroneves, Stewart, Elliott, and Kanaan will be joined by a pair of former NASCAR stars, including two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip and 2000 Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte.
Other full-time drivers in the series will be 2003 CART champion Paul Tracy, two-time IndyCar race winner Marco Andretti, 17-time Trans-Am Series race winner Willy T. Ribbs, and seven-time consecutive Trans-Am Series champion Ernie T. Francis.
Each week the field will include a “ringer” or a driver who is a local champion at the respective track. Finally, there will be several cameo appearances by drivers, including former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, Hailie Deegan from the current Camping World Truck Series, and Scott Speed from Rallycross.
What kind of cars will be used?
Series co-founder and former crew chief Ray Evernham designed the cars, and much like the IROC series years ago, they’re all identical. In other words, the equipment won’t be the sole reason someone wins a race this season.
The drivers will strap into a stock car that features a large Charger Daytona-style wing. Under the hood is a 700 horsepower engine that will provide plenty of power around the short tracks.
The cars will be randomly selected before the race each week. That means a driver could get the same car as the previous week so if it received any damage in the prior race, he is stuck with it.
What is the schedule and where are the tracks?
The SRX races will take place on six different dirt and asphalt short tracks around the country. The season opener happens on June 12 at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut. Stafford is a semi-banked half-mile paved oval that is the home track of current NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece.
On June 19, the series travels west to the half-mile clay oval at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa and the home of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum.
SRX shifts east to the “World’s Greatest Dirt Track” at Eldora Speedway in Ohio on June 26. Eldora, which is owned by Tony Stewart, has been run by some of the greatest names in racing history, including Gordon, Andretti, and Unser.
On July 3, the action moves to the one-sixth mile asphalt oval at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indiana. A week later on July 10, SRX goes to what is known as the “World’s Fastest 1/4-Mile Asphalt Oval” at Slinger Speedway in Wisconsin. This is the only race where the feature will be 150 laps.
The final stop of SRX comes on July 17 at the historic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in Tennessee. This legendary oval is the longest continually running track in the U.S. and included Cup Series races on it from 1958 to 1984.
Like Sportscasting on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @sportscasting19.
