This Saturday, Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart will debut their new racing series; the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX). The series was first announced in the middle of July 2020, and many details soon followed. From the revealing of the drivers, tracks, and the TV network to the return of broadcasting legends, hype for the SRX built up swiftly. Tony Stewart, being the co-owner/co-founder of the series, was the first driver to be announced. Other notable drivers participating in the series include Helio Castroneves and Paul Tracy from IndyCar, Bill Elliott and Michael Waltrip from NASCAR, and others. I’ll list all drivers in a bit.
Right away, it seemed that this series was a revival of the old IROC series that ran from 1974-2006. Aside from the fixed setup cars, the field size is identical with 12 drivers scheduled to start each race. The major differences lie within the schedule. IROC only ran four races per season, whereas the SRX has six races on their schedule. Additionally, the SRX features a more “grassroots” approach contrary to IROC’s races at major tracks like Daytona and Indianapolis. The SRX is holding races at Eldora, Stafford (CT.), Knoxville (Iowa), Lucas Oil Raceway, Slinger (WI.), and the Nashville Fairgrounds in Tennessee.
The full-time drivers include Tony Stewart, Bill Elliott, Bobby LaBonte, Willy T. Ribbs, Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Ernie Francis, Jr, Paul Tracy, Helio Castroneves, and Michael Waltrip. Hailie Deegan will race two races in place of Kanaan, who had prior obligations. The remaining two cars will feature a ringer (Greg Biffle, Scott Speed, and Scott Bloomquist) and the “Grassroots All-Stars” (Doug Coby, Kody Swanson, Brian Brown, Bobby Santos III, and the 2021 Slinger Nationals Champion) will each get a race.
The races will be broadcast on CBS, and the series does not disappoint when it comes to the talent of the reporters. For starters, they brought fan-favorite Allen Bestwick back into motorsports for the first time since 2018 as the play-by-play commentator. Legendary NASCAR pit-road reporter Matt Yocum returns to motorsports following his departure from Fox Sports after the 2020 season. NASCAR team owner and analyst Brad Daugherty joins the team as a roaming analyst (like NBC’s Rutledge Wood). Joining Bestwick in the booth will be one of three driver analysts (each have two races). Danica Patrick joins for the first two events, then James Hinchcliffe and Dario Franchitti alternate races. Last but not least, Lindsey Czarniack hosts the whole event
Each car is set up identical to one another similar to IROC, and each driver has an assigned number and color. The cars will have a gray base and their specific color will form an “X” shape on each side of the car as well as be the roof color. The points format will be season-long, like the old NASCAR format and similar to F1. The race format is two heat races and a feature, and every driver participates in all three. The heats are timed at 15 minutes each and the features are 100 laps (except Slinger, which is 150 laps). The drivers will determine their starting spot in heat one via random draw. Their starting spots in the second heat are based on their finishes in the first heat. Where they finish in the second heat determines their starting spot in the feature. Points will be awarded by finishing position for all three races in one given day.
With all that in mind, it’s time for some predictions. Since we, the fans, have little footage of the cars on-track (and their test driver, Ken Schrader, isn’t even participating in the races), this first season will be a major wild-card. An obvious choice for at least the first race is Tony Stewart. He co-owns the series alongside former NASCAR championship-winning crew-chief, Ray Evernham. Stewart may have more information on the cars because he helped design them. However, we also don’t know if he has tested/driven one either. The schedule features two dirt races (Eldora and Knoxville) and four pavement races. While the championship will likely be determined by who’s better on pavement, the two dirt races could throw major wild-card factors in. This also makes Stewart a decent choice as he’s very experienced on both pavement and dirt (and owns the Eldora track). However, I’m going on a whim and not selecting Stewart as my inaugural SRX champ. I’m going big or going home and going with now four-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves to win the title.
My full season breakdown is as follows: Stafford: Paul Tracy; Knoxville: Ernie Francis, Jr; Eldora: Tony Stewart; Lucas Oil: Helio Castroneves; Slinger: Greg Biffle; Nashville: Helio Castroneves. With this, I have five out of the six races going to the full-timers, with Biffle being the part-time upset win of the season.
The drivers have promised great racing. The fans have been hyped since day one. With each day and each new announcement, whether it be a new car color or sponsor, anticipation builds. I, personally, have been looking forward to this since the announcement came out. The old IROC series is back with a grassroots twist. What are your predictions for the season? Leave a comment on the article or message me on Twitter and let me know!
Motor Max 