Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
Max Verstappen has won six consecutive races, and he could tie the Formula One record at Zandvoort. Red Bull has won 11 consecutive races, matching the record McLaren set in 1988. The British drivers had a good home weekend. The party was spoiled in Italy. Corvette should be rather happy. Cadillac had another big accident. Mosport has some questionable barrier placement. Shane van Gisbergen returned home. There were some night races in Atlanta, and some rain. However, there are is another night race later this weekend that are on my mind.
Who is SRX For? Volume II
The 2023 Superstar Racing Experience season starts a little later than the first two seasons, but year three sees a host of changes to the short track series. A brainchild of Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham and others, SRX was introduced as an all-star series competing at local short tracks across the United States with a national television presentation.
That continues into 2023, but this year the series moves from Saturday night events broadcasted at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CBS to Thursday night races broadcasted at 9:0 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Those aren't the only notable changes to the series.
SRX began in 2021 with a dash of skepticism that it would work. In year one, it gained traction and respectable viewing numbers, and it had a few wonderful stories where overlooked or up-and-coming drivers such as Doug Coby, Ernie Francis, Jr., Kody Swanson and Luke Fenhaus were able to display their skills to a much larger audience and became the story of the night over NASCAR Cup champions and Indianapolis 500 winners.
However, year three is seeing SRX shift significantly from what was celebrated in year one and became a calling card for the series. Two years after it was about to debut at Stafford Spring Speedway in Connecticut, I ask again, less than a week from the 2023 Stafford season opener, who is SRX for?
At that time, I was wondering if the appetite was there to watch what was mostly retired drivers compete against a handful of active drivers and some guests. The "retirement tour" nature of the series only continues into year three.
Stewart continues as a driver, as does Bobby Labonte and Paul Tracy, but this season will see Ken Schrader, who last started a NASCAR Cup Series race in 2013, also compete full-time. Along with those three are the part-timer national series drivers of Ryan Newman, Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Hailie Deegan returns as a full-time competitor after being part-time the previous two seasons. Deegan will run full-time simultaneously with her full-time NASCAR Truck Series commitments, and Deegan isn't the only full-time NASCAR driver signed up for all six races. Brad Keselowski will run the entire SRX slate, becoming the first active NASCAR Cup Series driver to attempt a full SRX season.
The full-time grid is a little more balanced in terms of where drivers are in their careers, but the part-time drivers are nearly all active guests from NASCAR and IndyCar.
Stafford sees Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Tony Kanaan on the guest list.
Kanaan will also be attending the Thunder Road International SpeedBowl date in Barrie, Vermont along with Greg Biffle, Daniel Suárez and Kenny Wallace.
Bowyer returns for Pulaski County Motorsports Park in Fairlawn, Virginia but will have four-time Indianapolis 500 Hélio Castroneves, 2023 Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden, and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch joining the bill.
Castroneves and Busch stick around for the Berlin Raceway event in Marne, Michigan with Harvck returning and Kasey Kahne joining the fun.
Eldora Speedway is the first of two dirt races, and the penultimate round of the season, and the guests that weekend will be Kanaan returning for his third race, Matt Kenseth, Austin Dillon and NHRA champion Ron Capps.
Lucas Oil Speedway, a 3/8th-mile dirt oval in Wheatland, Missouri, hosts the finale and the final guests of the season will be Castroneves, Bowyer, Wallace and a returning Francis, Jr.
Those are all notable names, all with national recognition. In year three, there is no more room for the unsung hero, one of the selling points for the series in the previous two seasons.
It is understandable what SRX is doing. It must generate viewership, and bringing in drivers with national recognition will help with viewership and keep the series alive. The series is also leaning into nostalgia with the move to ESPN and the races taking place on Thursday night, essentially reviving Thursday Night Thunder, a weekly showcase of motorsports on the ESPN platform in the 1980s and 1990s.
Not to forget mentioning the series is almost literally riding NASCAR's coattails.
Stafford opens the season in July 13, three days before the NASCAR Cup Series races at Loudon, New Hampshire. Four days after the Loudon Cup race, SRX is in Barre, Vermont, which is three days before NASCAR runs at Pocono. Pulaski County in Virginia kicks off the Richmond NASCAR weekend. Berlin is three days before NASCAR's only trip to Michigan International Speedway. Eldora, which is a stone throw's from the Ohio-Indiana border, is a few days before the IndyCar/NASCAR combination weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The season finale in Missouri is the only trip out of the way, taking place between the Indianapolis and Watkins Glen rounds. It is a good strategy to attract the drivers. They will be in the area and will not have to go out of the way to run SRX. Accommodating the guests is always appreciated.
People like comparing SRX to IROC. It has similarities, but IROC took drivers at their highest level and it was an exclusive group that competed in every race. Of the 24 drivers scheduled to compete in SRX this year, 11 are not full-time in one of the premier North American series. The average age of the scheduled participants is 44.5 years old.
There is going to be an audience excited for short track racing and seeing some of these places on the national stage. It is exhilarating thinking ThunderRoad will get to host one of these races. The races could be quite good with the drivers have been brought in, but SRX was a chance to show there were quality drivers competing throughout this country that are not running in NASCAR or IndyCar. It was a chance for the little guy to get his or her shot. Moving away from that betrays the short track roots SRX claims to care about.
The drivers brought in for season three should produce good races, and we will likely have a few memorable battles that can only be seen in SRX. Nowhere else this season will Kyle Busch be on the same track as Josef Newgarden, but the series does rely too much on Stewart's rolodex to fill the grid when it should save a few seats for the drivers that are busting their backsides and are just looking for an opportunity. If the wish for this to be an IROC-esque series then invite the champions from USAC, World of Outlaws, NASCAR Modifieds and other top tier short track drivers as well as the millionaires regularly on our television screens every weekend.
However, it is a business.
Though the first two seasons went rather well, SRX is still trying to keep the lights on. It is dependent on drawing sponsors and covering the costs. Running any race car is not cheap, even those that only run six weekends a year exclusively on short tracks. The first two years might have had features we loved and separated it from other series, but SRX is not a charity. Profit is the bottom line.
Recognition plus nostalgia could be the recipe to greater success, but the series is forfeiting some of its identity in that chase.
Champions From the Weekend
The #33 Corvette of Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg and Nicolas Varrone clinched the FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE-AM drivers with a fourth-place finish at Monza despite there being two races remaining.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Max Verstappen, but did you know...
The #7 Toyota of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López won the 6 Hours of Monza, its third victory of the season. The #28 Jota Oreca-Nissan of Pietro Fittipaldi, David Heinemeier Hansson and Oliver Rasmussen won in LMP2. The #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche of Christian Ried, Mikkel Pedersen and Julien Andluaer won in GTE-Am.
William Byron won the rain-shortened NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta, his fourth victory of the season. John Hunter Nemechek won Grand National Series, his third victory of the season. Corey Heim won the Truck race at Mid-Ohio, his second victory of the season.
The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun won the IMSA race from Mosport, its second victory of the season. The #74 Riley Motorsports Ligier-Nissan of Felipe Fraga and Gar Robinson won in LMP3, its third consecutive victory. The #3 Corvette of Antonio García and Jordan Taylor won in GTD Pro. The #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW of Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow won in GTD, its third victory of the season.
Frederik Vesti (sprint) and Victor Martins (feature) split the Formula Two races from Silverstone. Franco Colapinto (sprint) and Oliver Goethe (feature) split the Formula Three races.
Sheldon van der Linde and Thomas Preining split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters from Norisring.
Will Brown and Anton de Pasquale split the Supercars races from Townsville.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar makes its summer trip to Toronto.
Formula E has its penultimate round, a doubleheader in Rome.
NASCAR moves north to Loudon, New Hampshire.
SRX operns its season at Stafford.
Super Formula is back in Fuji.
After a three-month break, the European Le Mans Series finally contests its second round of the season at Circuit Paul Ricard.
After a two-month break, the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup finally contests its second round of the season at Misano.
