 | |
| Category | Auto racing |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Inaugural season | 2021 |
| Folded | 2023 |
| Drivers | 12–13 (per race) |
| Engine suppliers | Ilmor |
| Tire suppliers | Goodyear |
| Last Drivers' champion | Ryan Newman (2023) |
| Official website | SRXracing.com |
Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), officially known as theCamping World SRX Series, was an Americanstock car racing series founded byTony Stewart,Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag andGeorge Pyne.[1] The formation of the series was announced on July 13, 2020, and debuted on June 12, 2021, televised onCBS on Saturday nights.
On July 13, 2020, it was reported that SRX was in preparation for a 2021 debut season. The series' founders included formerNASCAR driver and former team ownerTony Stewart, formerNASCAR team owner and crew chiefRay Evernham as well as former NASCAR executive George Pyne and sports agent Sandy Montag.[1] Initially, series management was split betweenNew York City andCharlotte, North Carolina.[1]
Camping World acquired thenaming rights to the series on June 1, 2021, dubbing it the Camping World SRX Series.[2]
On January 20, 2022, Don Hawk was namedCEO of SRX.[3] On March 30, Evernham announced viaTwitter that he was no longer in charge of SRX, but has kept his role as an investor of the sport.[4][5] The second season began on June 18 with races on Saturday nights.[6] Its third season aired on July 13, 2023, onESPN with the series moving races to Thursday nights.
On January 11, 2024, with 5 of 6 races scheduled, it was announced that the 2024 season was postponed due to market factors.[7] Evernham later stated in an interview with Forbes that the poor television ratings for the third season was the primary market factor for the cancellation of the series.[8]
On March 22, 2024, theSkip Barber Racing School announced that it had acquired the series and attempted to form a plan for a 2024 season.[9] The sale was reported to have fallen through in August, resulting in SRX management filing a lawsuit.[10] The series' fleet of cars was purchased by GMS Race Cars (related toGMS Racing) in September 2025.[11]
SRX drew direct contrast from NASCAR when aiming for shorter races at shorter tracks, and also with the random pairing of driver and crew chief for each race.[12] FounderTony Stewart compared it toIROC by comparing the aspects of identical cars and an all-star cast of drivers.[13]
SRX cars were completely designed by founderRay Evernham and were in concept stage when the series was founded in July 2020.[14] Teaser photos of the car showed it had a high rear spoiler and is said to have high horsepower and low downforce.[15]Fury Race Cars serves as the cars' chassis designer and builder.[16] The cars used naturally aspiratedIlmor V8 396 cui engines, which are primarily featured in theARCA Menards Series, with components fromEdelbrock,[17] while brakes were provided by Performance Friction Corporation (PFC).[18]
Drivers received their cars before each race via random draw.[19] A driver's car retained its color for the full season for easy identification.[20]
The series' lineup was made up of younger up and coming drivers looking for exposure in addition to the older and retired drivers.[21] In addition to those running the full schedule, the series provided a "Rocky Balboa" car for a local champion at each track and a "ringer" entry for notable drivers making cameo appearances.[22][23]
The drivers for the inaugural SRX season includedTony Stewart,Bobby Labonte,Hélio Castroneves,Ernie Francis Jr.,Paul Tracy,Bill Elliott,Willy T. Ribbs,Michael Waltrip andMarco Andretti for all six races.
Part-time drivers and Local Legend drivers include:Tony Kanaan,Hailie Deegan,Greg Biffle,Scott Speed,Doug Coby,Brian Brown,Scott Bloomquist,Kody Swanson,Luke Fenhaus,Chase Elliott,Matt Kenseth andKyle Busch
Races were primarily held on half-mile dirt and asphalt short tracks.[24] The six tracks from the series' first season wasStafford Motor Speedway,Knoxville Raceway,Eldora Speedway,Lucas Oil Raceway,Slinger Speedway, andNashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The 2022 schedule featuredFive Flags Speedway,South Boston Speedway,Stafford Motor Speedway,Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway,I-55 Raceway andSharon Speedway. The 2023 schedule featured Stafford and Eldora, but also featured new tracksMotor Mile Speedway,Berlin Raceway andLucas Oil Speedway.Thunder Road SpeedBowl was originally part of the 2023 schedule but due to flooding in the area the track was given a 2024 date, and was joined by Berlin, Stafford, Slinger and new trackCedar Lake Speedway.
Races lasted 90 minutes withoutpit stops, though there was also a "halftime" for adjustments to be made to the car.[25]
Two 12-minuteheat races took place before the feature; the final lap began when time ran out and the leader crossed the start/finish line.[20] A random draw set the starting lineup for the first heat, while the second was determined by an inversion of the first race's finishing results.[19] The duration of the heats was originally set to 15 minutes before being changed following the inaugural race.[20]
The feature race was 100 laps long at all paved ovals but Slinger, where the distance was 150 laps, while the dirt tracks had 50-lap features.[20] The starting order was based on average finishing position between the two heats. There are also unlimited attempts at agreen–white–checker finish.[19]
| Points | Position | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | |||||||||||||||||
| Heat | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Feature | 25 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Updated August 10, 2023
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Heat Wins | Most Laps Led | DNFs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Stewart | 18 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| Ernie Francis Jr. | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bobby Labonte | 18 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marco Andretti | 18 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Hélio Castroneves | 12 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Tracy | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Michael Waltrip | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bill Elliott | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Willy T. Ribbs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tony Kanaan | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Hailie Deegan | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Speed | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Biffle | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Coby | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Chase Elliott | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Luke Fenhaus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kody Swanson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Santos III | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Bloomquist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Schrader | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Matt Kenseth | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Newman | 12 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Cole Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Blaney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Blaney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peyton Sellers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bubba Pollard | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Josef Newgarden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Hirschman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Marks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Hunter-Reay | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Denny Hamlin | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kyle Busch | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Daniel Suárez | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Keselowski | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Clint Bowyer | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenny Wallace | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Harvick | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Preece | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kasey Kahne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Benson Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Austin Dillon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Capps | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chase Briscoe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Davenport | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Year | Car No. | Driver | Point Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | Tony Stewart | +45 |
| 2022 | 98 | Marco Andretti[a] | +2 |
| 2023 | 39 | Ryan Newman | +45 |
CBS Sports aired the 2021 and 2022 six-race season in two-hour primetime Saturday night television windows on the mainCBS network.[27]
On April 14, 2021, CBS announced their broadcast team for the inaugural season. Veteran motorsports announcerAllen Bestwick served as lead announcer, withLindsay Czarniak as host,Brad Daugherty as roaming reporter, andMatt Yocum on pit road. Three driver analysts,Danica Patrick (Stafford and Knoxville),James Hinchcliffe (Eldora, Slinger and Nashville Fairgrounds), andDario Franchitti (Lucas Oil) were thecolor analysts for the inaugural season.[28]
Bestwick, Yocum, Daugherty, and Czarniak returned for the 2022 season, while 2021 driverWilly T. Ribbs joined the broadcast team as an analyst.Conor Daly was signed as a driver analyst.[29]
A video game based on the series, titledSRX: The Game and developed byMonster Games, was released forPlayStation 4,Xbox One andSteam on May 28, 2021.[30]
For the 2023 season, races were held on Thursday nights and televised onESPN, reviving its formerThursday Night Thunder branding, which had been used from 1989 to 2002 for primetime broadcasts of short track races.[31][32]