Tony Stewart Teases His Return to Racing

Is Tony Stewart coming out of retirement? He’s not competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, but the NASCAR Hall of Famer is returning to the track in June with his new auto racing circuit the Superstar Racing Experience. Stewart went to Instagram on Monday to show off the new SRX gear and sent everyone a message.

“Ready to add another chapter to the book,” Stewart wrote. “Coming June 12.” That is the date of the first race, which will take place at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Spring, Connecticut. “SRX will re-ignite the passion of the die-hard motorsports fan and reintroduce racing to a whole new generation,” the official website said. “Featuring an unprecedented line-up of all-star drivers and crews, this supercharged spectacle is hellbent on recapturing the glory days of racing and getting things back on track. Big engines, bigger personalities, and big-time drama and intensity irresistible. This will be the most exhilarating racing on the planet.”

Stewart teamed up with fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham to create the new series. There will be six short-track races, and Stewart will be one of the 12 drivers. SRX has been compared to the now-defunct IROC (International Race of Champions) Series, which ran from 1974 to 2006. Stewart, who is the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing in NASCAR, was the last IROC Champion.

“I always liked the IROC Series back in the day and even before I was old enough to be a professional race car driver, I looked at that as the cream of the crop,” Stewart told the Associated Press last year. “When I got invited to run IROC, it was a huge honor. You were part of an elite group of drivers that got the opportunity to race each other. I always took that really seriously.

“When the series went away, I think it left a big hole. It didn’t needed to be filled then, but we have an opening now that gives an opportunity for guys like myself and a lot of the guys who will be invited who can still drive race cars, still have the ability, still want to race, to come back. Hopefully they will feel the way I did, like it’s a cool opportunity to take seriously and be looked up to as the best out there.” The races will be 90 minutes long without pit stops. However, there will be a “halftime” for adjustments in a two-hour TV window.