Tony Stewart announced in July 2020 that he was partnering with fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham and former NASCAR COO George Pyne to create a new all-star racing series. With the calendar turning to 2021, the Superstar Racing Experience has now released its first schedule. There will be six races, starting in June and ending at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
The SRX revealed the full slate of races on Monday afternoon and created excitement among racing fans. The short season will start in June with a race at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut. The all-star drivers will then head to Knoxville Raceway in Tennesee, Eldora Speedway in Ohio, Lucas Oil Raceway in Indiana and Slinger Speedway in Wisconsin. An event at the fan-favorite Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway will cap off the schedule.
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Here. We. Go. pic.twitter.com/QvbOH1DZy5
— Superstar Racing Experience (@SRXracing) January 4, 2021
Prior to the schedule announcement, the SRX unveiled the list of drivers that will compete in the inaugural season. Stewart headlines the list, but he is not the only big name involved. Willy T. Ribbs, the first African-American driver to race in the Indianapolis 500, will get behind the wheel and compete during the six-race schedule.
SRX will also feature Tony Kanaan, the 2004 IndyCar champion, and former Formula 1 star Mark Webber. Helio Castroneves and Paul Tracy bring even more IndyCar experience to the table. Rounding out the list of drivers are NASCAR Hall of Famers Bill Elliott and Bobby Labonte.
One of the biggest changes to the racing format is that all of the drivers will race in equally-built cars. In NASCAR, bigger teams can build better cars while smaller teams struggle to compete and find sponsorship money. This will not happen in SRX. All of the drivers will have the same level of quality in their control and will only find success through their existing skills behind the wheel.
Another major change is that the drivers will not get behind the wheel of the same car each week. They will arrive at the track and then draw for a random car and crew chief. Each driver will have some practice time before the event starts. Evernham’s team will be responsible for building and maintaining the different cars.
Racing fans wanting to see Stewart and other drivers in action will not have to look too hard. SRX partnered with CBS Sports to air the six-race schedule, which will take over Saturday nights. These races will take part in two 45-minute heats separated by a halftime intermission. There will be no pit stops and the goal is to get the races finished in under two hours.
