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Local short tracker Coby claims inaugural SRX win

Image courtesy of SRX
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emailBy RACER Staff | June 13, 2021 9:40 AM ET

The series created to unite racing stars from across the motorsports world in spec cars on paved and dirt short tracks started off with a win for an ace of the short track discipline.

Local star Doug Coby held off Greg Biffle and series co-founder Tony Stewart to win the inaugural round of the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience series at Stafford Springs, Conn. Coby –a 41-year-old Connecticut native and a six-time champion of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, with 30 feature wins at Stafford — used his knowledge of the track to good advantage as he dominated the 100-lap feature race, and held off the NASCAR stars on the final restart to secure the win.

Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves finished fourth, with NASCAR veteran Bobby Labonte rounding out the top five.


“What a special night for short track racing in America. This is a special night for Stafford Motor Speedway and everybody who’s a short track racer around the country, whether you’re dirt or asphalt,” Coby told CBS Sports. “… This means a lot to short trackers. The only thing I screwed up tonight was my exit, and I’d do it all over again if that’s what it takes to win this race.”


Coby dedicated the victory to former car owner Don King, a longtime figure in the regional racing community. Coby was wearing a special helmet in tribute to King, who died earlier this week.

“That’s what short track racers do. We pour our heart and soul into this, I’ve done this for decades, and Don gave me my first Modified Tour ride, and I can’t thank him enough,” Coby said.

The SRX series continues next weekend at Knoxville Raceway.

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SRX reduces race lengths ahead of Knoxville Image via @SRXRacing/Twitter
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emailBy RACER Staff | June 16, 2021 2:53 PM ET

SRX has taken the lessons learned from last weekend’s inaugural event at Stafford and implemented changes to the race format ahead of this weekend’s visit to Knoxville.

In what the series described as a response to fan feedback, the two timed heat races will be reduced from 15 minutes to 12 minutes. The starting order for the opening timed heat will continue to be set by random draw, and the results from that heat will be inverted to determine the starting grid for heat two. Starting from Knoxville, the drivers’ average finish across both heats will determine the starting order for the feature; a change intended to inject additional incentive for drivers to push their way towards the front.

More SRX!

Local short tracker Coby claims inaugural SRX win

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The feature race at Knoxville has been cut to 50 laps. Only green flag laps will count, and there will be unlimited attempts at a green-white-checkered finish if a caution comes out near the end of the race. As with the shortened heat races, the change is aimed at creating additional urgency, and also to allow the race to finish under green. It also allows more time for broadcast partner CBS to conduct post-race interviews.

Finally, visual changes will be made to the cars so that drivers can be more easily identified. Drivers’ names will now be larger, and drivers will carry the same color throughout the remainder of the season.

“As good as we felt our first race was, there are always things that can be improved,” said Ray Evernham, co-founder of the Camping World SRX Series, said in a statement. “I lived by this mantra as a crew chief and team owner, and I still live by it today.

“There were things we saw that we immediately knew we could make better for the next Camping World SRX Series race at Knoxville, but we also received real-time feedback from fans. Their insights were spot-on, and we’ve worked hard to implement them in time for Saturday night.

“The Camping World SRX Series was created for the fans, and our quest to deliver exciting races with engaging personalities will never end. We want Knoxville to be better than Stafford, and when we go to Eldora in two weeks, we want that event to be better than Knoxville. We heard from our fans after Stafford and we’ll continue to listen to make the Camping World SRX Series the best it can be.”

Doug Coby won the inaugural event ahead of Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart.

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Stewart secures SRX win at Knoxville

Image courtesy of SRX
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emailBy RACER staff | June 19, 2021 11:49 PM ET

Tony Stewart won the Camping World SRX Series race Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway, leading twice for a race-high 43 laps to take his first victory as a driver at the half-mile, semi-banked dirt oval roughly 40 miles southeast of Des Moines.

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SRX reduces race lengths ahead of Knoxville

Local short tracker Coby claims inaugural SRX win

Deegan to stand in for Kanaan at two SRX events

“It’s the first time I’ve been in victory lane at Knoxville,” said Stewart, who has witnessed his sprint car drivers at Tony Stewart Racing win the prestigious Knoxville Nationals 11 times. “This is where I’ve watched Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser and the greatest of the greats in sprint car racing. This is the place I’ve always wanted to be, for sure, so this is pretty cool.

“This is the ‘Sprint Car Capital of the World’ and I want to thank the Knoxville staff and all the fans. They’re not used to tin tops, and if they see tin, they want to see it on top of the cage, not surrounding the cage. Just appreciate the fans and everybody for letting us come here.”

Stewart won the first heat race and finished fourth in the second heat race to line up first in the feature event. He led the first 13 laps until Michael Waltrip took the top spot, but Stewart reasserted himself on lap 21 and held the point for the final 30 laps.


That didn’t mean Stewart went unchallenged.
Hailie Deegan finished second with a spirited drive and Ernie Francis Jr., impressed again with a strong third-place finish.

“My goal coming into this race was to prove to everyone that I deserved to be here. I feel like we did that tonight, running second to Tony Stewart, that’s a huge accomplishment for me,” said Deegan, a three-time winner in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – one of which came on dirt Feb. 28, 2019 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. “I feel like we just ran a clean race, we just wrapped the bottom, stayed consistent, ran my line and finished second.”

Deegan substituted for Tony Kanaan, as a schedule conflict prevented him from competing at Knoxville. The 19-year-old Deegan will fill in for Kanaan again July 10 at Slinger (Wis.) Speedway as Kanaan is slated to race in his native Brazil.

Francis is the winningest driver in the 55-year history of the SCCA Trans Am Series, all while being just 23 years old. He is the youngest champion in Trans Am history and is the youngest professional driver to win seven consecutive championships. Francis finished fourth in the Camping World SRX Series season-opener last Saturday night at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.

“Not too bad for my second-ever dirt race,” Francis said. “We were just kind of riding around there trying to save the tires as much as I could. The car wasn’t as good in the feature as it was in the heat races, so I was just trying to keep the back end underneath me and just try to save it as much as I could, try to keep my position and I really had an awesome battle with Hailie out there. I was trying to get to the back of Tony’s bumper to try and get by him, but you can’t be happier than this. It was an awesome race. The car’s a little beat up, but I can’t wait to get to the next one.”

The victory marked Stewart’s third win of the season – all of which have come on dirt. He began 2021 by winning the final feature of the inaugural Wild Wing Shootout 410 sprint car event Jan. 24 at Arizona Speedway in San Tan Valley and then the All-Star Circuit of Champions 410 Winged Sprint Car feature April 15 at Virginia Motor Speedway in Jamaica.

“I thought our drivers did a fantastic job. I watched a lot of great racing tonight,” said Ray Evernham, co-founder of the Camping World SRX Series. “I’m happy for the guys who won, but you know me, I’m worried about the people who didn’t and I want to know what they thought.

“I felt like, for our first race on dirt, it was pretty respectable, really. We had a couple of little problems, but no really big issues, and I think the fans saw some great racing. We’ve got to work on our cars’ cooling a little bit. I think we need more right-side fiberglass, for sure, but other than that, I thought it was a really good race.

“We’ll go ahead and review the format, time-wise. I really want to know what the fans thought, what the drivers thought. I’m not afraid to tweak this thing to get it right.”


The Camping World SRX Series remains on dirt for a second straight week. The third event of the Camping World SRX Series’ six-race short-track schedule takes place June 26 at the legendary Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

Joining the Camping World SRX Series regulars at Eldora’s half-mile, dirt oval are Kody Swanson and Scott Speed.

Swanson is a native of Kingsburg, California, who resides in Indianapolis. His five USAC Silver Crown championships (2014, 2015 2017, 2018 and 2019) are the most in series history, as are his 30 career Silver Crown wins and 31 Silver Crown poles. Swanson holds the Silver Crown record for most consecutive wins (five) and he is the all-time series leader in podium finishes and laps led. In four of his last five Silver Crown starts at Eldora, Swanson has finished in the top-five. He is still searching for that elusive first win at Eldora, with second place in the 2015 4-Crown Nationals his best finish at the half-mile, dirt oval.

Speed is one of the most versatile drivers in motorsports. His career began with his climb up the American open-wheel ladder and it took him all the way to Formula One in 2006 and 2007, after which he turned his attention to American stock car racing, where the Manteca, California-native rose to the elite NASCAR Cup Series as a driver for Team Red Bull. Over the last decade, Speed has made his mark on the worldwide Rallycross stage, winning three Summer X Games gold medals from 2013 through 2015 for Team USA and five consecutive Rallycross championships from 2013 through 2017 for Andretti Autosport.

After Eldora, the Camping World SRX Series returns to pavement July 3 at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis. It then ventures north to SlingerSpeedway on July 10 before its season finale July 17 at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

Every Camping World SRX Series race is broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on the CBS Television Network with streaming live on Paramount+ Premium.

Knoxville, SRX, Tony Stewart, SRX

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INSIGHT: Where does SRX fit into the motorsports landscape?

Images courtesy of SRX
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emailBy Jerry Bonkowski | June 23, 2021 1:28 PM ET

While there are unquestionable similarities, the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience — SRX for short — is not IROC (the International Race of Champions) 2.0 or even IROC Lite.

Founded in 1974, by the time it folded in 2006, IROC essentially had run its course, both in terms of popularity among fans as well as revenue. While the series continually moved around to different racetracks to try and keep things fresh, fans and eventually drivers just didn’t get as pumped up about it in the waning final years as they did in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.

SRX will likely not have that problem. Enough time — 15 years — has passed since IROC closed its doors that a new generation of fans, particularly millennials and Gen Xers, as well as arguably one of the most under-represented segment of racing fans — those who love grassroots short track racing — will likely gravitate to SRX, particularly with a cast of characters including NASCAR Hall of Famers Tony Stewart, Bill Elliott and Bobby Labonte.


While IROC was reluctant to change to keep itself relevant in its final years, SRX is definitely not that way. Just four days after SRX’s debut at Stafford Speedway in Connecticut drew rave reviews, SRX officials and founders Stewart, Ray Evernham, George Pyne and Sandy Montag responded to fan feedback generated from the first race and quickly made several adjustments to the format.

That not only is unprecedented in sports, it also shows just how much the SRX brain trust is tuned in to what the fans want — and will give it to them. Fans at Stafford said they wanted to see the two 15-minute heats shortened, and SRX officials did just that for this past weekend’s race in Knoxville, Iowa, reducing the heat events for the 12-car field to just 12 minutes apiece.

And in a nod to attention spans of both fans and TV viewers alike, SRX subsequently shortened its main event from 100 laps to 50 laps — but with a caveat: all 50 laps must be green-flag laps. Forget throwaway yellow flag race finishes. With SRX, there will be unlimited attempts for the equally-prepared, 700-horsepower cars to assure each race finishes under green flag conditions.

To me, that is huge. Sure, the season and series debut went 20 minutes over its prescribed time both at Stafford and on CBS, but the lessons learned from that overall event were not lost on SRX officials, particularly with a sellout at-track attendance of over 10,000 and a TV audience of more than 1.3 million (and this past Sunday’s race at Knoxville put up similar TV numbers).

“As good as we felt our first race was, there are always things that can be improved,” Evernham said after the first race. “I lived by this mantra as a crew chief and team owner and I still live by it today.

“There were things we saw that we immediately knew we could make better for the next Camping World SRX Series race at Knoxville, but we also received real-time feedback from fans. Their insights were spot on and we’ve worked hard to implement them in time for Saturday night.

“The Camping World SRX Series was created for the fans, and our quest to deliver exciting races with engaging personalities will never end. We want Knoxville to be better than Stafford, and when we go to Eldora (this weekend), we want that event to be better than Knoxville. We heard from our fans after Stafford and we’ll continue to listen to make the Camping World SRX Series the best it can be.”

Granted, it’s only been two races, but does SRX have what it takes to carve out another niche in the motorsports genre? While not designed to go head-to-head with NASCAR or even ARCA, it definitely has promise, particularly with the Hall of Fame names both behind it and the cast of superstars racing on the asphalt and dirt pavements from Stafford to Knoxville, Eldora (Ohio) to Brownsburg (Ind.), and from Slinger (Wisconsin) to Nashville (Tenn.).

More precisely, SRX’s closest competition would appear to be grassroots racing, typically made up of amateur sportsman racers who compete at the nearly 1,000 short tracks across the U.S. and Canada.

So the multi-million dollar question remains: will SRX survive?

Based on the numbers we’ve seen thus far in both the grandstands and TV viewership, SRX is definitely off to a good start. But it has to keep its core audience in mind. It can’t go Hollywood. It has to remain Humblewood.

It also has to keep ticket prices and souvenirs reasonable. That may be a bit trickier, as it’s likely many of the cast of competitors may want a bigger piece of the pie once the SRX gets bigger.

Sure, there is a component of gimmickry and schtick with SRX. But at the same time, and if the first two races are any barometer, drivers seem to actually be having fun, not having to worry about things like points and standings (within reason for the guys who will compete in all or almost all of the six races in this inaugural season).

Even though there are still four more races for the first season, what will SRX look like in 2022? It’s doubtful they can keep things at six races. A more realistic number if the series wants to experience reasonable growth is perhaps 10 or 12 races.

And one other thing: rather than this year’s six straight races on six straight Saturdays, SRX and CBS will have to agree on the second season having at least one or maybe two breaks in between consecutive periods of weekends. Perhaps have races for three weeks in a row, followed by an off-weekend, and then repeat the same way two or three more times.

For those new SRX fans, don’t expect the series to pull the kind of here today, gone tomorrow routine that we saw in football over the last few years with the XFL and the Alliance of American Football. Stewart, Evernham, Pyne and the rest of the SRX corporate brain trust wouldn’t have put up millions of their own dollars to see this four-wheeled enterprise fail quickly.

Plus, quite frankly, the overall idea of the SRX is nothing short of genius. While NASCAR has lost millions of fans (although it is slowly starting to recover some), particularly in the middle of the last decade, SRX is going where many former NASCAR fans have gone to — namely, short tracks.


Short tracks have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the last few years, and the reason isn’t hard to understand: exciting racing at affordable prices, short heat races and main event, giving everyone a chance to cheer their heads off while not having to break the bank to bring the family along. It’s a no-brainer for racing fans starved for entertainment, especially as we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s where SRX will not only shine, it will also likely help grassroots racing grow even more popular. And no matter how much success they’ve gone on to in their careers, virtually every member of the SRX leadership and cast of drivers have been and always will be short track racing fans themselves.

“I just feel like the future of motorsports, the best part of it is going to be done on short tracks,” Stewart told Men’s Journal. “The fan base that goes to short track races on a weekly basis speaks for itself.”

At the same time, what’s good for grassroots racing and SRX will likely be good for NASCAR and ARCA, as well.

The first two SRX races admittedly had some hiccups, particularly the debut race at Stafford. But let’s look at the flipside: a local boy made good: Northeast modified racing legend Doug Coby stole the show and beat all the big names including Stewart, Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, Labonte, Elliott and others, making them almost look like chumps.

And then one week later, Stewart, arguably the most popular driver in the SRX ranks, showed that he hasn’t missed a beat since his retirement from NASCAR after the 2016 season, and only a month after turning the big 5-0.


Even if it wanted to, SRX couldn’t pay enough for that kind of publicity – not to mention how it will likely significantly increase ticket sales at the four upcoming races.

Another plus for SRX racing is CBS’ use of aerial drones. That certainly caught viewers’ eyes, for sure.

There were some down elements, particularly Danica Patrick’s seemingly less-than-interested “analysis” for CBS in the SRX debut round. She didn’t display the same mindset that she had while serving in a similar analyst role for NBC’s telecast of the Indianapolis 500.

In closing, one thing must be said: SRX is not stock car racing. It’s not open-wheel racing. It’s not even modified racing — although that’s about as close as a comparison as you can get.

What it is is true racing, tough competition, inexpensive entertainment and something that racing fans everywhere can get behind. Yes, the SRX is here for good, and to borrow a line from the movie The Italian Job, “You should get on it, it’s a good train.”

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Stewart fends off Swanson for second straight SRX win

Image courtesy of SRX
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emailBy RACER staff | June 27, 2021 12:27 AM ET

Tony Stewart made it back-to-back victories in the Camping World SRX Series by winning the third race of the six-race short-track series Saturday night at Eldora Speedway.

Stewart put on a show at the track that he owns, starting from last in the 12-driver field to lead twice for six laps – all in the last seven laps of the 50-lap feature race at the half-mile, high-banked clay oval.

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INSIGHT: Where does SRX fit into the motorsports landscape?

Stewart secures SRX win at Knoxville

SRX reduces race lengths ahead of Knoxville

“Jack Hewitt was probably the best I’ve ever seen here at Eldora and I learned a couple of things watching him win the 4-Crown one year where he won all four divisions, and I used that line a lot early in the race here today and it helped out a lot,” said Stewart, referring to sprint car and midget racer Hewitt’s sweep of the 1998 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora.

Stewart won the previous Camping World SRX Series event at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway on June 19, taking his first SRX win and the series’ first on a dirt track. Eldora marked the second and final dirt track race on the SRX schedule and Stewart showcased his versatility by holding off local all-star Kody Swanson by .481 of a second.

“Kody found the bottom. I couldn’t roll the bottom as good as he could. I was real dependent on being up on the top. I just think that’s what Eldora does – the complexion of the track changes during the race,” Stewart said.

“I thought the top was good in the beginning in the main and then Kody got just crushing everybody on the bottom and got rolling through there. But the good thing was when he went by, everybody else followed him down there like they were in a parade and left the top open. And the longer we went, I finally got the momentum going on the top to get back by him.”


Swanson, the five-time USAC Silver Crown champion who leads the division in wins (30) and poles (31), nearly pulled off another victory for the local all-stars, emulating Doug Coby’s win in the Camping World SRX Series season opener on June 12 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.

“I felt like we had a really strong car through the middle of the race,” said Swanson, who was forced into a backup car for the feature race after sustaining damage to his primary car in the second heat race. “I really appreciate everybody with SRX and the guys on the crews. They built 16 cars to come out and put this on in a short amount of time and I appreciate them letting me have a chance in a backup car. I hate to tear up their equipment and I hate to lose.

“I felt like we were really good in the middle of the race and the bottom just kind of gave up a little bit and I got the top of (turns) one and two working. But once Tony had track position, it was hard to get back by him. I felt like I had a chance there but I just didn’t hit the bottom perfect and he got back around. It’s awful hard to beat him here at Eldora.”

Four-time and reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves acquitted himself well at Eldora, finishing a stout third and rising to second in the Camping World SRX Series championship standings, 33 points behind Stewart.

“It was crazy, especially on the restarts with PT. My goodness, I didn’t have anywhere to go except the wall and I kept hitting the wall,” said Castroneves, with his reference to P.T. being fellow driver Paul Tracy. “After that, something happened. It was really difficult – my car was really loose. So in the end, I said I’ve got to go to the bottom because I saw some of the guys go to the bottom – that’s the only way for my car to have a shot. The long runs were terrible for me. Restarts were the best. So, I kept it relatively clean, but man, I can’t believe it’s my first podium on the dirt. That is awesome.”

The most talked-about driver was Tracy. The 2003 NTT INDYCAR Series champion led the first 25 laps of the 50-lap feature and used the bumper and fenders of his purpose-built SRX racecar prodigiously to protect that lead and then defend his position as Swanson, Castroneves, Marco Andretti and Bobby Labonte surged toward the front.

“I know I’m going to have some Bobby Labonte fans after me because he’s super pissed at me, and rightly so,” Tracy said. “He got by me on the restart. I was running on top and I decided I was going to cut to the bottom like Tony did and I just got it all wrong. He turned in a little earlier than I thought he would and I tagged him and that was it. So that was my bad and I went over to apologize to him he was having none of it.

“The SRX cars put on a great show. I felt really good on this track. This is a wonderful track that Tony has and I couldn’t be happier with how we ran overall tonight. We picked up a lot of points and hopefully made some new fans. I’m sure we made some enemies because those Bobby Labonte fans probably hate me.”


The fender-banging and door-slamming proved entertaining and crowd-pleasing, but the repercussions left a lot of work for Camping World SRX Series co-founder Ray Evernham and his team of mechanics.

“I think we had another good show tonight but, as race director, I’ve got a couple of phone calls to make to some people this week where I’ll have to say, ‘Look, this is for fun.’ We’ve got a lot of torn-up cars, but it sounds like the fans like it,” Evernham said.

“We should’ve put Kody in that practice car to begin with. It looked like he liked it better than his original car. I knew when both of them got to the front, when Kody was on the bottom and Tony was on the top, I knew it was going to be pretty exciting. I thought Kody had it won on the last lap because I thought he was rolling the bottom good enough to slide up in front of Tony.

“I thought it was great, but I’ve got to wait what and see the fans think.”

After two straight dirt-track races at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway and Eldora, the Camping World SRX Series returns to pavement for its fourth race July 3 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Indiana. Bobby Santos III is the local all-star who will join the Camping World SRX Series regulars at the .686-mile asphalt oval near Indianapolis.

Santos is from Franklin, Massachusetts, and is best known for his success on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Nicknamed “Bobby New England,” Santos has 149 career Modified Tour starts with 19 victories, 54 top-five finishes and 18 pole positions to go along with his 2010 series championship. Additionally, Santos has excelled in USAC, scoring 10 career Silver Crown wins, including four at Lucas Oil Raceway. Two of his seven career National Sprint Car victories have come at Lucas Oil Raceway, as well as one of his 11 career victories in the Champion Midget category. The versatile Santos is a four-time winner of the A.J. Foyt Championship (2006, 2011, 2017 and 2020), which is awarded to the driver with the season-best points tally at Lucas Oil Raceway in USAC’s top-three series – Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget.

Returning to the Camping World SRX Series for a second straight week is Scott Speed. The Manteca, California-native finished sixth on the dirt at Eldora and now he will test his mettle on asphalt.

Speed is one of the most versatile drivers in motorsports. His career began with his climb up the American open-wheel ladder and it took him all the way to Formula One in 2006 and 2007, after which he turned his attention to American stock car racing, where Speed rose to the elite NASCAR Cup Series as a driver for Team Red Bull. Over the last decade, Speed has made his mark on the worldwide Rallycross stage, winning three Summer X Games gold medals from 2013 through 2015 for Team USA and five consecutive Rallycross championships from 2013 through 2017 for Andretti Autosport.

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After Lucas Oil Raceway, the Camping World SRX Series ventures north to Slinger (Wis.) Speedway on July 10 before its season finale July 17 at the Nashville (Tenn.) Fairgrounds Speedway.

Every Camping World SRX Series race is broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on the CBS Television Network with streaming on Paramount+ Premium.

Heat Race No. 1 (12 minutes, 24 laps):
Note: Starting lineup determined by random draw.
1. Tony Stewart (Started 4th; led laps 13-17, 19-21, 23-24)
2. Helio Castroneves (Started 3rd; led laps 18, 22; completed 24/24 laps)
3. Paul Tracy (Started 9th; completed 24/24 laps)
4. Marco Andretti (Started 8th; completed 24/24 laps)
5. Bobby Labonte (Started 7th; completed 24/24 laps)
6. Kody Swanson (Started 2nd; completed 24/24 laps)
7. Ernie Francis Jr. (Started 10th; completed 24/24 laps)
8. Bill Elliott (Started 6th; led laps completed 24/24laps)
9. Michael Waltrip (Started 11th; led laps completed 24/24 laps)
10. Scott Speed (Started 12th; led laps completed 24/24 laps)
11. Tony Kanaan (Started 1st; led laps 1-12; completed 24/24 laps)
12. Willy T. Ribbs (Started 5th; led laps completed 24/24 laps)

Heat Race No. 2 (12 minutes, 11 laps):
Note: Drivers’ finishing positions in Heat Race No. 1 were inverted for start of Heat Race No. 2.
1. Marco Andretti (Started 9th; led laps 4-11)
2. Paul Tracy (Started 10th; completed 11/11 laps)
3. Tony Stewart (Started 12th; completed 11/11 laps)
4. Scott Speed (Started 3rd; completed 11/11 laps)
5. Bobby Labonte (Started 8th; completed 11/11 laps)
6. Helio Castroneves (Started 11th; completed 11/11 laps)
7. Bill Elliott (Started 5th; led laps completed 11/11 laps)
8. Tony Kanaan (Started 2nd; led laps completed 11/11 laps)
9. Willy T. Ribbs (Started 1st; led laps 1-3; completed 11/11 laps)
10. Ernie Francis Jr. (Started 6th; completed 3/11 laps)
11. Michael Waltrip (Started 4th; completed 3/11 laps)
12. Kody Swanson (Started 7th; completed 3/11 laps)

Feature Results (50 laps):
Note: Starting lineup was based on average finishing positions in Heat Race Nos. 1-2.
1. Tony Stewart (Started 1st, but went to back after pace laps; led laps 44-45, 47-50)
2. Kody Swanson (Started 9th; led laps 26-33, 34-35, 46; completed 50/50 laps)
3. Helio Castroneves (Started 4th; completed 50/50 laps)
4. Marco Andretti (Started 3rd; completed 50/50 laps)
5. Paul Tracy (Started 2nd; led laps 1-25, 34-35; completed 50/50 laps)
6. Scott Speed (Started 6th; completed 50/50 laps)
7. Tony Kanaan (Started 10th; completed 50/50 laps)
8. Ernie Francis Jr. (Started 8th; completed 50/50 laps)
9. Willy T. Ribbs (Started 12th; completed 50/50 laps)
10. Michael Waltrip (Started 11th; completed 50/50 laps)
11. Bobby Labonte (Started 5th; completed 45/50 laps)
12. Bill Elliott (Started 7th; completed 45/50 laps)

Camping World SRX Series Championship Standings (after Round 3 of 6):
1. Tony Stewart (129 points)
2. Helio Castroneves (96 points, -33)
3. Ernie Francis Jr. (90 points, -39)
4. Marco Andretti (80 points, -49)
5. Bobby Labonte (75 points, -54)
6. Paul Tracy (64 points, -65)
7. Michael Waltrip (57 points, -72)
8. Bill Elliott (46 points, -83)
9. Tony Kanaan (45 points, -84)
10. Willy T. Ribbs (38 points, -91)

Note: Points are awarded in both heats and the feature. In each heat, the winner receives a maximum of 12 points. Second place earns 11 points with every position in descending order receiving one fewer point, with the 12th-place finisher earning one point. Points increase in the feature, with the winner receiving 25 points, second place 22 points, third place 20 points, fourth place 18 points, fifth place 16 points, sixth place 14 points, seventh place 12 points, eighth place 10 points, ninth place eight points, 10th place six points, 11th place four points and 12th place two points.

Eldora, Kody Swanson, SRX, Tony Stewart, SRX

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Stewart secures SRX win at Knoxville

Image courtesy of SRX
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emailBy RACER staff | June 19, 2021 11:49 PM ET

Tony Stewart won the Camping World SRX Series race Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway, leading twice for a race-high 43 laps to take his first victory as a driver at the half-mile, semi-banked dirt oval roughly 40 miles southeast of Des Moines.

Related

SRX reduces race lengths ahead of Knoxville

Local short tracker Coby claims inaugural SRX win

Deegan to stand in for Kanaan at two SRX events

“It’s the first time I’ve been in victory lane at Knoxville,” said Stewart, who has witnessed his sprint car drivers at Tony Stewart Racing win the prestigious Knoxville Nationals 11 times. “This is where I’ve watched Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser and the greatest of the greats in sprint car racing. This is the place I’ve always wanted to be, for sure, so this is pretty cool.

“This is the ‘Sprint Car Capital of the World’ and I want to thank the Knoxville staff and all the fans. They’re not used to tin tops, and if they see tin, they want to see it on top of the cage, not surrounding the cage. Just appreciate the fans and everybody for letting us come here.”

Stewart won the first heat race and finished fourth in the second heat race to line up first in the feature event. He led the first 13 laps until Michael Waltrip took the top spot, but Stewart reasserted himself on lap 21 and held the point for the final 30 laps.


That didn’t mean Stewart went unchallenged.
Hailie Deegan finished second with a spirited drive and Ernie Francis Jr., impressed again with a strong third-place finish.

“My goal coming into this race was to prove to everyone that I deserved to be here. I feel like we did that tonight, running second to Tony Stewart, that’s a huge accomplishment for me,” said Deegan, a three-time winner in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – one of which came on dirt Feb. 28, 2019 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. “I feel like we just ran a clean race, we just wrapped the bottom, stayed consistent, ran my line and finished second.”

Deegan substituted for Tony Kanaan, as a schedule conflict prevented him from competing at Knoxville. The 19-year-old Deegan will fill in for Kanaan again July 10 at Slinger (Wis.) Speedway as Kanaan is slated to race in his native Brazil.

Francis is the winningest driver in the 55-year history of the SCCA Trans Am Series, all while being just 23 years old. He is the youngest champion in Trans Am history and is the youngest professional driver to win seven consecutive championships. Francis finished fourth in the Camping World SRX Series season-opener last Saturday night at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.

“Not too bad for my second-ever dirt race,” Francis said. “We were just kind of riding around there trying to save the tires as much as I could. The car wasn’t as good in the feature as it was in the heat races, so I was just trying to keep the back end underneath me and just try to save it as much as I could, try to keep my position and I really had an awesome battle with Hailie out there. I was trying to get to the back of Tony’s bumper to try and get by him, but you can’t be happier than this. It was an awesome race. The car’s a little beat up, but I can’t wait to get to the next one.”

The victory marked Stewart’s third win of the season – all of which have come on dirt. He began 2021 by winning the final feature of the inaugural Wild Wing Shootout 410 sprint car event Jan. 24 at Arizona Speedway in San Tan Valley and then the All-Star Circuit of Champions 410 Winged Sprint Car feature April 15 at Virginia Motor Speedway in Jamaica.

“I thought our drivers did a fantastic job. I watched a lot of great racing tonight,” said Ray Evernham, co-founder of the Camping World SRX Series. “I’m happy for the guys who won, but you know me, I’m worried about the people who didn’t and I want to know what they thought.

“I felt like, for our first race on dirt, it was pretty respectable, really. We had a couple of little problems, but no really big issues, and I think the fans saw some great racing. We’ve got to work on our cars’ cooling a little bit. I think we need more right-side fiberglass, for sure, but other than that, I thought it was a really good race.

“We’ll go ahead and review the format, time-wise. I really want to know what the fans thought, what the drivers thought. I’m not afraid to tweak this thing to get it right.”


The Camping World SRX Series remains on dirt for a second straight week. The third event of the Camping World SRX Series’ six-race short-track schedule takes place June 26 at the legendary Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

Joining the Camping World SRX Series regulars at Eldora’s half-mile, dirt oval are Kody Swanson and Scott Speed.

Swanson is a native of Kingsburg, California, who resides in Indianapolis. His five USAC Silver Crown championships (2014, 2015 2017, 2018 and 2019) are the most in series history, as are his 30 career Silver Crown wins and 31 Silver Crown poles. Swanson holds the Silver Crown record for most consecutive wins (five) and he is the all-time series leader in podium finishes and laps led. In four of his last five Silver Crown starts at Eldora, Swanson has finished in the top-five. He is still searching for that elusive first win at Eldora, with second place in the 2015 4-Crown Nationals his best finish at the half-mile, dirt oval.

Speed is one of the most versatile drivers in motorsports. His career began with his climb up the American open-wheel ladder and it took him all the way to Formula One in 2006 and 2007, after which he turned his attention to American stock car racing, where the Manteca, California-native rose to the elite NASCAR Cup Series as a driver for Team Red Bull. Over the last decade, Speed has made his mark on the worldwide Rallycross stage, winning three Summer X Games gold medals from 2013 through 2015 for Team USA and five consecutive Rallycross championships from 2013 through 2017 for Andretti Autosport.

After Eldora, the Camping World SRX Series returns to pavement July 3 at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis. It then ventures north to SlingerSpeedway on July 10 before its season finale July 17 at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

Every Camping World SRX Series race is broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on the CBS Television Network with streaming live on Paramount+ Premium.

Knoxville, SRX, Tony Stewart, SRX

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Hailie Deegan in for SRX Nashville finale

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emailBy RACER Staff | July 8, 2021 4:43 PM ET

Hailie Deegan will compete in the Camping World SRX Series season finale July 17 at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, the series announced Thursday.

Deegan made her SRX debut last month in a substitute role for regular driver Tony Kanaan, finishing second to race winner Tony Stewart June 19 at Knoxville Raceway. Deegan is back in place of Kanaan this Saturday night at Slinger (Wis.) Speedway. At Nashville, however, Deegan will race against Kanaan as a part of the 12-driver field.

“SRX has been a blast and I’m super pumped to run the finale at Nashville,” Deegan said. “Knoxville was a great experience and finishing second to Tony Stewart was a huge accomplishment. That was on dirt, so I’m definitely interested to see what these SRX cars feel like on pavement this Saturday night at Slinger, and one of the best things about racing Nashville is that I can take what I learn at Slinger and apply it there.”

More SRX!

Chase Elliott joins SRX for Nashville

Francis Jr scores emphatic SRX win at Lucas Oil Raceway

Stewart fends off Swanson for second straight SRX win

Deegan is a full-time driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The 19-year-old racer from Temecula, California, is a three-time winner in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and was the first female to win a race in that series.

“We all saw at Knoxville how quickly Hailie adapted to these SRX cars and it was pretty obvious that she has no reservations about mixing it up with these guys,” said SRC series co-founder Ray Evernham. “She gained positions in each heat and in the feature and then finished second to one of the best race car drivers in the world. Hailie has definitely earned her spot in the Camping World SRX Series.”

Saturday’s race from Slinger and next Saturday’s race at Nashville will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on the CBS Television Network with streaming live on Paramount+ Premium.

Hailie Deegan, SRX

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Marco Andretti scores SRX victory in shootout at Slinger

Image courtesy of SRX
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emailBy RACER staff | July 11, 2021 12:17 AM ET

NTT IndyCar Series veteran Marco Andretti won the Camping World SRX Series event Saturday night at Slinger Speedway to take his first victory in a racecar with fenders and a roof.

The third-generation racer whose grandfather is Mario Andretti and father is Michael Andretti held off local all-star Luke Fenhaus to take the win at the quarter-mile, high-banked asphalt oval 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee.

“Honestly, I know it’s not a popular win, but I tried to be as clean as possible,” said Andretti, a 16-year veteran of the NTT IndyCar Series. “I’m so proud of him (Fenhaus). I’m trying to learn from him, to be honest with you. Just delighted to be able to do it without touching him. I know it’s not a popular win, but us old guys have to get it when we can. He’s young, he’s got a lot of time ahead of him. I had so much fun.”
The final lap at Slinger Speedway did not disappoint.

Marco Andretti wins his first race after holding off local legend Luke Fenhaus! pic.twitter.com/kBsf8HZ0mK

— Camping World SRX Series (@SRXracing)

Andretti beat the 17-year-old Fenhaus to the checkered flag by .194 of second in a green-white-checkered finish.

“I think he (Marco) jumped it a little bit, which didn’t help me at all,” said Fenhaus, who earned his spot in the 12-driver field by winning Tuesday night’s Slinger Nationals. “I was better on the top. I felt like we could roll on the outside. I was just worried that he’d shove me up the racetrack if I went to the outside. I probably would’ve lost either way. He would’ve run us hard. It is what it is. Second place, I can’t complain.”

Fenhaus started second and led 18 times for a race-high 92 laps. At 17 years old, he is the youngest winner in the 42-year history of the Slinger Nationals. The Wausau, Wisconsin-native skipped his planned start in the ARCA Midwest Tour championship at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Illinois, to compete in the SRX race at Slinger, despite being second in the championship standings. It proved to be a good choice, as that race was rained out while the Camping World SRX Series event at Slinger ran under a clear sky.

“We talked about it Monday before the Slinger Nationals and decided that if we won the Slinger Nationals, it was kind of a no-brainer to run SRX,” said Fenhaus, a rising senior at Wausau East High School. “I’m glad we came here, for sure. Just to come here and enjoy the experience and to soak it all in – it’s crazy and surreal, to say the least. I loved every minute of it. If I could do it again, I would. Hopefully, it leads in the right direction for my career.

“It was an insane race. The race against Tony (Stewart) for that long, side-by-side, I’m glad we put on a show for the fans. I hope they all enjoyed it. It’s unreal to race against these guys. They’re so good at what they do. It’s hard to beat them.”

More SRX!

Hailie Deegan in for SRX Nashville finale

Chase Elliott joins SRX for Nashville

Francis Jr scores emphatic SRX win at Lucas Oil Raceway

Stewart finished third to pad his lead in the Camping World SRX Series championship standings to 38 points over second-place Ernie Francis Jr.

“My buddy Marco winning the race and us having another podium finish and gaining some more points in the standings with one race to go is a big deal to me,” said Stewart, a two-time winner already in the Camping World SRX Series. “The first five weeks of this series have been awesome. To go to three totally different racetracks – the three paved tracks are totally different from each other, and then two totally different dirt tracks – it’s been a lot of fun. To sit there each weekend and see how much fun everybody is having, that’s the payoff for all this. It’s payoff for all of us as drivers.

“To get ready for this race, I watched some YouTube videos and Luke Fenhaus was the star of a lot of them. Getting to spend the day with that kid has been the highlight of my day, to be honest. He’s the most composed 17-year-old I’ve ever seen. There are kids in the (NASCAR) Truck Series and Xfinity Series who don’t have the composure that this guy’s got. I hope somebody will give him a shot, even if it’s a one-race deal to give him a crack at it and make himself a name.”

Fourth place went to Hailie Deegan who raced in place of Tony Kanaan as a schedule conflict prevented him from competing at Slinger.

“It’s been so much fun. I love it. The SRX series is great racing,” said Deegan, who finished second to Stewart in her first Camping World SRX Series start June 19 at Knoxville (Iowa) Speedway. “Coming back to short-track racing reminds me of my (NASCAR) K&N West days and I just enjoy it so much. It brings back such good memories and some good racing. These cars are amazing, and I feel like there is a lot of great talent out here.”
And there is the big one tonight at Slinger Speedway!! pic.twitter.com/g4eERlhDot

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports)

The Camping World SRX Series features world-class drivers from an array of motorsports backgrounds competing in identically prepared racecars on some of the most iconic short tracks in America. With five rounds in the books, the inaugural six-race series culminates with the season finale July 17 at the Nashville (Tenn.) Fairgrounds Speedway.

“I’m really happy for Marco, and Luke Fenhaus did an awesome job tonight. You’re going to hear a lot more about that kid. Seventeen years old and much more mature than that in a racecar,” said Ray Evernham, co-founder of the Camping World SRX Series. “You can’t overlook the talent that’s coming out of these short tracks across America. Every Saturday night, we need to go and support those short tracks so that talent like that can get to the big-time. I’m just proud of the way this series has been able to showcase the short tracks, the drivers, the crew chiefs. There’s a lot of talent out here on Friday and Saturday nights.

“Look at this crowd, they haven’t left. They want to come in here and see these cars, they want to see what’s going on, they’re chasing drivers for autographs and doing a lot of different things and they enjoyed it. So that tells me we’re doing something right. If the fans like it and they keep watching it on TV, then we’ll keep doing it.”

Deegan will rejoin the Camping World SRX Series at Nashville, and the season finale will also feature Chase Elliott.

Elliott is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion and he will join his father, Bill Elliott, in the race that will air live at 8 p.m. EDT on the CBS Television Network and streamed on Paramount+ Premium.

Chase won the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship and Bill won the 1988 Cup Series title. They are just the third father-son combo to win Cup Series championships, joining the Pettys (Lee: 1954, 1958, 1959 and Richard: 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1979) and the Jarretts (Ned: 1961, 1965 and Dale: 1999).

The lone time Chase and Bill competed together on the same track was on Oct. 20, 2013 in the Alabama Pro 125 Late Model race at South Alabama Speedway. Chase won and Bill finished fourth.

Note: Points are awarded in both heats and the feature. In each heat, the winner receives a maximum of 12 points. Second place earns 11 points with every position in descending order receiving one fewer point, with the 12th-place finisher earning one point. Points increase in the feature, with the winner receiving 25 points, second place 22 points, third place 20 points, fourth place 18 points, fifth place 16 points, sixth place 14 points, seventh place 12 points, eighth place 10 points, ninth place eight points, 10th place six points, 11th place four points and 12th place two points.

Luke Fenhaus, Marco Andretti, Slinger Speedway, SRX, Tony Stewart, North American Racing, SRX

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Evernham 'humbled' by reception of inaugural SRX season

Dylan Buell/SRX via Getty Images
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emailBy Kelly Crandall | July 19, 2021 12:11 PM ET

Ray Evernham will likely devote some of his time in the coming weeks dissecting the inaugural season of the Camping World SRX Series, which wrapped up its six-week run Saturday night at Nashville Fairgrounds.

The made-for-TV series pulled in over one million viewers and ran all six races without weather issues. It was a hit with everyone, from those competing to the ones watching. Although Evernham, co-founder of the series, admitted there were things like car maintenance and travel he could have done differently, he seemed pleased with the overall presentation of a new racing series.

“The part of it I’m really impressed with is how well this team has adapted, came together to prepare our cars, and how much fun the drivers have had, which is something I was really hoping because if the drivers have fun, the fans have fun,” Evernham said. “It’s very humbling the way this has been supported by the fans. We’re big (on) social media, and you get one person on Twitter that bashes you, and you’re ready to jump off the building, but we’ve been 99 percent favorable. So that tells me we’re doing something right.

“For me, if the drivers are having fun, and I believe they sincerely are telling me that they are, we put on a good show. I feel like we’ve done a good thing for some of the short tracks across America and some of those towns that needed a little bit of an economic boost. Just the support we’re getting … telling me it’s good. I’m happy. It didn’t matter whether or not I thought it was good.”

In a one-off appearance, Chase Elliott won the finale at Nashville while Tony Stewart earned the championship. Driver resumes for those who competed regularly ranged from champions across the racing landscape (Stewart; Helio Castroneves; Paul Tracy) to youngsters like Hailie Deegan and local stars Doug Coby, Brian Brown, and Luke Fenhaus.

“That’s something that’s humbling,” said Evernham. “That those superstars would believe in you enough to come in and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this deal, it’s going to be fun.’ (And for us to say,) ‘I’ll keep you safe, and we’ll keep you in good cars.’ They trust in you.

“Honestly, I don’t think that I could have had all that credibility to make those phone calls if it wasn’t for Tony Stewart being a partner because once Tony was a partner, that gave some serious credibility from the driver’s standpoint.”
The six-race schedule featured a blend of dirt and pavement racing, and competed at local short tracks. (Dylan Buell/SRX via Getty Images

The series also helped give attention to drivers looking for opportunities. Coby won the first race at Stafford Speedway and then landed a Truck Series ride for later this season at Bristol Motor Speedway with GMS Racing. Ernie Francis Jr. emerged as a star, winning at Lucas Oil Raceway, finishing second in the championship, and openly expressing his hopes of an open-wheel shot.

“That was one of those things that I was hoping and may have exceeded expectations,” Evernham said. “I know that every Saturday night or Friday night around the short tracks of America, there are guys and girls racing around that deserve to be here and are good enough to be here that either may never have gotten the shot or it’s going to be tough for them to get a shot. So, to go into their hometown and their home track and have a guy like Doug race with these guys, and they say, ‘Wow, he’s good.’ Or Luke Fenhaus, that kid made a huge impression on a lot of people. Again, the fact that we are making short track racing – I don’t want to say healthier – but at least getting people to notice that ‘Wow, I can go down the street and these are people that are good enough to race with these superstars.’”

SRX was designed to be IROC 2.0, which Evernham has always admitted. Mission accomplished in attracting drivers from all over, promoting racing across the country, and doing so while keeping the speeds down and drivers safe.

So what comes next? Going into next season, Evernham would like to get some drag racers on the roster and has even told Brian Deegan he needs to compete against daughter Hailie. But don’t expect the car count or the schedule length to change.

“We have to focus on entertaining the fans,” Evernham said. “And trying to run more than six races and (doing) more than 12 cars, then suddenly it comes trying to manage a race, and even though they call it a race series, this is not a race series. We’re a television show.”

Fans and television will play a part in what the track schedule will look like going forward. Evernham doesn’t want to run the same tracks each year, and he wants to add a road course or converted road course to the mix.

“So, we can give better opportunities to some of the other people that we want to bring (in); some of the F1 guys coming over and stuff like that,” said Evernham. “But how do you not go back to a place that sells out for you and gives you a high TV rating? Obviously, there will be some partner input, but most sponsors and partners are interested in TV ratings and attendance.”

Ray Evernham, SRX, North American Racing, SRX