It’s always good to have options. That’s also true in auto racing.
Last week, a pair of NASCAR Hall of Famers announced they were teaming up to give racing fans another product for their viewing pleasure — one that harkens back to a different time not too long ago.
Inspired by the old International Race of Champions (IROC) Series, legendary driver Tony Stewart and former crew chief Ray Evernham announced the formation of the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), which will roll out next summer with national television exposure on CBS. Stewart and a field of 12 yet-to-be-named drivers will compete in identically prepared cars on short tracks throughout the country. It’s IROC brought to the masses.
If you recall, IROC was a series in which drivers from all different racing series competed in identical cars on famous NASCAR tracks. While IROC races were generally taped for later broadcast, the six-race SRX slate will be shown live on Saturday nights on CBS.
Stewart and Evernham have a wish list of drivers they would like to have in the cars.
“The racing fans are longing for that, and they’re longing to see their heroes, who have earned their way through the short tracks of America and around the world,” Evernham said in a conference call, according to Forbes.com. “They will practice their craft on national television in close corners, with cars that are prepared equally and largely dependent on driver input and not on aerodynamics, computers, technology and science.”
While Evernham and Stewart are the public faces of SRX, the series is the brainchild of former NASCAR chief operating officer George Pyne and sports media consultant Sandy Montag. Pyne had been discussing the idea of a new series with Evernham when he pitched the idea to Montag. He jumped all over it, and soon CBS was involved.
Having a national television network involved is very helpful. Not only does the series give SRX an outlet, it also gives CBS original content in the summer months. The six-race schedule is just enough to see if the experiment works. It’s not like the ill-fated Alliance of American Football, which didn’t even get through its first season in 2019 before folding.
The idea of bringing the series to local short tracks is also tremendous. It’s perhaps the best part of the whole thing. The tracks have yet to be announced, though there are rumors that Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut is being considered. Stafford is owned by the Arute family, including legendary race announcer Jack Arute Jr. However, most of the tracks being considered are in the Midwest, including Stewart’s Eldora Speedway dirt track in Ohio.
Selfishly, I’m hoping Stafford gets a nod, but that’s not up to me.
The four-person group (Pyne, Montag, Evernham and Stewart) are each putting up in the seven-figure range to bankroll SRX, according to Sports Business Daily. There are no other investors. This is the definition of “all in.”
If people know what SRX is and when and where to watch it, it should do well. Race fans tend to want to watch anything with wheels, but this is more than that. This is being put forth by Stewart and Evernham, two people that race fans hold in very high regard.
We all know what Stewart can do in a race car, and he would like to show that he isn’t washed up. He is racing for the fun of it. Evernham is known as Jeff Gordon’s championship-winning crew chief in the 1990s. He was also the founding team owner when Dodge came back to NASCAR in 2001.
According to NBCsporrts.com, the series’ wish list of drivers includes IndyCar’s Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon and Paul Tracy, former NASCAR drivers Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmie Johnson, who is retiring from NASCAR after this season.
If SRX can land Gordon or Johnson, that would do wonders for the interest level. I think Gordon is happy being retired, as much as driving in a series run by his old crew chief would sound enticing. I feel as though Johnson would be too loyal to NASCAR, even though SRX is not trying to be competition.
I’m interested in seeing how Evernham designs the cars to make them different than NASCAR stock cars.
All said, the Superstar Racing Experience looks interesting on paper, but the key to success will be getting casual fans or curious non-fans to tune in.
MONADNOCK RESULTS: Deerfield’s Ben Byrne didn’t succeed in his bid for a third consecutive NHSTRA Modified feature at Monadnock Speedway last Saturday, but he did land a spot on the podium.
Byrne charged back after being involved in a mid-race incident to finish third in the 18-car field. Brian Robie, of Sunapee, N.H., charged from row four to earn his first win of the season.
Orange’s Cole Littlewood nearly pulled off the victory in the Late Model Sportsman feature, but Aaron Fellows grabbed the lead on lap 22 to remain perfect on the season. The Croydon, Vt., driver has won all five races this season. Littlewood hung on for third place.
Hillary Renaud, of Vernon, Vt., led the whole way en route to her first victory in Street Stocks, and Matt Sonnhalter, of White River Junction, Vt., made it a big night for the Green Mountain State by winning the 50-lap Mini Stock “Battle for the Belt” event.
Jason Remillard is a copy editor and page designer at the Recorder. He can be reached at jremillard@recorder.com and followed on Twitter @racinwithjason.