The Superstar Racing Experience made its debut Saturday night at Stafford Motor Speedway. The series featured veteran NASCAR drivers, IndyCar drivers, and a guest racer.
Lindsay Czarniak of CBS explained the rules of the series in ten minutes. Those who followed SRX on social media already knew the basic rules. It was more of a wait-and-see how it all comes together before deciding if they liked what they saw.
The drivers drew their positions before the first heat. As Allen Bestwick explained, the results of the first heat race would invert for the second race. During the first heat race, outside of contact between Paul Tracy and Michael Waltrip, the race was uneventful. Greg Biffle won the first heat race and would start last, while Paul Tracy would start first. Drivers knew that if they hung out in the back for this heat, they would start in the front, so it was more of a follow the leader.
In the second heat race, the action did pick up a little bit. The finishing order determined the starting position. Michael Waltrip led a few laps before Doug Coby took over the lead. Coby elected to run this race over the Whelen Modified Tour, which was in New York. This was his home track, so he knew the track, and he could not pass up on an inaugural event like the SRX.
He would say he was excited to run against the other racers. Coby won the second heat race. After heat race two ended, it was halftime. The cars were adjusted before the main event race.
The main event race would be 100 laps. Bill Elliott had a fuel pressure problem, putting him out of the race. Greg Biffle went to a backup car before the main event got underway. Backup cars are available, just without the paint scheme for that driver. These cars are available to the drivers should they suffer damage to their vehicle.
The highlights from the main event race were Marco Andretti moving up eight spots to take the lead. However, he and Castroneves got together at turn three when Helio came in hot before tapping Marco. There were some spins and taps as drivers do not have spotters, only rear and side mirrors to navigate their way.
Andretti’s problems worsened when his car suffered a right front flat, bringing out a caution with six laps to go. The race restarted with three laps to go. The race had come down to Greg Biffle and Doug Coby, who were in the top two positions. Coby won the race over Greg Biffle, and Tony Stewart finished third. Helio Castroneves finished fourth, and Bobby Labonte fifth.
When Matt Yocum interviewed Coby, Coby fell off the race car first before getting on the roof of his car to celebrate. It was a nice moment as the fans were chanting his name before CBS signed off. The SRX heads to Knoxville, IA, next Saturday, June 19th, at 8 pm on CBS.
First off, it was nice to hear Allen Bestwick again calling races. Lindsay Czarniak, Brad Dougherty, Danica Patrick, and Matt Yocum did a good job. My favorite part of the race was the drone shots following the cars as they raced. That was a new perspective of watching the race. But then that is what we hoped we would be watching a race.
Overall, the racing was decent. Like any new series, they have problems that need fixing. I would like to see SRX ditch the heat races and go with qualifying races. Have the odd numbers race first, then the evens to set the field. The heat races proved that no one is willing to race for the lead. Since the field would be inverted for the first heat, it was more like follow the leader.
You kept waiting for someone to make a pass or charge upfront, but that didn’t happen. The second heat was a little dicier, with drivers getting to know their cars. The outcome of the second heat would set the field for the race, so attempts were made to move forward.
My other problem with this race was the unexpected caution when nothing happened. This is also known as the entertainment caution. If this series is all about the drivers, don’t throw a caution out to bunch up the field. Let the drivers fight their way to the front.
The last issue are the tires. There should be more tires available to the SRX drivers. After each heat, they should be allowed to change tires. In the case of Greg Biffle, when he went to a backup car, the car had newer tires on it, and he was able to get to the front quicker than those on old tires. If SRX fixes these problems, it could be fun to watch.
It was nice seeing the older drivers. Memories of them buckling up in their cars and winning the championships they did brings back a simpler time. For those who competed in NASCAR, you think of stock cars, and simpler rules, when it was actually about the driver’s skill. You think of competition, especially in the Indy car series where you looked forward to watching the races.
In all the series, you had many more drivers competing. Now we are left with cars unrecognizable to the original concept of the series, rules upon rules, officials are deciding the outcomes because they hold the power of the flag.
So, I look forward to the next race in this series, and you should too. It’s not very often you see this kind of talent on one track at one time.
