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One of the toughest moments of the offseason for many motorsports fans was the announcement that the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) would not return in 2024. However, one of its founders seemed to know it was heading downhill. Ray Evernham joined the very popular Dale Jr. Download, and he discussed the downfall of the SRX and why he left.
The Superstar Racing Experience was founded by Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart in 2021. It was originally conceived as a modern version of “IROC” contested on short tracks with retired motorsports stars competing against one local legend.
Quite frankly, I have to say that IROC was a fun series to write about and I enjoyed each event. I am hoping that Ray can bring IROC back successfully.
The series evolved and changed over time with more modern drivers being included, and getting rid of the local hero. However, the races were still contested on local short tracks, routinely selling out these venues.
Fans were very upset to see SRX go. Many do not know exactly what happened, but, Evernham offers some insight into where the series went wrong.
Ray Evernham opened up to Earnhardt Jr. about what the original concept of the SRX was. Unfortunately, the series evolved to something that did not fit his original vision.
:When I designed that series I wanted it to be a mini IROC for drivers guys like (Earnhardr Jr.) and Jeff (Gordon) and Tony (Stewart(. Guys that are retiring from the sport younger and younger. Didn’t really want to race, but wouldn’t mind doing something like this that was safer and have a little bit of fun and made it Motorsports entertainment made for TV.
Obviously, as the SRX evolved, there were elements of Evernham’s original vision, but, there were also aspects that changed. The series continued to be contested on local short tracks, but, the fields changed drastically.
In 2021, year one of the SRX, only one part-time driver was full-time in NASCAR or IndyCar, and that was Hailie Deegan. Even looking at the guest drivers, Chase Elliott was the only full-time NASCAR driver of that list. That’s a total of only 2 of 20 (10 percent) drivers.
Fast-forward to 2023, and 11 of 27 (41 percent) drivers were full-time in NASCAR or IndyCar. The series evolved to including more current drivers, and not as many drivers that were retired or semi-retired. It’s fair to say that, particularly the participants in the series, did not fit Evernham’s original vision.
Where Things Went South
Evernham gave some insight into the split between him and those involved with the SRX. It seems there was a disagreement about what the path forward was on the series.
“At the end of the year when there’s no moving forward financially or things like that, you have to have a hard conversation with the partners like, wait a minute, this is what we agreed on. This is what I think it’s going to take to be successful, and, at that time, the other partners felt like it was going to take something else for it to be successful or they could be successful a different way. I didn’t want to do that, so I said, okay well you probably need to have somebody else run this then because I don’t believe that that path that you’re going will be successful, so I stepped aside and you unfortunately it’s not been successful.”
As we went into earlier, the series did take a much different direction in the last few seasons. It went where Evernham seemed like he did not want it to go. He doesn’t seem to be happy that the SRX has failed after just three seasons either.
He went into more detail about where the SRX and he split off. Specifically, he talked about the driver rosters and the heavy emphasis on NASCAR.
“I think once it got off to being a bunch of current cup guys, it became something much different than I started.
When we wrote about what went wrong with the SRX back in January, we noted how much more of an emphasis there was on NASCAR as the series progressed. NASCAR drivers made up 37 percent of the grid in 2021, compared to 71 percent of the grid in 2023. It did take a turn, and it took one that Evernham did not want.
Evernham was not happy about having to leave SRX. He described the scenario he went through as similar to a breakup, along with knowing that the path the series was going down wasn’t going to work long-term.
I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t, I mean it’s like watching watching your old girlfriend going on a date with somebody else, and you keep thinking man that that’s not going to be good for you…It did bother me to see some of the changes that were made and some of the things they said, some of the things that it was becoming that we had never intended it to do. I watched some of the turns that they made, and I thought to myself ‘it’s just not going to make it’ and unfortunately they didn’t.”
Frankly, Evernham was seemingly proven right at the end of the day. The SRX ended up failing after just three seasons.
Would it have succeeded if they followed the original vision Evernham had? We won’t know ultimately, but, it doesn’t seem that Evernham took any joy in seeing the series fall either.
Will the Series Ever Return?
Earnhardt Jr. directly asked Evernham if the series would ever make a return. Evernham did provide a slightly optimistic outlook on the future of the SRX and series like it.
“I think there’s a place for a series like that if it’s done properly, and there’s a business case. That business case has to be really looked at, and I don’t think you can go from point A to point D like a rocket ship. You have to go B, C, and D. I think that there’s 100% a place for something like what IROC was or SRX was that is a form of Motorsports entertainment.”
Now that Evernham has bought IROC, it seems the wheels are already turning for a potential new SRX or IROC. It may not come anytime soon, but, it does not seem that the hopes of a series like this are dead yet.
The SRX went down a path that Ray Evernham did not want it to go down, and it ended up failing. Would it have succeeded if they stayed the course? We may never know.
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This year, Duane Howard will return to full-time action with the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco on the NJ Quality Drywall South Region.
The Oley, Pa., native, a standout racer and past champion at Grandview Speedway, and his team owner Butch Getz have paired together since the 2021 season, and now for the first-time will chase the full South Region.
“I’m having a great time racing with Butch and his family,” Howard proclaimed. “Everything is family oriented and I’m just really enjoying racing with them.
“On top of that, he gives me all the best equipment to go racing.”
Howard has a storied career across Northeast Modified racing, including several track championships at numerous facilities throughout his career.
With all his success, Howard has just one STSS win to his credit, coming at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway in August of 2017 when he drove for Norm Hansell in the iconic No. 357.
Now, in year four as a team, Howard and Getz are set to take their No. 15G on the road chasing the $15,000 NJ Quality Drywall South Region championship.
“I cut back and focused on the weekly racing because that is what made the most sense for our team,” Howard explained of his reduced schedule. “I definitely did miss racing with the STSS and all the big races.
“I think that makes you better as a team also, so I definitely missed it.”
Howard and team acquired a Kevlar big-block engine from Glenn Hyneman over the off-season. Howard can’t wait to put it to use.
“I love big-block racing and racing on the bigger tracks,” he explained. “I wanted to do some more racing this year and with the big-block now we can go to places like Port Royal (Pa.), Georgetown, and Delmar (Delaware) and compete.
“I loved racing at places like the big track at Bridgeport (N.J.) so I’m really chomping at the bit to get racing at Georgetown and Port Royal.”
Despite the years away from the STSS, Howard has no doubt he and his team can still run up front.
“I think we can get a win or two and hover around the top five in points,” he stated. “I think that’s a realistic goal for us and we can definitely do it.”
As far as the chances of seeing Howard chase some North races? He says that’s still up in the air.
“We’ll play it by ear,” he proclaimed. “Our bread and butter is the weekly racing at home but if we’re competing and feel like it’s something we can do, it’s definitely something we’ll look at as a possibility.”
Howard’s new season did not get off to a good season. He was not injured but his race car was busted up on Friday at Port Royal Speedway.
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Ernie Saxton is an auto racing contributor for MediaNews Group. He co-founded the Eastern Motorsports Press Association, served as public relations director for Grandview Speedway for 47 years, and is in multiple halls of fame for his promotion and journalism related to the sport. He has announced races at more than 100 tracks, and he is the only person to have announced a race at Madison Square Garden. Email him at ESaxton144@aol.com.
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