Superstar Racing Experience: 2022 Season Preview

Image via Superstar Racing Experience

The second season of the Superstar Racing Experience kicks off this weekend with a refreshed driver and track lineup across its six-race 2022 schedule. If you missed last season and are just discovering the series, you’re in for a treat—where else can you watch some of the most dominant personalities in the sport do battle on short tracks all summer long? Check out our SRX 101 below, and tune into CBS on Saturday nights to watch it all go down!

What is SRX?

NASCAR legends Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham partnered to create the Superstar Racing Experience for the 2021 race season. The six-week event broadcasts live on Saturday nights on CBS and sees some of the biggest names in racing—primarily past champions from NASCAR and IndyCar—compete against rising stars and local heroes in equally prepared cars. The cars are drawn randomly before each race, although drivers retain their respective colors and car numbers for easier identification from race to race.

The concept is similar to the former International Race of Champions that ran into the early 2000s; Evernham used to work for IROC, and Stewart was its 2006 champion. But while IROC frequently paired its events with other series and ran on larger speedways and road courses, SRX runs exclusively on paved and dirt short tracks where it normally serves as one of the biggest events of the year.

What’s the schedule?

This year’s SRX calendar features four new tracks and two returning ones from last season. This time, the four pavement tracks are stacked in the first four races, and the two dirt rounds will serve as the fifth and sixth events.

·      June 18: Five Flags Speedway

·      June 25: South Boston Speedway

·      July 2: Stafford Motor Speedway

·      July 9: Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway

·      July 16: I-55 Raceway

·      July 23: Sharon Speedway

Who’s driving this year?

As with last season, SRX will mostly consist of full-time drivers, with a “local star” car and a handful of other drivers rotating through. Most races will continue to consist of 12 cars, but Nashville and Sharon will each have a 13th car. Greg Biffle will jump to full-time status for 2022, while 2021 full-timers Ernie Francis Jr., Helio Castroneves, and Bill Elliott will switch to part-time.

·      Full-Time: Marco Andretti, Greg Biffle, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Paul Tracy, Michael Waltrip

·      Five Flags: Bill Elliott, Ernie Francis Jr., Tony Kanaan, Bubba Pollard

·      South Boston: Helio Castroneves, Ernie Francis Jr., Tony Kanaan, Peyton Sellers

·      Stafford: Helio Castroneves, Hailie Deegan, Bill Elliott, Matt Hirschman

·      Nashville: Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Matt Kenseth, Josef Newgarden, Cole Williams

·      Pevely: Hailie Deegan, Tony Kanaan, Matt Kenseth, Ken Schrader

·      Sharon: Dave Blaney, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Tony Kanaan, Matt Kenseth

What can we expect from the racing?

Each SRX event features a pair of heat races and a feature, with points awarded in all three. The first heat starting lineup is done by random draw, the second is an inversion of the first heat finishing order, and the feature starting order is determined by drivers’ average finishes in those two heats. From there, it’s off to a 100-lap feature (50 on the dirt ovals) with a “halftime” for vehicle adjustments and unlimited green-white-checkered finish attempts to determine a winner.

Tony Stewart ran away with the inaugural SRX title, but with an even stronger driver lineup this year, don’t expect that to happen a second time. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Ryan Newman come into the series off full-time rides last year with premier IndyCar and NASCAR teams, Bobby Labonte and Marco Andretti finished third and fourth in points last year, and Greg Biffle won a heat in each of his SRX starts last season.

The biggest challenge for drivers chasing the points title is how well the ringers and part-timers typically finish. In all six rounds last year, at least one of the podium finishers was someone who wasn’t running full-time, starting with ringer Doug Coby and Biffle at Stafford. With active NASCAR and IndyCar stars like Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Josef Newgarden due to drive a round each, consistency will be incredibly valuable.