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Tag: Camping World SRX Series

  • Chase Elliott wins SRX season finale, Tony Stewart claims championship at Nashville

    Chase Elliott wins SRX season finale, Tony Stewart claims championship at Nashville

    Chase Elliott, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, held off Hall of Famer Tony Stewart Saturday night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway to win the finale of the inaugural Camping World SRX Series season.

    “I had a ball. I got to race against two of my heroes,” Elliott said. “I got to race against Dad there throughout the race and those are moments I will cherish forever. Just super thankful to be here.”

    He also commented on how competitive the racing was between him and his dad throughout much of the 77-lap feature event.

    “I don’t know who lit a fire under him,” he said, smiling. “I had not seen that in him in years. It was amazing and a lot of fun. I thought it was going to be between he and I. I think he just got a little high into one and missed that restart. Other than that, it was so much fun.”

    Bill Elliott won the first heat race, leading all but three laps with Chase behind him in second. The finish positions were inverted for Heat Race 2. Helio Castroneves took the heat win as Bill Elliott finished sixth and Chase Elliott placed eighth.

    The lineup for the feature was based on the finishing positions in the two heat races. Bill Elliott started first with Chase Elliott in fourth place, but by Lap 32, Chase Elliott was on his dad’s bumper. He took the lead on Lap 55 and Bill Elliott fell back to third. From that point, the battle was on between Chase Elliott and Stewart, who had started fifth but worked his way toward the front to challenge for the win. Elliott was able to maintain the lead to score the victory at the .596-mile oval in Nashville.

    Stewart clinched the SRX Series championship during the second heat race and finished second in the feature.

    “How could you ask for more than to finish between two Elliotts?” Stewart said. “That’s pretty badass in itself, and we really appreciate NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports for letting Chase come run with us. It means a lot to us, it means a lot to Bill.”

    Bill Elliott finished third after a disappointing final restart but described the race as “cool.”

    “I’ve raced here before and I kind of had an idea of what I needed, and I think that helped as much as anything. It was such a cool deal to be able to come here and do this and have a crowd like this.

    “For me, I finally got what I wanted out of a racecar and I felt good out there. I thought, I’m on Medicare and I’m trying to keep up with these young kids. You’re trying to learn and gain, and every time you get into a racecar you learn something, you learn from your mistakes. Not being in one in a long time and kind of making a mistake in turn one, not cleaning up my tires good, that was it.

    “To me, it was a great night. My hat’s off to everyone at SRX for what they did and I’m proud of those guys. I just hope that we, as a racing community, can embrace this and learn from it, especially what we saw here tonight at the Nashville Fairgrounds. I haven’t seen a crowd like this here in many, many years.”

    Stewart, a co-founder of the Camping World SRX Series, echoed Elliott’s sentiments.

    “This series had every variable that you wanted and looked for. You had good racing, you had different winners, you had awesome crew chiefs, awesome ringers, awesome local track champions. To have heroes and villains in the series, I don’t know how you can ask for more than that.”

    Feature Results (77 laps):

    1. Chase Elliott (Started 4th; led laps 53, 55-77)
    2. Tony Stewart (Started 5th; completed 77/77 laps)
    3. Bill Elliott (Started 1st; led laps 1-52, 54; completed 77/77 laps)
    4. Bobby Labonte (Started 2nd; completed 77/77 laps)
    5. Paul Tracy (Started 7th; completed 77/77 laps)
    6. Ernie Francis Jr. (Started 3rd; completed 77/77 laps)
    7. Michael Waltrip (Started 10th; completed 77/77 laps)
    8. Tony Kanaan (Started 8th; completed 77/77 laps)
    9. Helio Castroneves (Started 6th; completed 77/77 laps)
    10. Hailie Deegan (Started 11th; completed 77/77 laps)
    11. Marco Andretti (Started 9th; completed 77/77 laps)
    12. Willy T. Ribbs (Started 12th; completed 56/77 laps)

    Camping World SRX Series FINAL Championship Standings:

    1. Tony Stewart (237 points)
    2. Ernie Francis Jr. (192 points, -45)
    3. Bobby Labonte (182 points, -55)
    4. Marco Andretti (171 points, -66)
    5. Helio Castroneves (164 points, -73)
    6. Tony Kanaan (162 points, -75)
    7. Paul Tracy (121 points, -116)
    8. Michael Waltrip (111 points, -126)
    9. Bill Elliott (105 points, -132)
    10. Willy T. Ribbs (67 points, -170)

  • Marco Andretti scores elusive SRX win at Slinger Speedway

    Marco Andretti scores elusive SRX win at Slinger Speedway

    In a one-lap dash to the finish, Marco Andretti grabbed his first Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) victory at Slinger Speedway in the fifth of six races for the series.

    Andretti, a 16-year veteran of the NTT INDYCAR Series, was thrilled with the win.

    “Honestly, I know it’s not a popular win, but I tried to be as clean as possible,” he said. . “I’m so proud of him (Luke 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.”

    Prior to the race, Andretti was awarded the pole and stayed up front until the caution on Lap 44. The Tennessee native swapped the lead multiple times with the “Local All-Star,” 17-year-old, Fenhaus, who won the 42nd Slinger Nationals Tuesday night.

    Following the first caution for the green-flag lap limit, Fenhaus and the Knoxville Raceway winner, Tony Stewart, battled side-by-side for the top spot. But, with the track being a half-mile, Stewart and Fenhaus couldn’t clear each other until the next yellow flew at Lap 92 as Stewart had just cleared Fenhaus for the lead.

    After the second green-flag lap limit caution, the restart came with 45 laps to go, but the race was slowed once again. The No. 15 of Michael Waltrip had trouble off Turn 2 and brought his car behind the wall.

    Two more cautions flags were flown with 15 laps and 12 laps to go. Following the Lap 138 caution for the contact between Greg Biffle and Helio Castroneves, Fenhaus was a man on a mission. It appeared as though he was on his way to winning once more at the famous track in Wisconsin.

    Unfortunately for the local favorite, Fenhaus would have to wait one more time, as the final yellow came out with one lap to go when Hailie Deegan turned Paul Tracy in Turn 4. Tracy, Waltrip, Castroneves, and Willy T. Ribbs were also involved in the melee.

    The yellow flag set up a green-white-checkered finish with two laps to go with Fenhaus and Andretti on the front row. Andretti got the advantage on Fenhaus going into Turn 1 and went on to win the SRX race in his fifth start.

    Fenhaus, who was strong throughout most of the night, leading 18 times for 92 laps, came home in second place.

    “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.”

    “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.”

    Stewart, the championship points leader, rounded out the podium finishing in third.

    “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.”

    Official Results following the SRX event at Slinger Speedway:

    1. Marco Andretti
    2. Luke Fenhaus
    3. Tony Stewart
    4. Hailie Deegan
    5. Bobby Labonte
    6. Ernie Francis Jr
    7. Willy T. Ribbs
    8. Greg Biffle
    9. Bill Elliott
    10. Helio Castroneves
    11. Paul Tracy
    12. Michael Waltrip

    Tony Stewart continues to lead the SRX Championship Points over Francis Jr. by 38 points.

    Up Next: The SRX Racing Series will head into their final race of the season at the Nashville Fairgrounds Saturday, July 17 at 8 p.m. ET live on CBS.

  • Ernie Francis Jr. fends off Labonte for SRX win at Lucas Oil Raceway

    Ernie Francis Jr. fends off Labonte for SRX win at Lucas Oil Raceway

    After multiple late-race cautions, 23-year-old Trans Am racing driver and young SRX standout, Ernie Francis Jr., fended off Bobby Labonte following a late restart.

    Francis won over Labonte by 0.649 seconds to take home his first career Superstar Racing Experience victory.

    “Me and Scott Speed went at it for a few laps there, side-to-side, and I didn’t know how that was going to end up. I ended up with a few donuts on the car, but man, couldn’t be happier with it, super incredible. I want to thank everybody from SRX, Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart for giving me this opportunity.”

    “I was playing around with gearing trying to see what would work,” Francis said. “Second gear was spinning off of turn four as I tried to roll through third, and that last restart I got really sideways, but I stayed in it. I didn’t want to lift there. And I thought, man, when I saw that I cleared Labonte there – that was a good feeling knowing I just had to get through a few turns cleanly and I just ran my race and took it home. This is going to make that drive back to Road America a lot better.”

    Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis was the fourth event on the SRX Racing Series schedule. As usual, there were two heat races that lasted 12 minutes each.

    This week, “The Ringer” was former NASCAR star Scott Speed. Speed started on the pole and led all the laps to pick up the first heat race win. Tony Kanaan, Michael Waltrip, Tony Stewart and “Local All-Star” Bobby Santos III finished fifth in the heat.

    When the field was inverted for heat 2, Willy T. Ribbs started up front with Paul Tracy alongside him. However, Ribbs and Tracy wouldn’t last long at the front as Castroneves took the lead on Lap 5. The 2021 Indy 500 winner went on to lead the rest of the way and take home his first heat race win in the SRX Series. Labonte, Stewart, Francis and Andretti were the top five. This was the first time in SRX history, there would be no on-track incidents during the first two heats.

    Then came the main event which was a 76-lap feature with a unique twist added. Caution laps would count until there were six laps to go, although that would eventually change toward the end of the race.

    Following the green flag, Francis took the lead on Lap 11 from Scott Speed going into Turn 1. Francis had the dominant car as the Davie, Florida native maintained the lead through three cautions on Lap 25, Lap 48 and Lap 66.

    The field lined up for the restart with seven laps to go, but as soon Francis and the field got to the backstretch, Tony Kanaan went spinning around and flat-spotted his tires creating another caution with six laps to go.

    With the restart at two laps to go, Francis once again was able to get the lead briefly before there was more contact behind him. Santos spun out Tracy on the backstretch while Indy 500 winner Castroneves retaliated against Scott Speed by spinning Speed around after Speed had gotten into Castroneves one lap earlier.

    For the final time of the night, Francis had to hit his marks as he had racing veteran and 2000 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Bobby Labonte right beside him on the restart. Fortunately, Francis kept Labonte on the back bumper of his car and went on to claim the victory after numerous restarts.

    “All night, my car was really good,” Labonte said. “I got a little too tight at the end, and then Scott and Ernie got together and I was having to decide whether to go high or go low. I thought they were going to wreck, and then I was three-wide. Scott was sideways, somewhere, and we might have touched, and I got by him. We ran well from there. He was always dogging me off the bottom of (turn) four and he always seemed to be right there on my left rear. And then, that last green-white-checkered when it was just me and Ernie, my car was just too tight and I didn’t want to get into him too hard – just needed to keep it together and bring it home.”

    Speed was battling hard with Castroneves late in the going when he got turned around during the last yellow. Despite being turned, Speed rebounded to finish third on the podium.

    “Man, we had such a good battle, me and Francis,” said Speed, who won the first heat race. “We were definitely the best two cars and we were playing cat-and-mouse with our tires, saving them. And then, with 10 to go, it was ‘game on.’ We were both going to charge and we had such an awesome side-by-side race. I just got a little bit too loose underneath him with a couple laps to go and fell back, lost a couple of spots. But it was a great race. I had so much fun.

    “We came out of turn four and I got into Helio (Castroneves) a little bit. I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m having a good time here regardless of where I finish. But I’m happy for a guy like Ernie because for a kid like that, we’ve all had our careers in motor racing, but stuff like this can help him establish himself and that’s the big picture here.”

    The SRX victory was big enough for Francis as it caught the attention of series sponsor Marcus Lemonis, who hinted at an opportunity for Francis in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ride if Francis is interested.

    Francis will now make the five-hour drive back to Road America for the Trans Am TA2 event at 8 a.m. CT.

    Labonte, Speed, Marco Andretti and Santos rounded out the top five.

    Official Results following the SRX Racing Series event at Lucas Oil Raceway:

    1. Ernie Francis Jr
    2. Bobby Labonte
    3. Scott Speed
    4. Marco Andretti
    5. Bobby Santos III
    6. Michael Waltrip
    7. Tony Stewart
    8. Paul Tracy
    9. Helio Castroneves
    10. Tony Kanaan
    11. Willy T. Ribbs
    12. Bill Elliott

    Championship Points Standings

    1.     Tony Stewart (160 points)

    2.     Ernie Francis Jr. (130 points, -30)

    3.     Helio Castroneves (120 points, -40)

    4.     Bobby Labonte (115 points, -45)

    5.     Marco Andretti (111 points, -49)

    6.     Michael Waltrip (86 points, -74)

    7.     Paul Tracy (83 points, -77)

    8.     Tony Kanaan (65 points, -95)

    9.     Bill Elliott (52 points, -108)

    10.   Willy T. Ribbs (45 points, -115)

    Up Next: The Superstar Racing Experience will continue their summer stretch by visiting Slinger Speedway Saturday night, July 17, live on CBS.