, driver of the #, during the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on February 10, 2007 in Daytona, Florida.
SRX series won’t compete with NASCAR; Confederate flag banned at both
Shane Walters
Tony Stewart explains that his new short track racing series wasn’t launched to compete with NASCAR; Here’s a potential drivers list
Tony Stewart announced a new short track racing series on Monday.
The series has a list of asphalt and dirt tracks as potential venues. The cars are expected to be IROC style machines but different.
A tv deal has already been completed. The Saturday night events will be shown on CBS.
There will only be a handful of drivers and crew chiefs. The crew chiefs are expected to rotate between drivers at various races.
Drivers – The drivers haven’t been announced. However, the series is following a short list of drivers on twitter: Greg Biffle, Ken Block, Danica Patrick, Katherine Legge, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Paul Tracy and Jeff Gordon.
Tracks – The new series follows these tracks on twitter: Stafford Speedway, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Eldora Speedway and Lucas Oil Raceway.
Tony Stewart says his series isn’t to compete with NASCAR
Tony Stewart remains a co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing who fields cars in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series.
The announcement of the racing series comes in a time when fans have been distancing themselves from NASCAR. Or maybe the other way around, I’m not sure.
For more than a decade, NASCAR removed focus from short tracks, replacing them with larger speedways. The short track racing crowd was left stranded.
“We are not going head-to-head against NASCAR, we’re not running on the same nights as NASCAR,” Stewart said.
“It’s not meant to be competition for anybody. It’s meant to bring a product that’s a demand that the fans are asking for, fans want to see.
“This is a perfect opportunity for a lot of drivers like myself to be able to get back, compete against each other in a diverse style of racing.”
Confederate flag at SRX events
There’s been no hotter topic in recent weeks than that of the Confederate flag.
The flag can be seen at any short track south of New York. But, NASCAR now longer allows it. They banned the flag last month, which drew an uproar, specifically from the Southern core fans.
SRX plans to adapt the same policy.
“We are going to be an inclusive series with drivers and fans from diverse and multinational backgrounds. We will not condone activity or behavior that creates an unwelcoming or offensive environment for any of our fans or drivers,” SRX told told CNBC.
The statement added, “The presence of the confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry.”