Twelve stars in identical cars they drew at random, ninety minutes on a half-mile oval, live on network television on a Saturday night. It ran three seasons, and then the ratings came in.
The Superstar Racing Experience — officially the Camping World SRX Series — was an American short-track stock car series that ran three seasons, from 2021 to 2023, and then folded. Founded by Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag and George Pyne and announced on 13 July 2020, it put twelve or thirteen drivers from different disciplines into identical cars designed by Evernham and handed out by random draw before each race, over ninety minutes of racing on half-mile dirt and asphalt ovals. It was built for television: CBS aired the first two seasons in primetime on Saturday nights and ESPN the third on Thursdays. Eighteen races were run in all, won by eleven different drivers. The 2024 season was postponed that January and never held.
On 13 July 2020 it was reported that a new all-star short-track series was preparing a 2021 debut. Its founders were Tony Stewart, the former NASCAR driver and team owner; Ray Evernham, the former NASCAR crew chief and team owner; George Pyne, a former NASCAR executive; and the sports agent Sandy Montag. Management was split between New York City and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Stewart described the idea by pointing at IROC — identical cars, an all-star cast. What SRX added was a deliberate contrast with NASCAR: shorter races on shorter tracks, and a driver paired with a different crew chief at random every round. Nobody owned a car and nobody had an engineering advantage to defend.
Camping World bought the naming rights on 1 June 2021 and the series debuted eleven days later, on 12 June, in two-hour primetime windows on the main CBS network on Saturday nights. Don Hawk was named chief executive in January 2022, and that March Evernham said on Twitter that he was no longer running the series, though he stayed an investor.
The cars were Evernham’s own design, in concept while the series was still an idea, and built by Fury Race Cars. They ran naturally aspirated Ilmor 396 cubic-inch V8s — the same engine used in the ARCA Menards Series — with Edelbrock components, Performance Friction brakes and Goodyear tyres.
One car for everyone, drawn from a hat, over a race day written to fit a television slot rather than adapted to one.
Every car was the same, designed by Ray Evernham and built by Fury Race Cars. Drivers were assigned one by random draw before each race, and each car kept its colour all season so that viewers could follow it. Nobody owned a car and nobody brought an engineering advantage.
A race day was two twelve-minute heats and a feature inside a ninety-minute window, with a halftime break for adjustments instead of pit stops. The first heat's grid came from a random draw and the second was the inversion of the first — so being quick early cost you.
Half-mile ovals, deliberately: Eldora, Knoxville, Stafford, Slinger, Nashville Fairgrounds, Five Flags, Sharon, I-55, South Boston, Motor Mile, Berlin and two different Lucas Oil circuits. Features ran 100 laps on paved ovals, 150 at Slinger and 50 on dirt.
Alongside the full-season regulars, every round fielded a "Rocky Balboa" car for the local track champion and a "ringer" entry for a cameo. It worked: Doug Coby, Denny Hamlin and Jonathan Davenport each won the only SRX race they ever started, and Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch won both of theirs.
A random draw set the first heat's grid; the second was set by inverting the first heat's finishing order. They were fifteen minutes at the opening race of 2021 before being cut to twelve.
Starting order came from each driver's average finishing position across the two heats. One hundred laps on paved ovals, 150 at Slinger, 50 on dirt — with unlimited green-white-checker attempts.
The whole race day fitted a ninety-minute television window. There were no pit stops: a halftime break was the only chance to adjust the car, and the final lap began when the clock ran out and the leader crossed the line.
A driver who won both heats and the feature scored 49 points — the two heats together were worth about as much as the feature itself.
| Pos | Feature | Heat |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 25 | 12 |
| 2nd | 22 | 11 |
| 3rd | 20 | 10 |
| 4th | 18 | 9 |
| 5th | 16 | 8 |
| 6th | 14 | 7 |
| 7th | 12 | 6 |
| 8th | 10 | 5 |
| 9th | 8 | 4 |
| 10th | 6 | 3 |
| 11th | 4 | 2 |
| 12th | 2 | 1 |
| 13th | 1 | 1 |
In the opening race of 2022 at Five Flags Speedway, Marco Andretti was given a late order to pit and started the second heat twelfth instead of ninth. Three points were awarded to put those three positions back. He won the championship by two. Without the correction he would have finished on 192 and Ryan Newman on 193.
Points went to thirteen places, which was the size of most fields — twelve or thirteen cars started each race.
| Season | Races | Champion | Won by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6 | Tony Stewart | 45 points |
| 2022 | 6 | Marco Andretti | 2 points |
| 2023 | 6 | Ryan Newman | 45 points |
Eighteen races, every one of them on a half-mile oval in the United States, and eleven different winners. Stafford Motor Speedway was the only track to hold a round in all three seasons. Thunder Road SpeedBowl was on the 2023 schedule, lost its date to flooding, and was moved to a 2024 season that never ran.
On 13 July it was reported that a new all-star short-track series was preparing a 2021 debut, founded by Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag and George Pyne, with management split between New York and Charlotte.
Camping World took the naming rights on 1 June and the series debuted on 12 June in two-hour Saturday night windows on the main CBS network. Tony Stewart won the first championship. A video game, SRX: The Game, had shipped in May.
Don Hawk was named chief executive in January. In March, Ray Evernham said he was no longer running the series but remained an investor. Marco Andretti won the title by two points.
The third season moved to ESPN and to Thursday nights, reviving the network's Thursday Night Thunder branding, used from 1989 to 2002 for primetime short-track racing. Ryan Newman won it by 45 points.
The season was postponed on 11 January with five of six races scheduled. Skip Barber Racing School announced in March that it had bought the series; the sale fell through in August and SRX management filed a lawsuit.
GMS Race Cars bought the fleet in September.
Conceived while the series was still an idea in July 2020 and built by Fury Race Cars: a high rear spoiler, plenty of power and little downforce, so the driver had to work for it.
A naturally aspirated Ilmor 396 cubic-inch V8 — the same unit used in the ARCA Menards Series — with Edelbrock components and Performance Friction brakes.
Drivers were handed a car by random draw before each race, and the crew chief they were paired with changed at random too. Each car kept its colour for the whole season so television audiences could follow it.
Two heats, a halftime and a feature inside one primetime window — a race day written for a television slot rather than adapted to fit one.
The most successful driver in the series he helped create: five of its eighteen race wins, ten podiums and six heat wins from eighteen starts, and not a single retirement. He won the first championship in 2021 by 45 points, and he was one of only three drivers — with Bobby Labonte and Marco Andretti — to start every SRX race ever held.
Five wins and ten podiums from eighteen starts with no retirements, and a founder of the series. Took the first title by 45 points.
One win from eighteen starts, and the championship by two points after an administrative correction at the opening round.
Two wins and six podiums from twelve starts, and the last SRX champion.
Started two SRX races and won both of them.
Started two and won two.
Won the only SRX race he entered — as did Doug Coby and Jonathan Davenport.
One of four drivers to have won the Indianapolis 500 four times, and in SRX one race win and four heat wins from twelve starts. Tony Kanaan, Paul Tracy, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden raced too.
Fifteen starts, one podium and five retirements — more than any other driver managed in the whole three seasons.
Tony Stewart compared the concept to IROC: identical cars, an all-star cast. What SRX added was the contrast with NASCAR — shorter races on shorter tracks, and a driver paired with a different crew chief at random every round. It was a series designed around removing every advantage a team could buy.
At Five Flags in 2022, Marco Andretti was given a late order to pit and lined up twelfth rather than ninth for the second heat. Three points were awarded to restore the positions. He won the season by two — so the correction decided the title. Without it Ryan Newman would have taken it by one point.
Two seasons of primetime CBS on Saturday nights, then a move to ESPN on Thursdays. In January 2024 the season was postponed for "market factors"; Ray Evernham later told Forbes that the third season's television ratings were the real reason. A series written around a broadcast slot had little left when the slot went away.
Every round was a half-mile dirt or asphalt oval: Eldora, Knoxville, Stafford, Slinger, Nashville Fairgrounds and Lucas Oil Raceway in 2021; Five Flags, South Boston, Stafford, Nashville Fairgrounds, I-55 and Sharon in 2022; Stafford, Eldora, Motor Mile, Berlin and Lucas Oil Speedway in 2023. Stafford Motor Speedway was the only track to hold a round in all three seasons.
An American short-track stock car series, officially the Camping World SRX Series, that ran three seasons from 2021 to 2023. It put stars from NASCAR, IndyCar and other disciplines into identical cars on half-mile ovals in ninety-minute primetime television races.
No. It ran eighteen races across 2021, 2022 and 2023. The 2024 season was postponed on 11 January 2024 and never held, and the series has not returned.
The 2024 season was postponed for what the series called "market factors". Ray Evernham later told Forbes that the primary factor was poor television ratings for the third season, which had moved from CBS on Saturday nights to ESPN on Thursdays.
Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag and George Pyne. It was announced on 13 July 2020 and debuted on 12 June 2021.
Tony Stewart in 2021 by 45 points, Marco Andretti in 2022 by two, and Ryan Newman in 2023 by 45.
Identical cars designed by Ray Evernham and built by Fury Race Cars, with naturally aspirated Ilmor 396 cubic-inch V8 engines — the same engine used in the ARCA Menards Series — Edelbrock components, Performance Friction brakes and Goodyear tyres.
No, and that was the point. A driver was handed a car by random draw before each race and paired with a different crew chief at random. Each car kept its colour for the season so viewers could follow it.
Two twelve-minute heat races and then a feature, all inside a ninety-minute window. The first heat's grid came from a random draw, the second inverted the first heat's result, and the feature grid came from each driver's average across the two. A halftime break replaced pit stops.
Features were 100 laps on paved ovals, 150 laps at Slinger Speedway and 50 laps on dirt, with unlimited green-white-checker attempts.
Half-mile dirt and asphalt short tracks in the United States — Eldora, Knoxville, Stafford, Slinger, Nashville Fairgrounds, Five Flags, Sharon, I-55, South Boston, Motor Mile, Berlin and two Lucas Oil circuits. Stafford held a round in all three seasons.
Tony Stewart, with five of the eighteen. Eleven different drivers won a race.
An entry reserved at every round for the local track champion, alongside a "ringer" car for a notable cameo driver. Both worked: three drivers won the only SRX race they ever started.
CBS carried the 2021 and 2022 seasons in two-hour primetime windows on Saturday nights. The 2023 season moved to ESPN on Thursdays, reviving the network's Thursday Night Thunder branding from 1989 to 2002.
Yes — SRX: The Game, developed by Monster Games, released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam on 28 May 2021.
Skip Barber Racing School announced in March 2024 that it had acquired the series, but that sale fell through in August and SRX management filed a lawsuit. GMS Race Cars bought the fleet of cars in September 2025.
Independent fan guide to a series that no longer runs. SRX held its last race in 2023 and its own website is no longer online, so figures here are final rather than current. Series, team and driver names belong to their respective rights holders.
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