By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor
(SRX)—Drivers in the six-race made-for-TV Superstar Racing Experience Series have given Missouri racing fans an energetic preview of what to expect in three weeks when they race at a local track a few miles south of St. Louis.
Series co-founder Tony Stewart was steaming after the second heat of the weekend race at South Boston, Virginia and told his fellow drivers “Uncle Tony” was “about ready to get a dose of it that they don’t want…I know every dirty trick and got it in my bag…I’m done playing nice with everybody…Anybody who touches me, I’m touching back times five.”
Trans-Am racer Ernie Francis Jr., set off Stewart by bumping him to the inside as both were trying to avoid a spinning Paul Tracy in the second heat. But there was plenty of other bumping and banging with INDYCAR driver Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tracy bumping each other into the wall and Michael Waltrip getting into it with RHR in another bumping incident. Waltrip and Tracy couldn’t finish the race.
In the final, Stewart bumped leader Marco Andretti several times before getting past him for the win. Andretti later spun out of contention while racing against runner-up Greg Biffle.
Stewart said after the race it’s time for a “dad talk” with the other drivers who have taken some bad habits from their regular series’ to the SRX short-track races. Among other concerns for him is the limited number of cars available for the remaining four races. About half of the cars need significant repairs before they can be shipped out Wednesday for the next race in Stafford Connecticut. The cars are identically prepared for each race.
The SRX show comes to Missouri on July 16th with a race at the I-55 Speedway at Pevely. The track is owned by NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader who will be the “guest” driver for the night.
(NASCAR)—Chase Elliott’s long day’s journey into the Nashville night has given him his second win of the year and boosted his points lead over Ross Chastain.
Elliott had to wait out two interruptions because of lightning near the track—the second delay stretching to more than two hours because heavy rain was included—before speeding into the lead with 39 laps to go and then holding off Kurt Busch by a half-second.
He joins Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and William Byron as two-time winners this year. Elliott stayed out on old tires during the last caution period with seven laps to go. Several challengers gambled that pitting for fresh tires would give them the grip to catch Elliott, but the strategy backfired when the race was restarted with only four laps left, not nearly enough time for them to catch him.
Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Chastain took the rest of the top-five positions.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch led 250 of the 300 laps but were among those who gambled during the last caution while Elliott and Kurt Busch and eight other drivers stayed out. Hamlin, who led a race-high 114 laps, could only get back to sixth. Kyle Busch, who led 54 laps, made it back to 21st and Truex, who led 62 laps, was 22nd.
Lightning in the area stopped the race the first time for more than an hour after the 41st lap. The checkered flag didn’t fall until after 10 p.m., because of red-flag time totaling three hours, eight minutes.
(INDYCAR and F1)—INDYCAR returns to action July 3 on the Mid-Ohio road course. Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson head into the race as the championship points leader with teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden trailing.
Formula 1 runs the British Grand Prix at Silverstone with Max Verstappen, winner of six of the nine races so far this year well ahead in points.
(Photo credits: SRX and Bob Priddy at WWTR)