SRX Racing returns to Stafford Speedway for the second week of Thursday Night Thunder
Torrential rains led to massive flooding throughout the state of Vermont last week. President Biden’s State of Emergency declaration prompted SRX Racing officials to make the difficult decision of relocating the season’s second race. Thunder Road Speed Bowl in Barre, VT will have a 2024 race to make up for not getting to host Race 2 in 2023. Stafford Speedway in Connecticut offered the use of their facilities for the second week in a row so racing could continue.
This week’s lineup featured Hailie Deegan, Tony Stewart, Paul Tracy, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Ken Schrader, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, Bobby Labonte, Marco Andretti, Ryan Preece, Kenny Wallace, and Tony Kanaan. In addition to having one extra driver, SRX racing officials made some other adjustments. Heat Laps were increased to 25 to give fans more racing to watch. Adjustments were made to braking systems to address concerns from last week of overheating leading to brake failure. Some of these adjustments were great; some needed a little more work.
Deegan won the draw for the pole for Heat 1. Just like last week, drivers held nothing back during the heat races. Andretti and Keselowski got together early in Heat 1. Then Suarez and Biffle find one another for another caution. With the “25 laps or 12 minutes” rule, Heat 1 ends after 12 minutes with Stewart taking the lead.
An inverted field started Heat 2 with Wallace on the pole. The rest of the lineup saw Keselowski, Newman, Andretti, Schrader, Labonte, Kanaan, Preece, Deegan, Suarez, Tracy, Stewart, and Biffle lining up two-by-two. Keselowski takes the lead from Wallace while Preece moves his way through the field to 2nd by the time the heat is halfway done. A little Schrader/Tracy drama had Tracy going around (and around and around). Heat 2 ends with Keselowski in first.
Preece had the best average over both heats, so he held the pole for the Main Event. Lined up beside Preece was Suarez, followed by Stewart and Kanaan, Keselowski and Newman, Andretti and Tracy, Schrader and Labonte, Deegan and Wallace, and Biffle in the final row in a backup car. The most anticipated part of the event came from Darrell Waltrip’s signature command to race, though slightly adjusted for the drivers in this event. “Boogity, boogity, let’s go racing, drivers!” filled the airwaves and warmed the hearts of everyone listening. With those words, the racing was on.
Suarez, Preece, and Kanaan fought fiercely for the top position through the first 25 laps. A competition caution was thrown, which was fortunate for several drivers as brakes were starting to cause problems again. Labonte came to pit road with his right front rotor “a little on fire.” Wallace took the opportunity to make some adjustments as he had radioed the team that he was too tight on the track. After going green for just a portion of a lap, the caution flew again because Wallace was off-pace due to a throttle issue. Suarez, Preece, and Kanaan continued to battle and swap around Top 3 positions. At the halfway mark, Preece had led 34 of 40 laps and looked to be the favorite to win the race.
Just a few laps later, Preece got into the dirt going too low in a turn and got loose, opening up the inside for Kanaan to come around him. Meanwhile, Newman is starting to make moves up through the field, reminiscent of his drive through the field last week that surely would have led to a victory had lightning not shortened the race. At 25 to go, Preece begins to fall back in the pack. Newman goes around Preece with 21 to go, then drives past Suarez only 3 laps later. With 13 to go, Preece rolls down pit road and parks it for the night with no brakes.
The Final Ten Laps
With 10 to go, Newman has driven around the field and is in second with Kanaan firmly in his sights. It’s only a matter of time before he overtakes Kanaan too. Behind the leaders, Tracy goes high in a turn and Deegan goes to the inside. Unfortunately, Tracy came back down and he and Deegan collide, sending Tracy into a spin that pulls a caution flag. The field goes back to green and Kanaan suddenly hit the wall due to brake failure. Newman took the lead and held it while Tracy hit Keselowski due to brake failure and Keselowski goes into the wall for a caution. Suarez moves inside Newman with 8 to go and Tracy hits the wall behind the field. Newman and Suarez battle hard for the lead until 6 to go. Newman gets inside Suarez for the lead and keeps it to the checkered flag.
Preece and Kanaan were heavily favored for tonight’s race, but Newman is the one who hoisted the trophy at the end of the night. Newman is now a 2-time Stafford SRX winner (and arguable should have been a 3-time winner if not for lightning last week). Newman’s victory lane interview included a wish for the rain that vexed him last week to travel to North Carolina and water the crops. Stewart’s post-race interview included a promise for retribution, just what you’d expect from Smoke.
Once again, SRX Racing delivered quality racing entertainment for the fans. If you’re not watching yet, you are missing out! Catch SRX Racing Thursday Night Thunder on ESPN Thursdays at 9:00. Next week’s race comes from Motor Mile Speedway in Pulaski County, Virginia.
If you’d like to help the flood victims in Vermont, donations can be made to Vermont Community Foundation (vermontcf.org), American Red Cross (redcross.org), Vermont Farm Fund (vtfarmfund.org), or several other non-profit organizations.
