Lucas Oil in Missouri had the honor of hosting the season finale for SRX this year. The dirt track held the 4th SRX race in the inaugural season, where Ernie Francis Jr claimed the main event. In addition to the 7 full-time drivers competing for the championship, guest drivers Jonathan Davenport, Helio Castroneves, Ernie Francis Jr, Clint Boywer, and Kenny Wallace joined the field to get down in the dirt.
After Governor Mike Parsons gave the start command, Allen Bestwick and Conor Daly were talking clinching scenarios for Ryan Newman. Starting 5th in Heat 1, Newman only needed to finish 3 places ahead of Tony Stewart to clinch the championship early in the night. Through Heat 1, it looked like Newman might have to battle to the end of Heat 2. Castroneves’s early contact cut his left front tire and forced an early pit for him. At the first caution on Lap 10, Bowyer had already moved up 6 spots. It seemed like Davenport would have some strong competition during the night. Meanwhile, Newman and Stewart battled for the championship. With 4 laps to go, Stewart got a little too loose in the dirt and spun himself around. That spin near the back of the field did not draw a caution as he was able to get himself straightened up and back racing. However, it was enough to give Newman the advantage he needed to drive away with the championship. Heat 2 and the Main would now become a battle between Stewart, defending champion Marco Andretti, and Brad Keselowski for 2nd and 3rd in the Championship.
With the championship decided, Heat 2 became all about earning a podium visit for the track. Davenport, a dirt Late Model champion from Blairsville, Georgia, was the only non-NASCAR driver at the track, but he was putting down the best lap times consistently. Since he won Heat 1, he started Heat 2 in the back of the pack. At the first caution on Lap 10, Davenport and Bowyer (who finished 1st and 3rd in Heat 1) had moved up 5 positions. Drivers found multiple lanes to wheel their way around the track, sometimes running as much as 5-wide. Davenport and Bowyer continued showcasing their skills around the track with Bowyer ending Heat 2 in 2nd and Davenport in 4th. Bobby Labonte took the win for Heat 2. But the most interesting part of Heat 2 was the Keselowski spin that looked just like Stewart’s spin from Heat 1, with one difference – Keselowski’s spin brought out a caution. For all the ways SRX is different from NASCAR (in good ways), this was not the comparison fans were looking for.
As per usual, the break between the Heats and the Main Event was filled with interviews in the garage. Marco Andretti spent his time working out math problems, calculating where he needed to finish the Main in order to take 2nd place in the Championship. Castroneves was the roving reporter, interviewing several drivers. He asked Bowyer for advice and was told “go where they’re not.” Sound advice, but Castroneves said “I have no idea what that means.” Kenny Wallace’s advice to Castroneves was no more helpful than Bowyer’s: “You’re a 4 time Indy 500 winner; I can’t tell you what to do.” Keselowski’s advice on track position was “decide if you want to be passed on the high side or the low side cuz I got passed on both sides and neither was fun.” Castroneves finally decided on his own method of racing, asking Allen Bestwick’s commitment to “if they start to throw blue [flag], tell them to throw the yellow.”
The Main Event saw the field lined up Davenport and Bowyer, Andretti and Labonte, Wallace and Schrader, Francis and Keselowski, Newman and Deegan, Stewart and Castroneves. Francis was expected to have a good night at the track but some late-race rubbin’ & racin’ damaged the left front fender, which wrapped and locked up the left front tire, so he finished in 11th. Most of the battle throughout the Main took place in 3rd or further back. Davenport was absolutely dominating the field so Fun Flag Cautions were thrown every 15 or 20 laps to get the field back up to where he was. To keep the at-home fans entertained while Davenport drove off, Tony Stewart held in-race conversations with both Ryan Newman and Ken Schrader.
In the last 10 laps, Davenport and Bowyer slid past one another several times in the same lap. In the last lap, Stewart passed Andretti, Keselowski got ahead of Bowyer, and then Andretti squeezed past Stewart in the final stretch to finish one spot – and more importantly, 3 championship points – ahead of Stewart. Davenport took the checkered flag after leading 90 of 90 laps in the Main. Newman took the Championship with Andretti & Keselowski tied at 45 points behind Newman. Congratulations to Ryan Newman on the SRX Championship!
Overall, SRX Season 3 has been an entertaining 6 races. Moving to Thursday Night Thunder on ESPN and bringing on Camping World as a sponsor may have brought in additional fans. SRX brings all the fun things of NASCAR racing to the fans and it shows in the packed grandstands and the trending hashtags on various social media. Share with us in the comments – what made you a fan of SRX racing?
