SOUTH BOSTON, VIRGINIA – JUNE 25: Marco Andretti #98 and Tony Stewart #14 race during the Camping … [+] World Superstar Racing Experience event at South Boston Speedway on June 25, 2022 in South Boston, Virginia. (Photo by Jared Tilton/SRX/Getty Images)
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Much of NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief Ray Evernham’s career has been punctuated by success; three NASCAR Cup titles with Jeff Gordon for instance. But there have been instances when things were less than a success.
The most recent was the shutting of the Superstar Racing Experience, or SRX. Evernham founded the series along with fellow Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, Sandy Montag, and George Pyne. Evernham designed the cars used in the series. The goal was to take the mechanical competition out of the hands of crews and focus it all on the drivers, superstars from several motorsports’ disciplines.
The series was formed in 2020 and debuted in June of 2021 on CBS airing on Saturday nights. It was renewed in 2022. In 2023 it moved to Thursday nights and ESPN in what that network hoped would bring the same kind of success a former show on the network Thursday Night Thunder had from 1989 to 2002.
However, in early 2024 SRX announced that it wouldn’t run another season and was shutting down. According to Evernham that had to do primarily with the TV ratings.
“It still didn’t rate the way that it needed to on the weeknight,” Evernham said. “Everybody thought it was a great idea, but you’ve got to raise the kind of money that it takes to do a program like that; it’s got to have a pretty big viewing audience.”
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 21: Jeff Gordon (L), driver of the #24 “Drive to End Hunger” … [+] Chevrolet, Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and Ray Evernham, Gordon’s former crew chief pose during SiriusXM’s Town Hall With Hendrick and Jeff Gordon, live from Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for Sirius)
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Evernham believes there is still a place for the type of motorsports entertainment like SRX:
“But, you know, TV is a tough business because you just don’t know when people want to watch what they want to watch, how long they want to watch.”
“On a Wednesday or Thursday night,” he added. “I just don’t know how many people are going to watch a two-hour show, especially when you’ve got that East Coast versus West Coast and all those things.
“TV’s a tricky business.”
That doesn’t mean fans won’t see a return of some sort of motorsports entertainment in the future.
Early in his career, Evernham worked for a series known as the International Race of Champions, or IROC. That series started in part by Roger Penske, ran from 1974 to 2006. It also featured identically prepared cars raced by superstars from several motorsports’ disciplines. IROC served as a support series to NASCAR racing primarily at NASCAR tracks.
“When I started SRX, that was the plan,” Evernham said. “Be support to NASCAR be support to IndyCar. Take the guys that have retired early, bring them back, put some current guys in there and make it a form of motorsports entertainment.”
Ryan Newman crosses the finish line first to win the Crown Royal IROC Series – Race One at Daytona … [+] International Speedway, February 13, 2004. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage)
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Evernham, along with former NASCAR team co-owner Rob Kauffman, recently purchased the naming rights to IROC. However, don’t be looking for an SRX revival, at least not yet.
“Well, you’ll see stuff on the track to begin with; we want to have an IROC reunion,” Evernham said. “Find out where all these IROC cars are. You know, there’s been really an overwhelming almost, interest in the brand.”
Evernham cautions however there might not be enough interest to revive IROC.
“We’re in the early stages right now,” he said. “We got the brands, the marks, we’re bringing that back. We’re going to put an IROC reunion together, put some vintage cars on tracks, do some races, some exhibitions, and just see where it goes.”
He points out that times are different, and the market for motorsports is different as well.
“You know, ultimately an IROC series like it was in the seventies, eighties, fantastic,” he said. “But the world has changed. It may have to be a different version of that, certainly, again, got to work hand in hand with the big guys, whether that’s NASCAR or IndyCar or Formula One, it can really be a great support program to any of those drivers.”
“But right now the main focus is gathering an IROC reunion with cars and drivers and fans, and all the people that have IROC Z Camaros and things like that.”
