SRX throws in the towel rather than prepare for the green flag on upcoming 2024 season
Four days after it was announced that the International Race of Champions (IROC) was coming back after an 18-year absence, the series IROC served as a blueprint for -- the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) -- announced that its upcoming fourth season this summer would not be happening.
SRX simply took to social media and revealed that its six-week season, to be held primarily in July, had run into serious problems.
The suburban Charlotte, N.C.-based SRX issued a statement that in part said,
“It is with deep disappointment that we announce the postponement of SRX’s fourth season. We entered the next phase of our racing series with great anticipation and excitement for what was ahead. Our expectations, however, have been tempered by market factors that have proven to be too much to overcome. Time has run out to put forth the kind of events our fans, partners, drivers and tracks deserve.”
Series officials did not say its future was over, but that it would continue to seek ways to resurrect itself with the following comment:
“We are actively exploring strategic options for the series’ long-term potential. We made the announcement now to allow our partners the time and flexibility to best serve their interests.”
Here is SRX’s full statement:
SRX began in 2021, the brainchild of NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham, who had a lengthy tenure in IROC before he came to NASCAR and led fellow Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon to three of his four career NASCAR Cup championships. Evernham still maintains a garage that has several dozen former IROC race cars and equipment.
Evernham was joined by three other co-founders in SRX, including NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, former NASCAR executive George Pyne and broadcasting executive Sandy Montag. The concept for the racing series was to build affordable race cars that could race at six different race tracks in a six-week season. Drivers would come from both the ranks of both retired and current NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA drivers, as well as select additions from other series.
Stewart, Marco Andretti and Ryan Newman were the first three champions from 2021 through 2023, respectively.
Montag helped get SRX what it needed the most, a TV deal, with races airing over the air on network television on CBS on Saturday nights in mid-summer. ESPN took over the broadcasts in 2023, moving the series to six consecutive weeks of racing on Thursday nights, utilizing the old ESPN racing moniker of "Thursday Night Thunder."
Evernham and former NASCAR team co-owner Rob Kauffman issued a very brief and somewhat mysterious press release Monday this week that they had purchased the IROC brand, with plans to have at least one race in 2024, as well as to sell merchandise. IROC last raced in 2006, but was always a popular series for both fans and drivers alike.
Now, with SRX's announcement Thursday, it suddenly enhances the potential that IROC may run more races in 2024. And for what it's worth, because SRX already had signed contracts with six different race tracks in the midwest, northeast and east coasts, it would not be out of the realm of possibility if IROC took over some of SRX's race dates at those same tracks.
Further, with SRX personnel now likely looking for new jobs, IROC has a built-in manpower supply to bring in new workers almost immediately.
And IROC should have little problem luring now-former SRX drivers into the IROC fold, if they so choose.
IROC built its previous legacy racing on larger tracks like Daytona, Talladega and other venues. It's unclear, however, if the new incarnation will return to those roots or whether it will follow in SRX's footsteps at smaller tracks where it's easier to sell out seating areas and where racing is more closer and tighter in equally-prepared race cars.
There was absolutely no warning that SRX -- which had sold out virtually all of its previous 18 races over the last three seasons -- would be throwing the red flag on the 2024 season. In fact, as recently. as last month, all indications were that SRX was preparing for what potentially would be its fourth and strongest season to date.
Evernham departed leadership of SRX after the 2021 season. He has never addressed whether it was a voluntary or involuntary move, other than to release the following tweet on March 30, 2022, that simply said in-part:"I am no longer in charge of superstar racing. I am an investor but no longer have an active role."