Stewart demonstrated his superiority in the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) event at Eldora Speedway on Thursday night. He secured victory in the initial heat race, starting from the third position, and followed it up with another win in the second race after a full field inversion.
SRX, founded by Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag and George Pyne, features six short track races on a mix of pavement and dirt with drivers running identical cars.
Deegan came out of a intense fight towards the end of the main event against Ryan Newman and Ken Schrader, securing the second position right behind Stewart. Nevertheless, she was unable to surpass him during two subsequent restart chances.
Tony Stewart’s SRX win
Photo by: Wayne Reigle / SRX
“It holds great significance to compete and especially emerge victorious in this place, considering the fact that I haven’t participated in a race here for quite some time,” expressed Stewart, the proud owner of the half-mile clay racetrack. “I informed my crew chief of our intention to scale the fence. He thought I was out of my mind, but I assured him that was precisely our plan.”
“We brought the television to that location and they were extremely excited about it. This victory was particularly meaningful and the evening held a special significance for me.”
In the initial heat race of the series, a severe collision involving five cars resulted in irreparable damage to two of the participants’ vehicles.
Marco Andretti and Deegan, who compete full-time in the series, were placed in backup cars while Tony Kanaan was sidelined for the rest of the night.
With just one more episode left in the season, Newman is currently at the top of the series rankings with 183 points, giving him a 39-point lead over Stewart. The reigning series champion, Marco Andretti, is in third place, trailing the leader by 47 points. Newman only requires a fifth-place finish or better in the upcoming main event next week to secure the title.
The upcoming race in the six-race series will take place at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., on the following Thursday. The participating drivers will be Stewart, Newman, Brad Keselowski, Schrader, Andretti, Deegan, Bobby Labonte, Hello Castroneves, Clint Bowyer, Kenny Wallace, Ernie Francis Jr, and Jonathan Davenport.
Tony Stewart’s SRX win
Photo by: Wayne Reigle / SRX
The event begins at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Main Event Results at Eldora Speedway:
1. Tony Stewart
2. Hailie Deegan
3. Ryan Newman
4. Bobby Labonte
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Marco Andretti
7. Chase Briscoe
8. Ken Schrader
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Ron Capps
11. Austin Dillon (DNS)
12. Tony Kanaan (DNS)
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