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5 Most Important Things to Know about the 2023 SRX Series

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 25: A SRX race car is seen during the Superstar Racing Experience portrait shoot at Clutch Studios on April 25, 2023 in Huntersville, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Joshua Lipowski

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Royal T Grafix

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Thursday Night Thunder returns tonight with Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham's Superstar Racing Experience at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, Connecticuit. There's a lot of new to take in this year from drivers to TV partners to tracks. Here are five things to watch for in the Superstar Racing Experience.

Thursday Night Thunder returns tonight with Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham’s Superstar Racing Experience at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. There’s a lot of new to take in this year from drivers to TV partners to tracks. Here are five things to watch for in the Superstar Racing Experience.

1. 16 Current and Former NASCAR Drivers will run At Least One Race

Not only do the series founders have NASCAR flavor in Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart, but the drivers do as well. Two current NASCAR drivers, Hallie Deegan and Brad Keselowski, will run the full season. Four more former drivers will also run the full slate, including Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, and Kenny Schrader.

Current drivers running a partial schedule include

  • Kevin Harvick (Stafford and Berlin)
  • Denny Hamlin (Stafford)
  • Daniel Suarez (Thunder Road)
  • Kyle Busch (Motor Mile and Berlin)
  • Austin Dillon (Eldora).

Former drivers running the partial schedule are

  • Clint Bowyer (Stafford, Motor Mile, and IRP)
  • Greg Biffle (Thunder Road)
  • Kenny Wallace (Thunder Road and IRP)
  • Kasey Kahne (Berlin)
  • Matt Kenseth (Eldora)

2. The Schedule is Completely Revamped From Last Season

On this year’s six race calendar, only the opening race at Stafford is a returning venue from last year. Eldora Speedway in Ohio was both left off of the schedule in 2022, but they ran SRX races in 2021. The other four venues are totally new to the SRX.

Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont will host the second race of the season on July 20, and this 0.25 mile paved race track was founded by famous NASCAR broadcaster Ken Squier. Motor Mile Speedway in Pulaski County, Virginia will host the third race on July 27, and the 0.416 mile track has experienced a recent resurgence after falling out of NASCAR sanctioning in the late 2010s.

Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan will host the fourth race of the season on August 3, and the 0.4375 mile track has been a consistent piece of the ARCA Menards Series schedules with winners including Bob Keselowski, Grant Enfinger, Chris Buescher, and Erik Jones.

Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri, will host the season finale on August 17th, and the 3/8 mile track will be the lone new dirt track on the schedule.

3. The Schedule Follows the NASCAR Cup Series Schedule

Five of the six SRX races this season is within reasonable driving distance of whatever Cup Series race is happening either the week before or after. NASCAR is in New England this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and it just happens to sit halfway between Thunder Road and Stafford Speedway for New England race fans. Motor Mile Speedway sits in the Blue Ridge Mountains, about three and a half hours from Richmond Raceway, where NASCAR will be the following weekend.

Eric Estepp pointed out in his most recent Out of the Groove how he will be going to the SRX race at Marne, Michigan and the NASCAR weekend at Michigan International Speedway with Berlin Raceway only a couple of hours away. The SRX precedes NASCAR and Indy Car double-header at Indianapolis by racing just a couple hours away at Eldora the Thursday prior.

4. Not Only Superstar Drivers, but Superstar Broadcasters

Popular racing commentators will reprise their former roles this season in the SRX. Current Indianapolis Motor Speedway P.A. announcer and former NASCAR on NBC/ESPN commentator Allen Bestwick will serve as the lap-by-lap commentator. Former NASCAR on NBC/TNT/FOX pit reporter Matt Yocum will be the pit reporter, and former NASCAR on ESPN studio host Nicole Briscoe will be the studio host.

The analyst role will rotate between three different drivers. Current NASCAR star Joey Logano will be the color commentator at Stafford, Berlin, and Eldora, and current race car driver Connor Daly will be color at Motor Mile and Lucas Oil.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip will return to the booth at Thunder Road.

5. ESPN Returns to American Motorsports

ESPN used to be the place to be for motorsports in the U.S. with NASCAR, IndyCar, and everything in-between. At the end of the 2014 season, NASCAR was gone from the network, and IndyCar left following 2018 ending a 54 year run of the Indianapolis 500 on ABC. Now, all ESPN has is simulcasting the SkySports broadcast of Formula One, which is a far-cry from the way networks like SPEED and NBC used to broadcast F1.

This is the first time that ESPN has broadcasted American motorsports in half a decade. Many NASCAR fans decry the fact that ESPN seems to not pay attention to American motorsports, with former motorsports talent such as Marty Smith, Ryan McGee, and Nicole Briscoe primarily being asked to move on to different topics. It will be interesting to see the type of attention ESPN gives the SRX.

The SRX is becoming one of the most interesting series in all of motorsports. It is considered the spiritual successor to IROC, but instead using the formula of local short tracks. The stars are shining bright on the local short tracks of the United States.

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Cleetus McFarland Explains The One Catch to His NASCAR O’Reilly Series Schedule

by Kauy Ostlien

What’s Happening?

Garrett Mitchell, better known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, says his 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule isn’t set in stone, something the YouTube star explained to Dale Earnhardt Jr on the latest episode of The Dale Jr Download.

One of the biggest surprises in recent NASCAR news is that YouTube star Cleetus McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, will make his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut next month at Rockingham Speedway.

Mitchell, who has just won a NASCAR National Series start to his name, will make this start with Richard Childress Racing in their No. 33 car as part of a part-time development contract that will see him make starts in 2026 and 2027.

Per Mitchell, his contract will cover three races per season, though he hinted it could be more in a Facebook post. Nonetheless, fans are eagerly awaiting an official schedule of what other tracks Mitchell and RCR will tackle in 2026.

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a little longer for this schedule, as the 30-year-old Floridian explained during a recent interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr, his 2026 schedule is still up in the air a month ahead of his first race.

During an interview on the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download, Mitchell told Earnhardt that while he plans to race the superspeedways after Rockingham, with his sights set on Talladega’s April 25 or October 24 race weekend, the decision lies in the hands of NASCAR.

“NASCAR said I cannot run Talladega unless I go to Rockingham first and do well,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell then clarified that while he will have a rookie test for Rockingham, the race at Rockingham will determine his eligibility to race at Talladega.

Stirring the Pot

Mitchell, who has two ARCA starts at Daytona and one at Talladega, has already taken a rookie test this season at Rockingham for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Despite a minor crash during this test, Mitchell was cleared to race in the season-opening race at Daytona, crashing himself in a single truck spin five laps into the race, after a valiant qualifying effort.

Even with the barrier of Rockingham in the way, fans are already somewhat concerned about McFarland’s skills, given the result of his short time behind the wheel of a truck.

During this episode of The DJD, Mitchell expressed his intentions to work his way up the ladder and learn, but with the caveat that if an opportunity presents itself to him, he will take it, using the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series as a metaphorical example.

“I don’t want to drive a Cup car right now. But, brother, if someone calls me and says, ‘We got a spot in a Cup car in the Daytona 500?’ I mean, what am I supposed to do?” — Cleetus McFarland

Despite his doubters, with the support of RCR and their developmental tools, Mitchell seems confident about the opportunity, already getting in some sim time with RCR.

Either way, no matter how much support he has in his corner, Mitchell is diving in headfirst once again with this opportunity.

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Cleetus McFarland’s First NASCAR Diecast is Officially Available for Pre-Order

by Kauy Ostlien

What’s Happening?

Lionel has officially opened pre-orders for Garrett Mitchell’s (better known as Cleetus McFarland) first-ever NASCAR diecast.

  • This announcement comes as part of his upcoming debut in NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series next month. While the sponsor, Tommy’s Express Car Wash, and car number, No. 33, are known, there has yet to be an official render of his paint scheme released to the public.
  • Lionel Racing is offering two diecast options for Mitchell: the first option is the 1:64 scale diecast at $11.75, and the second is a 1:24 scale diecast at $70.00. As of press time, it appears the car will not receive any other options, such as Special Finishes like Color Chrome or Galaxy Colored.
  • Mitchell announced his first NASCAR OAP Series race on Wednesday afternoon, signing a two-year, three-race-per-year deal with RCR. This is a major step for the YouTube star turned NASCAR driver, who made his ARCA debut last season.
  • Due to his popularity both in and out of NASCAR, Mitchell’s diecast may be one of the most anticipated in recent memory. Many race fans are already giving bold predictions for the large order quantity this car will receive by the time it reaches production.

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BRISTOL, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 11: Garrett Mitchell, also known as Cleetus McFarland, driver of the #30 Kenetik Ford waits on the grid prior to the ARCA Menards Series Bush's Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 11, 2025 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

UPDATE: Cleetus McFarland Will Race in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series This Year

by Kauy Ostlien

What’s Happening?

YouTube star-turned-NASCAR driver Garrett Mitchell, best known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, has signed a part-time deal to race with Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for the next two seasons.

UPDATE 3:00 PM EST: Per RCR Mitchell will make his debut at Rockingham Speedway on April 4.

  • Mitchell announced his signing with RCR in a Wednesday afternoon post on his Facebook. The 30-year-old says that RCR reached out, offering to make him “a better driver and give you an opportunity to grow in this sport.”
  • The Floridaian will drive the team’s part-time No. 33 on a part-time basis over the next two seasons. Mitchell claims in his post that the deal is three races a year, but hints it could be more, saying “3 races a year right now.”
  • Mitchell, who made his NASCAR debut last season with a four-race schedule in the ARCA Menards Series, has brought a legion of fans to NASCAR in his few starts. So far, Mitchell has made five career starts in the ARCA Menards Series and one in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
  • That start in the Truck Series, at Daytona earlier this season, was a spark of controversy, as, after crashing in his test for approval, Mitchell crashed himself early on in the race. While he has his supporters, including many in the garage area, this move up the NASCAR ladder will likely see some pushback from fans across the board.
  • As of press time, Mitchell has yet to announce his first race of this part-time schedule with RCR.

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