Tony Stewart, co-owner of the SRX Series, was part of the star-studded lineup at Thursday’s Strafford Camping World SRX Series race. Ryan Newman supplied the fireworks for the evening with a late overtake on Tony Kanaan to take the second race of the 2023 season. He continues his outstanding record at the venue after winning it last year and running second in last week’s rain-shortened race. One of the major flaws that came up during the race was brake failure.
In a post-race conversation with Frontstretch, Tony Stewart answers a few questions about the problems in the cars that shut down promising races from Kanaan and Ryan Preece. Tony was not in the mood to investigate the mechanical failures, as he looked livid by the end of the video.
“I’m not a mechanic”, Tony Stewart brushes off questions about SRX’s car’s inability
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Although the first heat race winner, Tony could only manage a 7th-place finish this time. The three-time Cup champion decided to have a go at the crew chief role. Alas, the race didn’t end as he would have wanted it to. But as he reflects upon it he says, “That was a good race. Just I don’t know, I’m a better driver than a crew chief, obviously.“
Ryan Preece and Tony Kanaan were the victims of brake issues in the evening as it caused them to end their races. Kanaan was leading the pack in the 71st lap when his car lost stopping ability to crash into the wall with impact. Preece had to end his race in the later stages as well. On being asked about his race amid the repeating incidents of brake failures that evening, the Stewart-Haas Racing owner said,
“No, I took care of mine. I mean, I got word on the radio that guys were glowing brakes early so… We haven’t had that trouble here normally.”
The Frontstretch reporter then moves on to the possible solutions that could fix the cars before next week’s race. Tony’s reaction tells he is quite annoyed by the question as he answers furiously, ” I think you missed the part where I said I’m not a mechanic.”
Tony further added, “So you need to ask Rick Ran and Kevin Ridley, those are the guys that have to work on these things, but I got lot of work to do for some tore up cars this week.” he adds, suggesting to ask the people responsible for the mechanical side of the race.
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The SRX Series has proven to be a major attraction for NASCAR stars
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Tony Stewart’s recruitment of drivers for the venture has been amazing. Even the owner himself has joined in after announcing he won’t be racing in the Eldora Million, in his favorite sect of dirt racing. Last week, they announced the full-time addition of former Cup race winner Ken Schrader to their roster. Schrader made his part-time debut in the series last year and will run in all six races this season. Alongside founder Tony, the other stars joining the ranks are 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski, Marco Andretti, Ryan Newman, and Hailie Deegan.
Schrader shares his enthusiasm for joining the star-studded field while also expressing his wish to be the fastest car on the grid.
“Definitely excited, you know. There’s no advantage with that caliber of driver. Before, I made sure all the cars felt the same and went at the same speed. Now that I’m one of the guys, I’m worried about driving my car faster than everybody else.” says Schrader speaking to the Daytona Journal.
.@KenSchrader finished 4th tonight. After early brake troubles forced him to be cautious, the veteran driver found himself in the top 5 and charging in the late going. @folsom_chase has more with Kenny. pic.twitter.com/4mWVLaRYW0
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) July 21, 2023
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Schrader then reminisces about the day he signed up for the event and decided to come back as a full-time driver after being a test car driver for the last two seasons. “They called the next day and said, ‘we have an opening for a full-time driver.’ I said, ‘I’ll do that.’ I think they had a late cancellation.” says the 68-year-old.
The future of the series certainly looks bright. With more and more stars joining hands to have a go, it will only increase in popularity and gather revenue and fans. But they could look to fix the issues to make sure they don’t hurt their brand in the future.
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