The Motor Mile was host to the most crash-filled race in the history of stock car racing. The SRX Series, which was founded by Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag, and George Pyne, raced at Pulaski’s Motor Mile Speedway this past Thursday. 2003 CART Champion Paul Tracy initiated a series of crashes that damaged five cars as Kyle Busch capitalized on the openings to grab his victory. Clint Bowyer and series owner Tony Stewart completed the podium for an eventful evening.
Following the crash, Ken Schrader was particularly unhappy with Tracy and looked livid after the multi-car wreck ruined his race. He clearly stated his intentions to not engage Tracy in any racing event again. A heated conversation ensued between the two veterans, where Schrader might have cleared out his frustration.
Ken Schrader gets furious at Paul Tracy
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“Oh it took out three or four cars again. The same thing every week, that’s it.” Ken Schrader was in a mood for no-nonsense, visibly angry with Tracy’s disruption.
Tracy tried to overtake debutant and Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden, but instead, it resulted in a pileup with Schrader as a victim. Craftsman Truck Series driver Hailie Deegan was another driver who suffered from the conundrum during Tony Stewart’s SRX Series race. This will pile up the pressure on the crew members to prepare their cars before next week’s race at the Berlin Raceway.
Tracy was confident about being ahead of Newgarden, who won the pole for the first heat race of the event.
Speaking to Frontstretch after the race, Paul said, ” Well, it was the end of the race, 10 laps to go or so, everyone was running hard. Newgarden and I were racing. He wasn’t willing to give up the position on the outside. I had half a car length in front of him and just got hooked and that was it. “
Revealing his altercation with Schrader, he further added, “He just said who hooked you and I said I think it was Newgarden because that’s who started next to me. That’s all he said.”
With the final 15 laps of the race being the major period of incidents across the track, Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer were able to make up some distance to race leader Busch. Busch himself was involved in a bump with Brad Keselowski, who got surprised by a slight contact that spun him out. Keselowski eventually gained ground to finish 4th.
Tony Stewart addresses concerns around the quality of racing in SRX
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Last week’s race at Stafford was also marred by occurrences of brake failure that hurt Tony Kanaan and Ryan Preece. Tony Stewart, when questioned about the availability of better facilities for the teams, looked quite frustrated last week. This time around, he has some details to provide on the possible solutions to the lack of signs of any spotters for SRX cars.
“That’s really what it is,” says the three-time Cup champion.
“We need to work on our window nets a little bit to make our mirrors a little more affective. When you’re aiming for your mark, looking out your windshield, it’s easy with these cars to not see someone under you and we can probably make that better.”
KYLE BUSCH SPINS BRAD KESELOWSKI! pic.twitter.com/MuCtxK0PGL
— Mr Matthew Racing (@f1skndlendldnsl) July 28, 2023
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The presence of a spotter would have possibly prevented the bump on the turn for Keselowski. As for Busch, he showed no signs of stopping after that. After last week’s race, Tony was worried about the lack of racing action on the tracks due to mechanical failures. A private meeting between the drivers was called on Thursday to encourage them to give their best shot at the Motor Mile.
“You wonder if they get the message,” Tony Stewart said. “Most do, a majority do, and there is a very small minority, that I guess they haven’t gotten the message yet. We’ll get through this year.”
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Tony’s initiative has managed to gather the big names, but now another obstruction stands before him. Improvising upon these flaws will make the SRX series a more lucrative option for drivers looking to have a go at it.
Watch This Story: This Surprising Contender Could Potentially Replace Aric Almirola In Tony Stewart’s Team