There is a saying in NASCAR that goes, “Rubbin’ is Racing.” Indeed, in a fast-paced, close-quarters sport like stock car racing, contact is just inevitable. Since the 1970s, the fans of this game have seen veteran racers like Dale Earnhardt and Bobby Allison getting involved in crashes and their aftermath. So, nobody expects 40 cars throttling at full speed to play clean all the time.
Despite contact being a staple in this sport, there is a difference between hard racing and dirty driving. The latter is usually frowned upon. The third race of the SRX series at the Motor Mile Speedway last Thursday is an example of the officials drawing a line between the two.
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A gentle giant fumes at the “Thrill from West Hill”
Since the time of its inception, the SRX series could not gain the popularity that it had expected to have. However, with the recent happenings within the community, the series has become one of the hottest topics of discussion. Take the Tracy-Schrader tussle, for example; one is fuming at the other and the other has no idea about what he did wrong.
With just 12 laps to go, Ryan Newman, Josef Newgarden, and Paul Tracy were sitting respectively in the 4th, 5th, and 6th spots. Moments later, in the next lap, Newgarden and Paul Tracy crashed, amidst which, Ken Schrader got caught up.
Tracy nudged into the driver’s door, which turned his own car into the track and then into the left wall, along with Newgarden. As the caution flag came out, and the race for all three was over, Ken Schrader gave a good piece of his mind while talking about the incident.
Schrader, who the entire NASCAR community knows to be mild-mannered, was furious. He looked visibly frustrated when he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Paul took out three or four cars again, same thing. Every week. That’s it.”
To this, Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted: “If you get Kenny Schrader mad at you. You messed up.”
If you get Kenny Schrader mad at you. You messed up.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) July 28, 2023
However, Paul saw the crash a bit differently. During the post-race interview, it appeared that he did not get why everyone was angry. To him, all he did was competitive racing. While talking to Frontstretch, he said, “End of the race: 10 to go or so, and everybody’s now running hard. Newgarden and I were just…he wasn’t willing to give up the position on the outside and I had a half-a-car length in front of him…just got hooked up…”
A recent tweet by Toby Christie too attested to Ken Schrader’s wrath when he declared: “I’m not running another race with [Paul Tracy]. I’m done.”
After seeing the replay, Ken Schrader says, "I'm not running another race with [Paul Tracy]. I'm done." Schrader has had enough of Tracy's black hat mode in the SRX Series. It's not fun for him.
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) July 28, 2023
Almost everyone who has seen the replays, opine that the act was intentional. Tony Stewart, along with the SRX CEO Don Hawk, has resolved to take action regarding this Paul Tracy shenanigans.
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Tony Stewart joins hands with SRX against Paul Tracy
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NASCAR has from time to time penalized the drivers for wrecking the cars of their fellow drivers. And SRX is not far behind either. An official tweet from Superstar Racing Experience today announced the suspension of Paul Tracy after the on-track incident at Pulaski County Motorsports park. Hawk acknowledged that matters like these are handled with utmost importance so that a fair and competitive game can be ensured for every contender.
— Superstar Racing Experience (@SRXracing) July 28, 2023
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After the race, a Frontstretch reporter asked Tony Stewart, “The aggression just seems to keep ramping up every year in this series. Tore a bunch of cars again tonight. What’s it gonna take to stop tearing up cars every week?”
To this, Stewart’s blatant reply was: “Quit having the guys that are tearing cars up come back!”
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SRX set out as an exclusive racing series with no chains attached to NASCAR. With the recent increase in viewership, do you think SRX will attain the same popularity as NASCAR? Do you think SRX will ever start holding its races on the weekends and fans will choose SRX over NASCAR?