Tony Stewart claims the first victory for the superstars after the SRX dirt race at Knoxville! Hailie Deegan and Ernie Francis Jr. finished out in the top three in the feature. Here is the SRX at Knoxville recap!
Heat One
The @SRXRacing dirt track fun has begun.
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 20, 2021
The first checkered flag tonight goes to @TonyStewart! pic.twitter.com/9bopIkalsq
At the start of heat one, Stewart pulled away with the race lead early. Blocking both Deegan and Marco Andretti in the process. He was much faster in the corners but didn’t have quite the straightaway speed that Andretti and Deegan had which kept things interesting. In the end, neither Deegan nor Andretti had anything against Smoke as he earned his first heat win of the season!
Heat Two
Heat 2 winner: belongs to @Bloomquist_0 ? pic.twitter.com/FdVPGyhzva
— Camping World SRX Series (@SRXracing) June 20, 2021
For the second heat, Scott Bloomquist started on the pole and never left. Further in the back though, Paul Tracy got into the wall coming out of turn four while racing Helio Castroneves. Then, a lap or so later, he fully spun and put the front end of his green number 13 in the wall, bringing out the caution. Bloomquist would continue to lead and later took the heat two win. At this point, I was feeling pretty good about my picks. I figured it’d be a battle between Bloomquist and Stewart but Michael Waltrip, Hailie Deegan, and Ernie Francis Jr. had other ideas.
Feature Race
“Big feet ain’t for dancing and they ain’t for these little cars.” –@MW55
— Camping World SRX Series (@SRXracing) June 20, 2021
pic.twitter.com/ARfs6CL4tQ
With the feature came cautions. The worn tires paired with the aggressive dirt driving became a perfect mix for spins and carnage. The track really seemed to only have two strong lines and anything above that, especially on the corners, was super dry and led to a handful of yellows. Brian Brown, Willy T. Ribbs, and Scott Bloomquist all had issues trying to keep their cars straight. Bill Elliott also ended up having some mechanical issues and after two failed restarts, he retired the purple number nine.
Once we got about halfway through the feature, the race for the lead really got started. Hailie Deegan and Michael Waltrip both gave Stewart a run for his money. Francis Jr. also got into the action, eventually getting up to second but ultimately fell back to third once Waltrip started to lose some speed. After all of that, Stewart held on to win the first SRX race for the superstars!
My Opinion
The dirt track @SRXRacing action did not disappoint ? pic.twitter.com/f5Enc2KKk4
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 20, 2021
As I stated in a previous article, the SRX car is using the same rear suspension that they use on pavement for the dirt tracks. Because of this, the cars weren’t hanging out in the corners like typical cars you’d see racing on dirt. That’s not to say the racing wasn’t good because it was. But there were some times where you could tell the drivers couldn’t get around other cars simply because their car couldn’t. Honestly, I don’t think this is an issue but I can see why some people would. Overall, the race was fun to watch and it was cool to see drivers like Andretti, Castroneves, and Francis Jr., run towards the front against some experienced dirt racers!
Next week the SRX series will be at Eldora, Tony Stewart’s own track. Could Smoke land two in a row? I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
Thank you for reading this article! If you liked it and want to read more, check out the racing page! Also, don’t forget to follow BellyUpSports, BellyUpRacing, and myself on Twitter!
