SRX is heading to the Knoxville dirt track for round two of their debut season. Superstar Tony Kanaan will be out of the race due to scheduling issues with the IndyCar race this weekend. Also, earlier this week the series made some adjustments to the format for dirt tracks. All that and more in the SRX race at Knoxville preview!
New Dirt Format
Some new exciting changes coming this Saturday at @knoxvilleraces!
— Camping World SRX Series (@SRXracing) June 16, 2021
➖Drivers in the same color car
➖Larger number and driver names
➖Adjusted dirt race format pic.twitter.com/2yp3CkRuwA
The format for the two dirt races this season will be slightly different than the paved tracks. For the heat races, time will be cut down to 12 minutes instead of 15. Along with that, the feature will be 50 laps rather than the normal 100. Overall the race will be slightly shorter but the action will still be plentiful.
On top of that, full-time drivers will be in the same color cars as they were at Stafford. This consistency will make it easier to spot each driver. The numbers and names on the cars will also be larger. Although this is more for the fans since there are no spotters in this series, it too will make recognizing drivers easier.
Driver Lineup
Your Camping World SRX Series driver lineup for @knoxvilleraces! pic.twitter.com/nH5Vg6mgSy
— Camping World SRX Series (@SRXracing) June 17, 2021
All superstars, except Kanaan, will be competing. Kanaan had some scheduling issues with his IndyCar team and will be out for this race. His pink SRX machine will be run by Hailie Deegan! Scott Bloomquist will be the ringer in the number 00 gold car and Brian Brown will be the local legend in the number 21 digital camo machine.
With Kanaan missing this race, I’m not sure if he will still be contending for the series championship. After all, only full-time drivers are competing for it but I’m sure they’ll dig into that during the race. Until then, I’m going to say he probably will still be in the running since he is running the remaining four races after Knoxville.
My Picks
With this race being on the dirt, you have to assume that the drivers with a dirt background are going to have an advantage. Drivers like Tony Stewart, Scott Bloomquist, Brian Brown, and Hailie Deegan will probably have an “easier” time just because of their experience. With that, I feel like car control is really going to be apparent this weekend. Out of those four drivers, I’m going to have to think that it’ll be a toss-up between Stewart and Bloomquist for the win. I really wouldn’t be surprised if yet another one-off driver wins over the superstars this weekend!
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