Marco Andretti and Tony Stewart continue their South Boston duel at Stafford Springs, but Ryan Newman has the best ending for himself
Where the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) success story began on June 12, 2021, is where the third race of the second season took place on Saturday night. At Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs (Connecticut), the prominent names from the IndyCar, NASCAR and grassroots scenes once again provided thrilling short-track action.
75 laps were to be driven on the 0.5-mile oval. Marco Andretti started from the pole, as he did a week ago in South Boston, after he had once again completed the two heat races with the best average finish.
Andretti led the first twelve laps in the feature race, then Greg Biffle squeezed past. Just seconds later there was the Andretti counterattack, also with contact. Both stayed in the lane.
Tonight’s @SRXracing main event is off to a hot start pic.twitter.com/QRZa1jLsqx
– CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 3, 2022
Profiteer of the duel, however, was Tony Stewart. “Smoke” passed Biffle and Andretti before lap 20 and took the lead. What followed was a rematch of the Stewart vs. Andretti duel from South Boston.
Tony Stewart vs. Marco Andretti vs. Greg Biffle
Andretti regained the lead. This time, however, Biffle was also getting in on the action alongside Stewart. He temporarily turned the duel into a three-way fight.
“Can’t look away from this race for the lead!” @SRXracing pic.twitter.com/Pla55CXQF3
– CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 3, 2022
After a restart, however, Biffle was unluckily sent into the grass of the infield by Paul Tracy and dropped back. At the front, Stewart and Andretti still couldn’t breathe a sigh of relief, because instead of Biffle, they now had Ryan Newman as the third contender in the fight for victory.
Ryan Newman defeats Marco Andretti
On the final restart with ten laps to go, Newman found a way past Stewart. Three laps later, he put massive pressure on front-runner Andretti. Another lap later, the “Rocketman” was the new race leader after a brief but intense duel.
“They bump! They bang! For the race lead!”
What a race we have on our hands as @ryanjnewman takes the lead! pic.twitter.com/MLgNHOwbSR
– CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 3, 2022
And six more laps later, Ryan Newman had his first SRX win in the bag. It’s the first season in the Superstar Racing Experience for the longtime NASCAR driver.
Marco Andretti finished second behind Newman. Tony Stewart fell behind Paul Tracy in the closing stages, who finished third. Hailie Deegan made her season debut. She finished sixth behind Stewart and Bobby Labonte.
By the way: Justin Marks was entered at short notice as one of the guest starters in Stafford Springs. The owner of the NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing, which has been so resoundingly successful this year, filled in for Helio Castroneves in the third SRX round of the season.
Castroneves, who won the SRX season opener at Pensacola a fortnight ago, is on the road this weekend with the IndyCar Series at Mid-Ohio. Marks finished P9 in his SRX debut in the twelve-car field.
Heat races: Ryan Hunter-Reay and Bobby Labonte out front
The two short heat races leading up to the feature race were won this time by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Bobby Labonte. In Heat 1, Hailie Deegan started from the front after drawing the grid. Hunter-Reay, however, took the lead from her directly on the first lap. From then on, the 2012 IndyCar champion and 2022 SRX rookie drove up and away to win Heat 1 ahead of Deegan and ahead of Greg Biffle.
“Uh, oh… here comes @TonyStewart”
Heat race two is a tight one! @SRXracing pic.twitter.com/FCvtuWXofa
– CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 3, 2022
Heat 2 started with Bill Elliott in the lead, having finished last (P12) in Heat 1. And also in this second heat the lead changed right on the first metres. Bobby Labonte took over from Elliott. And the 2000 NASCAR champion didn’t let anything happen after that either. While Elliott moved through, Heat 2 went to Labonte ahead of Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip.
In the feature race, Marco Andretti started from pole thanks to P4 (Heat 1) and P5 (Heat 2). But the main race of the evening was won by Ryan Newman, as already mentioned.
The fourth of six races of the 2022 SRX season will take place next Saturday evening at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The celebrity guest starter there is Nashville native Josef Newgarden. For the two-time IndyCar champion and three-time winner in the current 2022 season, it will be his debut behind the wheel of a stock car.
