NASCAR Great Ryan Newman to Race in SRX, but Put Leah Pruett in the 'No Thanks' Column

Former open-wheel and current Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) driver Paul Tracy got a full-on blast of the NHRA’s “sensory-overload” experience last weekend at Chandler, Ariz.’s Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.

After standing between two nitro-burning, 11,000-horsepower land rockets in Top Fuel and Funny Car competition at the Arizona Nationals as a guest of new NHRA team owner Tony Stewart, Tracy was at once overwhelmed and fascinated.

He said, “I’m blown away. I can’t believe how fast these things are. I watch on TV all the time, but I’ve never stood right here on the [starting] line. It’s insane.”

The trackside announcer suggested that SRX co-owner Stewart launch a drag-racing version of his popular six-race, short-track series that will return to CBS this summer. And Tracy quipped, “I’d have a hard time putting a bumper on somebody then, if we did that.”

Tracy offered a sneak peek at the 2022 SRX Series, saying, “We’re excited for the new season coming up, starting in June. We start in Florida. Six weeks in a row with Tony, It’s a lot of fun. We’ve got a lot of new drivers coming in: some IndyCar champions . . . Ryan Newman’s coming in . . . So it’s going to be a great season 2 of SRX.”