SRX to Bring Thursday Night Thunder to ESPN

There will be a third season of the Superstar Racing Experience.

The all-star short-track series based loosely on the old International Race of Champions will again feature drivers from different racing series. The summer season will again be six weeks in length.

Where those six races will be held has yet to announced, but ESPN announced on Monday that it has partnered with the SRX to broadcast the series live on six consecutive Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET beginning on July 13.

The network is playing off its own history with the time slot, harkening back to its old "ESPN Thursday Night Thunder" programming.

Series co-founder and 2021 champion Tony Stewart is expected to return with other racers from NASCAR, IndyCar and possibly other series. IndyCar veteran Marco Andretti won the series championship in 2022.

“Thursday Night Thunder is where guys like me, who were just starting our careers in USAC, got the chance to make a name for ourselves because of its presence on ESPN,” Stewart said. “It’s great to see Thursday Night Thunder return, but to also be a part of it all over again with SRX.”

The SRX aired on CBS the past two seasons.

“When we had the opportunity to pitch the concept of Thursday Night Thunder on ESPN, it was my firm belief this would be another disruptive and monumental moment in SRX and racing history - reuniting race fans with ESPN on short tracks with Superstar drivers all across the U.S. for years to come," said Don Hawk, CEO of the SRX.

“Thursday Night Thunder is where I met Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. A relationship between SRX and ESPN seemed like the right fit at the perfect time, and I couldn’t be more excited for this summer.

The list of racers to participate in the series is impressive and includes Bill Elliott, Chase Elliott, Tony Kanaan, Paul Tracy, Bobby Labonte, Willy T. Ribbs, Hailie Deegan, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Marco Andretti, Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip, Josef Newgarden, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves.