Getty Daniel Suarez waves to fans at Richmond Raceway.
Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez has expanded his summer racing schedule with a new challenge. He will take on the Superstar Racing Experience with a one-off event that fits between the NASCAR schedule.
The SRX Series announced the news on Monday, April 10, with a press release. According to the information provided, Suarez will join the SRX field at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Vermont on Thursday, July 20 (ESPN). He will make his debut while controlling one of the identical race cars on the quarter-mile short track.
“I am very honored to be part of SRX in 2023,” Suarez said in a statement. “I have watched the Series and noticed how much fun everyone seems to have each week.
“Anytime I race I want to win, but I know it’s going to be a big challenge with as many talented drivers as SRX attracts. No matter what happens I know SRX will put on a great show for the fans in the stands and the television audience this summer.”
The Roster Features Several Prominent Names
GettyDaniel Suarez waves during driver introductions at Circuit of the Americas.
The full roster is not available, but there are some key names on the entry list. Suarez will face off against full-time and part-time drivers alike, including some with which he is quite familiar.
The current list features nine other drivers. Brad Keselowski, Hailie Deegan, Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Paul Tracy, and Ryan Hunter-Reay are all full-time in the SRX Series while Tony Kanaan will make a guest appearance at the Vermont track.
Suarez faces off with Keselowski on a weekly basis, he was teammates with Bobby Labonte for one Xfinity Series race in 2016, and he has experience competing against Newman after moving up to the Cup Series full-time in 2017. Suarez also drove for Stewart’s team during the 2019 season.
Suarez has the least experience competing against Deegan in the three national NASCAR series. The only crossover event for the two drivers was the 2021 Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway (dirt).
The Race Falls Between 2 East Coast NASCAR Events
The first two seasons of the SRX Series featured events on Saturday nights. However, a deal with ESPN ahead of the 2023 season led to these six races moving to Thursday nights so that the two companies could bring back “Thursday Night Thunder.”
The move to Thursdays, as well as location changes for 2023, opened up crossover opportunities for NASCAR drivers. They had more time to potentially compete in the SRX Series, and they were able to circle events located within a reasonable distance.
The trip to Vermont is a fitting example. It takes place on July 20, which is four days after the Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The July 23 event on the NASCAR schedule takes place at Pocono Raceway.
These three events aren’t located within 45 minutes of each other, but they are all situated in the Northeast. Thunder Road is two hours northwest of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Pocono Raceway is six hours southwest of New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
These distances are not insignificant, but they are better for Suarez’s racing schedule than a situation in which he would have to fly across the country multiple times to make all of the events.