Don Hawk, the veteran motorsports executive and current Superstar Racing Experience CEO, pledged to Helio Castroneves last season that he would secure the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner a ride in the Daytona 500 should he win one of the six exhibition series events in 2022.
Castroneves won the opener at Five Flags Speedway as a last-minute entrant and immediately put Hawk on the hot seat. A deal never materialized by February as Hawk wanted to ensure that it was a car that was likely to make the field of 40.
This was especially important given this would also be Castroneves’ NASCAR debut. Hawk provided the following update about the pending agreement before the SRX opener earlier this month.
“Yeah, that was actually a really cool spontaneous moment,” Hawk said. “We actually were this far away from attempting to qualify for the Daytona 500. I think we made a really good decision not to do that. Helio and I continue to talk about SRX, Daytona 500s and things like that.”
“My main focus, though, right now is just SRX, SRX, SRX, and that’s what Helio is really focused on, as well. If we get in the Daytona 500, we get an offer from somebody as a side job, it’s just going to be a blast.”
Castroneves was the featured guest on Wednesday during the weekly SRX press conference promoting the Thursday race at Pulaski County Motorsports Park, where he was once again asked about his interest in holding Hawk to the deal.
“Hey, hey, hey, that’s a question for Hawk,” Castroneves said with a laugh. “Don’t throw that on me.”
Hawk said those conversations are ongoing even as recently as last week.
“In fact, you can probably guess which car makes the most sense,” Hawk said.
The car that makes the most sense is the Trackhouse Racing Project91 entry that three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen took to victory lane on the Streets of Chicago while also previously being piloted by 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Räikkönen.
The car makes sense because Project91 is dedicated to fielding cars for champions from other disciplines interested in sampling NASCAR. That fits Castroneves in every conceivable way.
“We couldn’t pull that off in time and that’s all I can really say on that,” Hawk said. “SRX was the catalyst behind that though. I called Helio to drive and he said ‘let’s make a deal. If I win a race, can you help me get in the Daytona 500?’ And I said ‘sure, no problem,’ and dang, the guy goes out there and wins the first race of the year.
“So, it’s game on, right? We had a ride, I promise you that. We had a contract in our hand. We looked at that one and it wasn’t the best decision when there was no practice, more than enough cars to make the field so we just decided we wanted to step back and do it right.”
To wit, Hawk is hopeful this happens next year and in a competitive race car.
Related: Deal to bring NASCAR back to Nashville Fairgrounds meets rallies, resistance
The joy of SRX
For those who compete in SRX, racing on ESPN every Thursday night comes down to the love of the game.
Sure, the races pay both a purse and championship points, but neither is why anyone is taking the green flag in the modern-day equivalent to the International Race of Champions. Instead, there is a kind of purity to the experience, a joy that can only be found in racing identically prepared cars on some of the most iconic grassroots venues across the country.
This point is best articulated by Ryan Newman, the 2008 Daytona 500 winner, who claimed his second career victory in the series last week at Stafford Motor Speedway.
“It’s high profile short track racing with some of the best drivers in the world,” Newman told Sportsnaut last week. “I don’t know how you couldn’t like that if you enjoy racing. It’s an honor to be part of it and race against a group of guys that I have idolized and others that I never raced against before in competitive cars that are flat-out fun to drive.
“I was part of the IROC series back in the day and I took pride in being competitive when you know it’s all about the driver. I wish there were more than 12 cars, like maybe 16 or 17, just so there could be more action or traffic if a couple of cars get crashed throughout the night.”
Defending series champion Marco Andretti, who spent the past 15 years on the IndyCar circuit, says he finds joy in racing against the NASCAR stars. Fellow IndyCar star Tony Kanaan echoed that sentiment last week too.
Ryan Preece, now a Cup Series contender who rose to prominence in a Tour Type Modified in New England, says his favorite part of his debut SRX experience at Stafford on Thursday was being able to race legends like Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and the IndyCar guys.
This series is the only means in which he gets to live out that professional dream.
“I would have never raced Kenny Schrader, Smoke or Bobby,” Preece said. “Those were the guys I grew up watching. They were winning all the races I watched on TV and I got to race them at my home track. That’s pretty dang cool.”
Castroneves was full-time during the inaugural season, part-time last year and will run half the schedule this season, despite a full-time ride in IndyCar. What keeps him coming back?
“A lot of reasons,” Castroneves said. “It’s not only an incredible series that I’ve experienced since the beginning with an incredible group of people but it’s an incredible challenge.
“These cars and tracks are a challenge and I want to keep improving as a race car driver. It’s nothing like in IndyCar where you go flat-out in some corners, but brake in others, but there’s also contact and trading paint. It’s part of the DNA of American racing, these tracks.
“I get to see fans that I don’t get to meet at IndyCar races and as long as Hawk gives me a place to race, I’m going to keep on going.”
Related: Why there is an appreciation for NASCAR’s championship format
Time for spotters?
There have now been 14 races over two-plus seasons of Superstar Racing Experience. Every now and then, there’s a race that tears up a lot of cars that puts Stewart and Hawk in the position of having to sit the roster down in the motor home and tell them to clean up their act.
That happened last year after a crashfest at South Boston Speedway in Virginia and such a conversation may be necessary before Thursday night at Pulaski County.
Schrader retaliated against Paul Tracy for an incident that occurred on Opening Night two weeks ago. Hailie Deegan then spun Schrader a few laps later. Several cars experienced brake failures due to the hard-driving drivers subjected to the machines in Week Two of the season.
It’s worth pointing out that drivers do not utilize spotters like NASCAR and IndyCar races.
Hawk says it’s not in the budget, nor is it in the spirit of their competition, and he doesn’t expect that to change.
“We tore up a lot of cars but we’re a ‘no’ on spotters,” Hawk said. “We actually think, believe it or not, that spotters will get you in trouble when you’re running races like these.
“I like having spotters for NASCAR and IndyCar because of the speed, but I think it adds more excitement for our drivers and fans, letting them clear themselves and then talk things over after the race.”
Castroneves shared that sentiment.
“Even with the spotter, I rely on the mirror,” Castroneves said. “I don’t rely on the spotter. If you get used to the spotter, you just relax, and you get used to someone telling you how to drive.
“For me, once I understood the distance between bumpers, I enjoyed not having a spotter. These are champion drivers, and they’re going for it, and I don’t think that’s why we crash sometimes. I think with the inverts and now a shorter race, that’s why we’ve seen everyone get a little more aggressive.”
Point Standings
- 1. Ryan Newman 76
- 2. Marco Andretti 61
- 3. Paul Tracy 53
- 4. Ken Schrader 50
- 5. Bobby Labonte 47
- 6. Tony Stewart 45
- 7. Hailie Deegan 40
- 8. Brad Keselowski 39
Pulaski County Roster
06 Helio Castroneves
07 Clint Bowyer
1 Marco Andretti
2 Josef Newgarden
3 Paul Tracy
5 Hailie Deegan
6 Brad Keselowski
14 Tony Stewart
18 Bobby Labonte
39 Ryan Newman
51 Kyle Busch
52 Ken Schrader
The third race of SRX Thursday Night Thunder at Pulaski County Motorsports Park is scheduled for Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.