NASCAR Mailbox: How Will Ray Evernham’s Absence Impact SRX?

With Ray Evernham not being involved with SRX anymore, how will that impact how the series does in year two? – Reggie J., Madison, Wis.

It was a bit of a surprise to see Evernham’s tweet announcing his decreased involvement.

SRX’s inaugural season was widely received with positivity, citing shorter races, set start times, oldies but goodies with stars from motorsports around the world with a mix of local racers in to boot.

I am no longer in charge of superstar racing. I am an investor but no longer have an active role.@HawkSMI And crew have been working very hard on preparing for the 2022 season

— ray evernham (@RayEvernham) March 30, 2022

The star power that comes with NASCAR Hall of Famer Evernham likely helped SRX’s initial growth on television, digital and social platforms. And it sure didn’t hurt the initial driver recruitment. When you get a call from Ray Evernham, you answer it.

But now that the series has established roots, I doubt Evernham’s absence will be noticeable. No, racing hasn’t happened and won’t until the middle of this summer, but all signs point to another successful season.

The drivers keep coming in. The tracks are already set. The promotion of the events seem to be generating proper buzz on social media. SRX may be the series Evernham built, but now he’s able to sit back, relax and watch the fruits of his labor pay off.

How important is it for Richmond Raceway to have an entertaining on-track product this Sunday? – Dave P., Manassas, Va.

Very. The Next Gen car has proven to be what NASCAR promised: a driver’s racecar. At least so far. And Richmond has been one of those tracks that has been — let’s just say it — extremely underwhelming.

But recent races at Auto Club Speedway and Circuit of the Americas, which both had elements of unpredictability with the new car, have turned out to be pretty good. Richmond is primed to be the next in what everyone hopes is a growing list of tracks that will see the racing improve after years of lackluster action.

Seeing champions and the best in the business spin out on their own means we should probably see more of that at Richmond. Add the 670-horsepower package to the new car on a short track, the first real one this season (sorry, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum), and there could be a pretty good recipe for success.

Plus, the composite bodies will allow for more contact, beating and banging, according to multiple drivers, including Christopher Bell on this week’s Frontstretch Podcast. The race is still a bit too long. And more cautions may make that length even longer.

But I’ll gladly take a more competitive on-track product with more side-by-side racing, contact, restarts, etc. for an extra 30-45 minutes. The bar for improvement at Richmond is relatively low, but it’s primed to be exceeded this weekend.