6/15/2022
Five Flags Speedway
Ready for Our Close-Up: Camping World SRX Series Brings National Attention to 5 Flags for Season Opener
Ready for Our Close-Up: Camping World SRX Series Brings National Attention to 5 Flags for Season Opener
By Chuck Corder
When the idea of a Superstar Racing Experience touring series was first tossed around a few years ago, the immediate goal was focusing on iconic short-track speedways.
As any Five Flags Speedway loyalist will attest, a list of historic short tracks would be incomplete if it didn’t include the famed half-mile asphalt oval tucked away two miles off I-10, on Pine Forest Road.
Cut to today and the Camping World SRX Series is opening its second season Saturday night at Five Flags with an otherworldly car collection of NASCAR legends, Indianapolis 500 winners and champions from other professional motorsports series. The 12-car field includes present and future Hall of Famers, such as Bill Elliott, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Paul Tracy and others.
“We were humbled when we received the call that we were being considered for one of the six events,” Five Flags General Manager Tim Bryant said. “There are hundreds of short tracks around the country that would jump at a chance to host an SRX event. We are over-the-top excited to put on a great show for Pensacola and showcase our city.”
The 75-lap SRX race brings a CBS TV production crew, which will broadcast the two-hour event live to a national audience beginning at 7 p.m. District 1 and Board of Escambia County Commissioners Chairman Jeff Bergosh believes the two-hour Saturday primetime spotlight will enhance the city’s profile and deliver a “shot in the arm financially from all the visitors who attend.”
“This Saturday's arrival of the SRX series in Pensacola at Five Flags Speedway will be an incredible experience for Escambia County and District 1,” Bergosh continued. “With renowned drivers, this will be like an all-star event. I look forward to attending Saturday's race.”
General admission is $35 with advanced reserved seats $40 and $45 for reserved seats on race day. Grandstands open at 11 a.m. Saturday with a brief SRX autograph session beginning at 2:15 p.m. approximately. There will be a fan zone under a tent behind the grandstands and cooling misters sprinkled throughout the facility for fans to beat the blistering June heat.
The Faith Chapel Outlaws are the appetizer to SRX’s main course and will vie for a winner-take-all $3,000 in their 50-lap feature. At least 25 Outlaws will qualify at 4 p.m. Saturday before dropping the green flag at 5. Just a few years old, the Outlaws continue to be among the most competitive series at Pensacola’s high banks. Pensacola veteran Logan Boyett leads Panama City teenager Timothy Watson by a single point in the season standings heading into the big-dollar 50 lapper.
Included among the dozen SRX stars is Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series stud Bubba Pollard. Pollard earned his spot by having the best average finish (third) at the Pepperjack Kennels Twin Blizzard weekend in early April. Pollard is a machine at Five Flags with 24 Late Model career victories.
“(SRX’s) idea of adding a local into the field was really smart,” Bryant said. “It allows some of our regular race fans to identify with one of their own among the best of the best. We felt, with so many deserving drivers, the only fair way to do it was let them earn the right into the SRX race and that’s what Bubba did. I know a legion of fans from Senoia, Ga., are coming down and he already has a huge fan base here in Pensacola.”
SRX has eight full-time drivers for the 2022 season—those include Andretti, Labonte, Stewart, Daytona 500 winners Ryan Newman and Michael Waltrip and 2012 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. Elliott, Kanaan and Ernie Francis Jr. all raced with SRX last season.
“The list of drivers that SRX is bringing is incredible,” Bryant said. “It is an honor for any racetrack to host such legendary drivers. We’ve been working every day to wash, paint and spruce up this 60-year-old racetrack to make a good presentation before a nationally television audience.”
Article Credit: Chuck Corder
