Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip will join the Superstar Racing Experience, the short-track series being started by Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart.
“This is an awesome opportunity and I’m genuinely excited to get back in a racecar,” Waltrip said in a release.“I still love racing and I still want to compete. SRX is a great platform and all of us want to win. We might have gray hair and maybe even no hair, but when we put that helmet on and go race, the desire and talent is still there. You want to see a show? We’re gonna put on a show.”
Waltrip’s first Cup victory (after a 462-race winless streak) came 20 years ago today in the 2001 Daytona 500. The Fox Sports analyst would win three more times in Cup and also has 11 Xfinity Series victories and a Camping World Truck Series win.
The series, which is expecting to have a dozen drivers, also has Tony Stewart, Helio Castroneves, Bobby Labonte, Paul Tracy, Tony Kanaan, Willy T. Ribbs, Mark Webber, Bill Elliott, Ernie Francis Jr. and Marco Andretti in its lineup.
SRX was co-founded by NASCAR Hall of Famers Stewart and Evernham and was unveiled last July.
Several drivers have expressed interest in the new circuit, which is modeled on the International Race of Champions (IROC) series that matched drivers from various auto racing disciplines in equally prepared cars for an annual four-race series for 30 years.
Superstar Racing Experience announced its full six-race schedule and track lineup last month. The series will race on six consecutive Saturday nights (8 p.m. ET, CBS) starting on June 12 at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, and wrapping July 17 at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
Nashville, Knoxville Raceway and Slinger Speedway were added to the series’ slate, joining previously announced Stafford Speedway, Lucas Oil Raceway and Eldora Speedway.
“We all come from a short-track background. I mean, that’s where it all starts,” Waltrip said. “Aero doesn’t matter. You’ve got more horsepower than you can put to the ground. It’s all about what you do behind the wheel. As a driver, that’s all you want.”