The Superstar Racing Experience will have Tony Kanaan in the field of its six-race short-track circuit for next year.
The 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2004 IndyCar Series champion who had expressed interest racing in the SRX series shortly after its July 13 unveiling by co-founders Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart, was confirmed Wednesday for its debut season.
Stewart also has said he plans to drive in the series, but SRX has yet to reveal any other drivers, or announce a schedule or tracks. The series’ Twitter account has hinted that it has signed five of an expected 12 drivers, including a Canadian.
Besides Kanaan, NASCAR Xfinity and truck series champion Greg Biffle and Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais also have said they’re interested.
Evernham has named Scott Dixon, Juan Pablo Montoya (who could have more time in his schedule with Team Penske scaling back its sports car program next year), Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and IndyCar on NBC analyst Paul Tracy as also on his wish list.
Tossing his name in the Superstar Racing Experience applicant pool via Twitter last week, Tony Kanaan is running a partial schedule of ovals only in IndyCar this season. He hopes to continue running the Indy 500 in future years but said last week he didn’t plan to retire from driving and left the door open to a series such as SRX.
“My idea was to slow down a bit,” Kanaan said. “I can assure you I don’t think I’ll be competing on a full championship again in IndyCar, but I never said I’m going away.”
Stewart and Evernham have compared the Superstar Racing Experience with the International Race of Champions, which matched drivers from various auto racing disciplines in equally prepared cars for an annual four-race series for 30 years.
🇺🇸 Excited to announce that I will be racing in the first @SRXracing series next summer on @CBSSports! Are you ready, @TonyStewart?
— Tony Kanaan (@TonyKanaan) July 22, 2020
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🇧🇷 Feliz em anunciar que vou participar do @SRXracing
Ano que vem com o @TonyStewart
•#TKLastLap pic.twitter.com/zVXTKQSzo5
Welcome Tony. We are very excited to work with you and have some fun. https://t.co/atVwP3WyGW
— ray evernham (@RayEvernham) July 22, 2020