SRX returns without Paul Tracy; this former NASCAR Cup Series driver was tapped to fill in

Will things be calmer Thursday night without Paul Tracy in the mix?

We’ll see, as the Superstar Racing Experience visits Michigan’s Berlin Raceway for the fourth of its six 2023 summertime events (ESPN, 9 p.m.).

Instead of four “moonlighters” filling out the 12-driver lineup, there will be five, with former NASCAR champion Johnny Benson Jr. subbing for Tracy, who was suspended by the SRX after triggering a wreck last week that sent Indy 500 champ Josef Newgarden into the outside wall and also collected Ken Schrader.

Schrader, in his first season as a full-timer in the three-year-old series, said after the wreck he was done with SRX if Tracy remained in the full-time lineup. The next day, the SRX announced the suspension but hasn’t said how long it’ll last. Tracy had been a regular in the series since it started in 2021, and last Thursday’s run-in wasn’t his first.

“He’s been yelled at for two years, so obviously it doesn’t do much,” Schrader said this week from his Missouri home.

Schrader worked for SRX the previous two years, testing and helping set up the identically prepared cars. He finished seventh and fourth in the first two main events before wrecking and finishing 12th last week.

“I like the series,” he said. “It’s good. The drivers are having a great time … most of the time. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Benson, who still races some modified events, makes his first SRX appearance at his home track in his native Michigan. His NASCAR career lasted from 1993-2010, including eight full seasons in the Cup Series — after his championship in the Busch Series (1995) and before his title in the Truck Series (2008).

“Johnny Benson at Berlin will definitely be a factor,” Schrader said.

Kyle Busch, coming off a dominant win last Thursday at Virginia’s Pulaski Motorsports Park, returns for the second of his two starts this summer. He’ll be joined by fellow NASCAR star Kevin Harvick, former NASCAR racer Kasey Kahne, and four-time Indy 500 champ Helio Castroneves.

Drivers get five shakedown laps each week before the first of two heat races. That’s not a lot of practice time for the part-time SRX racers, but according to Schrader, it was enough laps for Kyle Busch to think he should’ve blown everyone away last Thursday.

“We were a couple-thousandths faster than him in practice last week,” Schrader said. “It tore him up that he didn’t win practice.

“There’s a lot of good Cup drivers, and a lot in every series,” Schrader continued. “There’s always a couple that have that little bit extra. I gotta give that to Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, for having that little bit extra when they need it.”

Through three weeks, NASCAR racers have claimed all the trophies. Denny Hamlin swooped in and won the opener, with full-time SRX racer Ryan Newman winning two weeks ago and Busch last week.

SRX Racing TV schedule 2023

All SRX Series races air on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET on Thursdays.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Kyle Busch, Hailie Deegan, SRX return; Who's replacing Paul Tracy?