One of the biggest nuances of NASCAR is the chance of contact. From the driver’s point of view, that’s certainly not something enjoyable. However, the fans often desire to see the on-track action roll out in its fullest fury. Perhaps that is what makes NASCAR such a thrilling and dangerous sport. However, Hall of Famer and former crew chief Ray Evernham would rather watch a race with no wrecks at all.
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Indeed, speed thrills but it surely kills. When asked what he would like to change about how NASCAR races, Evernham admitted that he would take some of the Next-Gen technology and figure out a way to stop these big multi-car wrecks because of the pushing and the blocking that goes on. “You know, maybe there’s sensors on the cars that slow it down, or I don’t know,” he said.
“I like racing, and I don’t really care to see 14 or 15 of my potential winning drivers taken out because somebody makes a push at the wrong time, or somebody makes a block, you know that’s probably the part of the newest style of racing I don’t enjoy,” he admitted bluntly.
On that note, Evernham also revealed what he would not want to change. That is the sport’s direction toward ensuring safety since it lost Dale Earnhardt in 2001.
Ray Evernham on the shutting down of the Superstar Racing Experience
The Superstar Racing Experience, or the SRX, was primarily the brainchild of Stewart-Haas Racing owner Tony Stewart. However, among others like Sandy Montage and George Pyne, Evernham was also a co-founder of the series. Founded in 2020, the goal of the SRX was to put an end to the cutthroat and monotonous competition prevalent in NASCAR and to make it driver-centric.
CBS Sports initially broadcast the series on Saturday nights. In 2023, it moved to Thursdays and ESPN. However, the trickiest part was maintaining the TV ratings.
“It still didn’t rate the way that it needed to on the weeknight,” Evernham explained. “Everybody thought it was a great idea, but you’ve got to raise the kind of money that it takes to do a program like that; it’s got to have a pretty big viewing audience.”
TV is indeed a tricky business. Nobody knows when and how the interests of the viewers will change. Nevertheless, Evernham is still hopeful that this is not the end of non-NASCAR motorsport entertainment.
