Among the many pet projects of Tony Stewart's throughout the years have been in the world of dirt racing, which has served as mega hobby of the three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion. Saturday night, two of his pursuits in the racing world converged, ending with a classic smokeshow at one of dirt racing's greatest venues.
Tony Stewart dominated the second race of the Camping World SRX Series, leading 43 of 50 laps in the feature to take the checkered flag at Knoxville Raceway. Dirt racing ace and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Hailie Deegan finished second in her SRX debut
Having long been passionate about dirt racing, Stewart's presence at the front of the field was very much expected. However, his victory was no simple romp of the rest of the field: Stewart faced serious challenges from both fellow dirt racer Scott Bloomquist and one of his NASCAR contemporaries in Michael Waltrip, who challenged and even passed Stewart for the lead during a long green flag run.
"I thought, 'If Michael Waltrip beats me, I'm gonna have to go to therapy or something for about three straight weeks if I get beat by him on dirt.' I knew I'd have to find something different," Stewart told CBS Sports in Victory Lane. "But Michael ran a hell of a race, (and) Ernie Francis. I mean, it's two guys that don't have a dirt background. So it was fun to run with those guys -- Ernie's probably the most advanced guy that we've got in the series -- so it was a hell of a night."
Stewart is the first of the SRX regulars to win a race this season after local hero Doug Coby won the opening race of the series last week at Stafford. SRX will continue a run of dirt races next weekend when the Superstar Racing Experience travels to the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Results for SRX at Knoxville:
1. Tony Stewart
2. Hailie Deegan 3. Ernie Francis Jr. 4. Helio Castroneves 5. Michael Waltrip 6. Bobby Labonte 7. Marco Andretti 8. Brian Brown 9. Scott Bloomquist 10. Willy T. Ribbs 11. Bill Elliott 12. Paul Tracy (DNF)
Tony Stewart wins the second race of SRX at Knoxville. Hailie Deegan takes second after a bump and run on Ernie Francis, followed by Helio Castroneves and Michael Waltrip.
Tony Stewart has opened it back up as Deegan puts pressure on Francis for second.
Tony Stewart has company at the front with five to go. Ernie Francis has closed the gap on him, and Hailie Deegan joins the battle after passing Castroneves for third.
Bill Elliott confirms to CBS Sports' Matt Yocum that his car suffered the same issue tonight that it did at Stafford. Fuel pressure gremlins have afflicted the former Winston Cup Champion's car again.
10 to go at Knoxville. Tony Stewart holds a 0.7 second lead over Ernie Francis.
Michael Waltrip has fallen all the way back to fifth after being Tony Stewart's closest challenger throughout the last run. Waltrip stabilized at the back of the Top 5 after losing fourth to Hailie Deegan.
Tony Stewart clear the field at the restart, and there's a new driver in second place: Ernie Francis passes Michael Waltrip, and Helio Castroneves follows him through to move up to third.
Bill Elliott's car has been pushed back to the garage area and is not under power. This is the second week in a row Elliott had mechanical troubles, as he had fuel pressure problems at Stafford.
Trouble for Bill Elliott, as his car has stalled in Turn 2. Not awesome for Awesome Bill, who was running in the Top 5.
There will be 17 laps to go in the feature when green flag racing resumes.
The Top 5 remains: Tony Stewart, Michael Waltrip, Ernie Francis, Hailie Deegan and Bill Elliott.
Michael Waltrip had closed to Tony Stewart's bumper, but slid wide in turns 3 & 4 and has lost several carlengths.
Caution is now out -- Scott Bloomquist has spun to end a long green flag run.
20 laps to go in the feature. Tony Stewart continues to lead Michael Waltrip by only a carlength, followed by Ernie Francis, Hailie Deegan, and Bill Elliott.
A new face in third place, as Ernie Francis has taken that spot from Hailie Deegan. Feature has hit the halfway mark.
Tony Stewart goes to the outside to take the lead back from Michael Waltrip. A three-time Cup Champion and a two-time Daytona 500 winner fighting for the lead at Knoxville.
New leader: Michael Waltrip was able to get to the inside of Tony Stewart, and he completes the pass to take the top spot.
Restart again. Scott Bloomquist fires off into Turn One, but can't make it stick and Tony Stewart is able to maintain his lead.
Bloomquist falls back to eighth as Hailie Deegan and Michael Waltrip battle for 2nd.
Restart and then another spin. This time it's Willy T. Ribbs. He can't get his car fired and the yellow comes out again.
Brian Brown has spun again to bring out the third caution of the night after tangling with Willy T. Ribbs. Ernie Francis and Marco Andretti had a moment slowing down for the yellow, with Francis running into Andretti's left rear.
Restart on Lap 8. Tony Stewart gets the jump on Bloomquist and Francis, who loses third to Michael Waltrip.
