It was not a normal Thursday night at Lucas Oil Speedway as some of the biggest names in racing flocked to Wheatland, MO for the last race of the SRX Series.
“I was born and raised in Rolla, Missouri,” said retired NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace.
Just under two hours away from his birthplace, Kenny Wallace is back racing at Lucas Oil Speedway.
“I’ve only ran here a couple of times and that was early when I was trying to learn how to run dirt. This track is a premier facility,” Wallace said.
The SRX Series brought some of the biggest names in racing to the Ozarks.
“Anytime a big name or a NASCAR guy comes and races locally with us I think it’s pretty cool. Sometimes they don’t forget where they come from,” said racing fan from Springfield Kyle Bates.
A special experience for the fans, especially seeing drivers like current NASCAR star Brad Keselowski.
“It speaks to a lot of the talent these guys have that they can run on an asphalt track with a lot of big names and jump right back in a dirt car and not skip a beat,” Bates added.
Roughly 8,000 fans filled the Lucas Oil Speedway stands Thursday to get a glimpse of the stars. Perhaps the most popular driver was Tony Stewart.
“I think it’s pretty cool that we’re finishing off here in Missouri,” said NSACAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart.
Stewart is a big part of the SRX Series, and made sure Thursday Night Thunder made a pit stop in Wheatland.
“When it came time to work on the schedule, this was the first year that I got to dictate the schedule and what tracks we went to,” Stewart said. “When we saw the request from the track I circled it on the map that ‘we are coming here.’ We just had to figure out the path of getting here.”
Jonathan Davenport won the SRX Series finale at Lucas Oil Speedway, and Ryan Newman was named the SRX Series champion.
