Helio Castroneves finished in the top five in half of last year’s six Camping World SRX Series races.
He kicked off 2022 with his first victory in the star-studded league, with the win coming at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.
Castroneves, full-time in SRX for the second year in a row, won the second heat of the night, and his No. 06 came to life late in the feature, helping him power through the field and hold off fellow IndyCar veteran Tony Kanaan before pulling away to win and perform his signature fence climb afterward.
In victory lane, @h3lio says he and @HawkSMI had a bet that if he won then Hawk would find him one race in #NASCAR.
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) June 19, 2022
Guest racer Bubba Pollard secured a spot in the feature by virtue of the best average finish in the Deep South Crane Blizzard Series’ PepperJack Kennels Twins event. Pollard jumped out to an early lead with Ryan Newman in tow, and the two traded the lead while Kanaan, Tony Stewart and Castroneves battled in the top five behind them.
As Newman faded, Kanaan got by both him and Pollard for the lead as Castroneves also charged to the front. Further back, Tracy moved Stewart up the racing surface and was paid back in quick succession with a fender from the No. 14.
The Tony Stewart mid-race interview is back
“He tried to scare the crap out of me,” he says on Paul Tracy battle. “We’re trying to take care of these thing [tires] a bit”#SRX #SRXRacing
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) June 19, 2022
The first “fun flag” caution flew on lap 21 of the 75-lap race, during which Pollard suffered a flat right-rear tire, which appeared to be a result of contact with Newman, and made a pit stop.
This is some serious side-by-side racing. @SRXracing pic.twitter.com/DCii1I6e8k
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 19, 2022
The subsequent restart gave way to a past-Indy 500 champion battle for the lead between Kanaan and Castroneves, while Pollard began to work his way through the field.
That IndyCar duo dominated the latter stages of the race, another late caution setting up a restart with less than 20 laps remaining. Castroneves and Kanaan again battled for laps on end before the four-time 500 winner cleared the one-time 500 winner, setting sail and stretching his lead to over half a second with 10 laps remaining.
Newman poked his nose between the two and battled with Kanaan as Pollard looked for an opening. He found one, clearing Kanaan, but his battle with Newman raged…
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