SRX Preview: Five Flags Speedway

For the first event of the Superstar Racing Experience’s second season, the circuit will head down to Florida for the first time at the venerable Five Flags Speedway.

Florida has long been a cornerstone for stock car racing, from the legendary Daytona Beach to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway, all the way down to the short tracks. There are several great short tracks in the Sunshine State, and Five Flags may well be the crown jewel.

Built in 1953, Five Flags is a half-mile asphalt oval with 15 degrees of banking in the turns and 9 degrees on the straightaways. The reason behind the name of the track is because Pensacola, its host city, is known as the city of five flags in homage to the five governments that have ruled it in its history.

Every December, Five Flags is home to one of the true crown jewels in American short track racing, the Snowball Derby. Due to its place on the calendar, most racing series and tracks in the country have wrapped up for the year, allowing for many of the best drivers in America to descend on the Florida panhandle for a 300-lap super late model race.

The Derby first ran in 1968 and has a long history of big name winners, among them Darrell Waltrip, Donnie Allison and four-time winner Rich Bickle. In recent years, the Derby has become a springboard for NASCAR success, with all but two winners since 2009 active in one of the national touring series.

In 2012, a largely unknown 16-year-old part-time ARCA driver shocked the racing world when he outdueled Kyle Busch to win the Derby. Busch hired the driver the next year to race for him part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. By the time that driver came back to win his second straight the next year, Erik Jones had solidified himself as one of the best prospects in NASCAR and has gone on to win multiple races at the NASCAR Cup Series level.

Here’s the driver lineup for this weekend, with the guest drivers in bold:

Note that SRX has not officially revealed all numbers or sponsors, to go along with the driver roster. Those numbers and sponsors are listed with a corresponding question mark.

Here’s a look at three notable drivers competing on Saturday night:

Although new to stock car racing, Ryan Hunter-Reay is no stranger to many modern American motorsport fans. The 41-year-old out of Dallas has been able to check off plenty of boxes in NTT IndyCar Series competition: Two-time Champ Car champion, IndyCar champion (2012), Indianapolis 500…