Ryan Newman claims SRX Series championship at Lucas Oil Speedway over Tony Stewart

On the last edition of Thursday Night Thunder for 2023, Ryan Newman didn’t win the race, but he did win the championship. The NASCAR icon put together the most consistent six-week season among the SRX Series full-timers and came away with a championship of his own.

The season finale took place at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. A little dirt track with a lot of history, NASCAR stars have won races and competed at the track for years. This time, SRX came through with Ryan Newman and the gang, but also some additions.

This race featured three great dirt racers in Jonathan Davenport, Clint Bowyer, and Kenny Wallace. They put on a show, too.

While Davenport took the checkered flag in his first start in SRX, Newman had the championship locked up after the first heat race.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be SRX champion here in 2023,” Newman said postrace. “Here at Lucas Oil Speedway, awesome dirt track race. To race against these guys, all the support we get from all the people, the sponsors, Camping World, South Point, Bass Pro Shops – everybody that’s involved that’s a part of this. The crew that works so hard six weeks in a row to repair the cars.

“Just to race against these guys, the best in the world is a whole lot of fun on pavement and dirt. It’s race tracks like here that I’ve never been to before. Honored to be a part of the series, just really special to be a champion, I wish my daughters were here. It’s a whole lot of fun and hope to do it again.”