(Press release from Camping World SRX Series)
Doug Coby, Brian Brown, Kody Swanson and Bobby Santos III Add ‘Cinderella Story’
Element as Each Will Compete Against NASCAR, INDYCAR and Sports Car Legends
Ever wonder how grassroots racing legends would fare against drivers who made their careers earning national championships and winning the most prestigious races in North America? Wonder no more as the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) will pit an amateur driver against its star-studded lineup in the first five of its six-race inaugural season, which debuts this summer on Saturday nights in primetime on CBS.
Six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby will race in the SRX opener June 12 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.
Then, when SRX leaves pavement in its rearview mirror and switches to dirt for its June 19 race at Knoxville (Iowa) Speedway, four-time Knoxville track champion Brian Brown will compete. SRX continues on dirt June 26 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, and that’s where five-time USAC Silver Crown champion Kody Swanson joins the SRX field. A return to pavement comes July 3 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont, Indiana, where prolific USAC and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour winner Bobby Santos III joins SRX at the track where he has been a victory lane mainstay.
Finally, if winning the July 6 Slinger Nationals – one of the most prestigious short-track races in the country – wasn’t incentive enough, an invite to compete in the July 10 SRX race at Slinger (Wis.) Speedway comes with the Larry Detjens trophy.
“We wanted to add to the drama and excitement SRX will bring fans by adding a Rocky Balboa or Cinderella story to each week’s race,” said Ray Evernham, co-founder of SRX. “Our amateur all-stars will have the opportunity to prove they’re more than just the hero at their home track – that they, in fact, have what it takes to get up on the wheel against the best in the world.”
Coby, the 41-year-old from Milford, Connecticut, has scored 29 career feature wins at Stafford – 12 on the Whelen Modified Tour, eight in Pro Stock, five in SK Modifieds, and four in Late Models. He is the only driver ever to win four consecutive Modified Tour championships (2014-2017), with his other two series titles coming in 2012 and 2019. He has amassed 29 career victories and 32 pole positions on the Modified Tour.
Brown, a 42-year-old from Grain Valley, Missouri, is the driver-owner for the team that bears his name. He has180 career feature victories, including five in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. He is the four-time and reigning 410 Sprint Car champion at Knoxville (2007, 2010, 2019 and 2020), where his 52 wins place him fifth on the all-time list at the historic track. He also has 17 wins in 360 Sprint Car competition at Knoxville, sixth-best all-time. Brown was the 360 Sprint Car class champion in 2002 and won the 360 Knoxville Nationals in 2014. Additionally, he had a streak of three consecutive runner-up finishes in the 410 Knoxville Nationals from 2012 through 2014. He also holds the distinction of being named Owner of the Year at Knoxville after the 2009 and 2019 seasons.
Swanson is a 33-year-old native of Kingsburg, California, who resides in Indianapolis. His five USAC Silver Crown championships (2014, 2015 2017, 2018 and 2019) are the most in series history, as are his 30 career Silver Crown wins and 31 Silver Crown poles. Swanson holds the Silver Crown record for most consecutive wins (five) and he is the all-time series leader in podium finishes and laps led. He is a three-time winner of the Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway and owns four consecutive Hoosier Hundred victories at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis and five straight Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial wins at Salem (Ind.) Speedway. In four of his last five Silver Crown starts at Eldora, Swanson has finished in the top-five. He is still searching for that elusive first win at Eldora, with second place in the 2015 4-Crown Nationals his best finish at the half-mile, dirt oval.
Santos, a 35-year-old from Franklin, Massachusetts, who bears the nickname “Bobby New England,” is best known for his success on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. He has 149 career starts with 19 victories, 54 top-five finishes and 18 pole positions to go along with his 2010 series championship. He also won the 2016Whelen All-Star Shootout exhibition race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Additionally, Santos has excelled in USAC, scoring 10 career Silver Crown wins, including four at Lucas Oil Raceway. Two of his seven career National Sprint Car victories have come at Lucas Oil Raceway, as well as one of his 11 career victories in the Champion Midget category. The versatile Santos is a four-time winner of the A.J. Foyt Championship (2006, 2011, 2017 and 2020), which is awarded to the driver with the season-best points tally at Lucas Oil Raceway in USAC’s top-three series – Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget. Santos’ Midget victories also include the prestigious Turkey Night Grand Prix at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway in 2008 and the Copper World Classic at Phoenix Raceway in 2009.
The Slinger Nationals is a short-track staple, a proving ground for the best of the best among Super Late Model drivers for the last 41 years. Past winners include NASCAR Hall of Famers Alan Kulwicki (1981) and Mark Martin (1984) and NASCAR Cup Series champions Matt Kenseth (1994, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2019) and Kyle Busch (2011). The 42nd Slinger Nationals is the Tuesday night prior to SRX’s race on Saturday night at the .25-mile oval.
Tony Stewart, Tony Kanaan, Paul Tracy, Bobby Labonte, Willy T. Ribbs, Bill Elliott, Ernie Francis Jr., Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves and Michael Waltrip are the 10 fulltime drivers comprising SRX. After the events at Stafford, Knoxville, Eldora, Lucas Oil Raceway and Slinger, SRX concludes its inaugural season July 17 at the Nashville (Tenn.) Fairgrounds Speedway. Inclusion of additional drivers for the Nashville finale will be announced at a later date.
Santos clearly an outstanding pick. Such a shame including Coby. Reading his whining and childish barbs on social media it’s hard to believe they come from a 40 year old man. So petty and judgmental he’s like an insecure teenager posting to get attention. Puts his foot in him mouth, blowback ensues and poof his comment disappears. They could have done far better then this guy championships or not? Like Bonsignor or Hirschman who are far better ambassadors of the sport.
The last thing Colby needs is a bigger audience.
For his sake and the audience.
SRX, please keep microphones away from Colby, for the sake of the venture and Modified racing.
Calling it right now. Going with Santos!
Doug Coby
“@doug_coby
Replying to
@doug_coby
Funny stuff everyone! But the t-shirt goes to
@RaceDayCT! Not surprised that a hack journalist wins a contest held by a hack driver! Man shrugging Now go write some Monday morning lies and remember to purposely fail to mention those bratty SK Light drivers in your words. ”
What the heck is that Twitter post all that? Joshing, truth or a combination of both. The hack driver being his buddy Bonsignor. In any event it doesn’t seem well conceived, is over the top and pure Doug Coby. This is our local racing hero.
Doug,
I took no offense to Doug’s post, just a his social media persona. All just fun give and take.
June 12, the NWMT is on the schedule at Oswego.
June 12, SRX is at Stafford.
Am I missing something?
you didn’t miss anything DAREAL. Coby chose SRX over NWMT. Business decision. The cost to run Oswego from way over here in CT is very high and only first or second place finish he would make money. Plus, a wreck there is a big problem, like possibly $10-30K problem.
Coby is a business man in his personal life and runs his race team like that as well. Choosing SRX is only difficult when you love the tour and it’s emotional. Business decision, easy to make
A business decision with regard to racing. Seems like logic gymnastics. If it were strictly a business decision the first thing a logical business person would do spending ungodly amounts on racing to win a fraction of it back and plastic trophies is to stop racing. It’s primarily a disposable income entertainment choice with emotional rewards that transcend business logic.
I’m not seeing Oswego or travel expenses having any relevance here. Coby is in real estate. The SRX race will be on WFSB in Hartford, the CBS affiliate. Real estate depends on advertising and name recognition. This is the ultimate instant connection for prospective clients. CBS prime time…..instant credibility as a person of note.
Plus the bragging rights in the racing community pretty much forever.
Doug (and others on this topic),
I’m not sure if you guys saw in the other story published Friday about Coby running the SRX Series that he said his team will still compete at Oswego. So he’s not saving any money skipping a race as a car owner.
Clearly we didn’t see the story so pass the towels around to wipe the egg off our faces.
If you don’t want to approve what follows for being inappropriate Mr. Courchesne I shall respect that as always. However I tried to do my homework and base everything on public information and social media.
If you don’t know the driver or have a family connection what qualities does he or she have that makes you want to root for them? Is it the wins, driving style, personal demeanor, ability to build and set up cars. age, sex or is he or she a character? For me it’s all the above. Any combination can draw me to the drivers there is no formula except for one rule. As you advance to the highest levels in local racing and mature as a driver you should be maturing as a racing personality as well.
Ryan Preece represents the epitome of how a driver should conduct themselves at the stage of career he’s in. I’m sure he has strong political beliefs but has the grace not to force them on the fans. He’s rarely profane and when he is it’s mild and to make a point. He err’s on the side of advancing the sport at the cost of candor. Staying contained is not easy especially in the emotional sport of racing but Preece does it just about as good as any local driver I’ve ever seen. Plus he’s as knowledgeable on what makes cars go fast having worked on them as he is articulate in his interactions with the public.
If you took the time to watch the Stafford Bottom Shot Podcast with Doug Coby you can clearly see why he was picked for the SRX series. He’s photogenic, articulate, has the resume to justify the choice and judging from Paul Arute’s deferential approach to the interview is admired by the Stafford management. Put this guy in front of a national television audience and he’s guaranteed to look and act the part along with all that other big time drivers and has the ego to compete with them on an equal footing.
Coby’s Stafford roots a big deal you say. I just don’t see it. A Late Model and Pro Stock championship in roughly 7 years as a Stafford regular. Has some SK wins but a lot of guys do. Where’s the beef? Where’s the iconic Stafford championship status? His Stafford championship connection pales in comparison to guys like Rocco and even Tom Fearn. The Stafford connection is bare bones in my view so it has to be the 6 NWMT championships that does the trick. That plus other considerations like being media friendly with sponsorship consideration mixed in like maybe the Mayhew connection.
If you are really serious about Stafford roots the only choice is Keith Rocco. Not only has the championships and longevity at Stafford he is a current pillar the racing at Stafford depends on with his hand in so many cars. If you’re talking about the ultimate grass roots driver known all up and down the East coast the only pick is Hirschman. Each of those drivers on paper far better then Coby from a purely racing standpoint but this is not just about racing. This is about the right person for a prime time media event.
Take that all with a grain of salt. I don’t hate Coby at all I just don’t like the foot prints he’s left in the snow and it all starts with his social media persona. Doug Coby fancies himself a truth teller. In social media he condemns political correctness. In a more structured setting like the podcast he won’t use that thread bare term but substitutes authenticity. Call it anything you like but what it amounts to is a lack of discipline and justifying a child like petulance to say anything you want, anytime you want with no consequences.
Doug Coby is a fountain of stream of consciousness on social media on the gamut of topics. Whether it’s taking the Wolcott school board to task for a hand out to students he had no vested interest in nor understood. His political philosophy that is directly related to the self made successes he has carved out for himself. Or publicly shaming the Turkey Derby promoters for changing the feature format and cheating the team he was driving for out of half the starting money when they couldn’t make the second feature. To graphically describing the sponsorship of Sim Racing drivers as making him whoops his cookies. To the reference above to “bratty SK Light drivers” which serious or in jest is kind of funny seeing as how his driving career evolved from an early age guided by a loving father. Point is it’s all fair game on social media to say and for people to judge as they like. My view is it’s not an attractive look and the claim of authenticity completely undermined when he inevitably bans peoples comments that respond to his posts or takes posts down after the backlash.
As mentioned the Bottom Shot performance was both sophisticated and informative in my view but there was much to read between the lines.
If you listen to him his rise was a hard scrapple struggle with anecdotes that included things like rolling spare change to get by and making the most of the cards he was dealt getting quick successes by being a student of the sport. The reality is that with the exception of the first SK, his father provided top equipment from quarter midgets to the Jay Stuart Late Model to the first Pro Stock. That would be Doug Coby Sr devoting a great deal of his time and resources to a son over a decade that resulted in a lot of success. And what was the only thing Coby said of his dad. I paraphrase but it referred to his racing years as being a bunch of misfits that didn’t know what stagger was. It was a colorful anecdote but the natural follow up to crediting family and his dad never happened. It was strange leaving the audience with the misfit image.
The Bottom Shot interview was one of the best ever done giving the viewer an inside look with perspectives and anecdotes of everything a driver experiences through his eyes. With the exception of a shout out to Don King it was devoid of specific credit sharing with any of the people that made the career possible. Doug Coby Sr,, Wayne Darling, Mike Smeriglio, any of the crew chiefs given a few minutes for superlatives. Other then generic time line references conspicuous by their absence.
No driver has ever been a hero to me but I do admire some and others not so much. Is this all fair? Watch the Bottom Shot video and judge for yourself. At the very least you’ll get to know the record of the SRX Balboa better leading up to the race.
I’m nobody and Doug Coby will always be one of the premier drivers in the NWMT and one day may even be in the Hall of Fame. When and if that happens no one will know or care about his persona on social media or who he fails to acknowledge as contributing to his success. But this is now, I am a fan of racing, I do admire drivers for a host of reasons and unlike the old days the entire package is out there on video and social media. The sum of the parts of the Doug Coby that includes the social media and a singular attention to Doug Coby to the exclusion of all others is a little too much Doug Coby for this one fan that I can’t unsee.
Doug Coby is the best choice for the SRX series because he was chosen. Rocco or Hirschman would be my best choice which counts for nothing but there you go.
So the NWMT 10 team will run Oswego. Where I was going with that is who will drive the 10? Dug Kobe made it clear he is still going after the owner championship, and frankly, he could be considering Oswego as his Mulligan, and still get the driver championship. Every car has a bad race, “missed the setup” deal, taken out by an idiot, etc. It’s all in that link that Shawn reminded you of. It’s all there. All you had to do was read it.
Dug Kobe did not get a deal to drive for another team after Smig shut down, so Kobe had to run his own operation. No owner would pick him up. It would be brutally humiliating to be left on the outside looking in. There is no upside for Kobe to run SRX, only potential risk. He can win the race at Stafford, but his mouth will sink him in VL while on a national live broadcast. It will not add up to good visibility, exposure and potential opportunities. It’s all downside for Kobe. And he has to pretty much forfeit the NWMT driver’s championship to do it. Makes no sense at all. His schtick hasn’t worked, he has no appeal.
How could a multi-champ be persona non grata?