By moving to ESPN for the 2023 season, the Superstar Racing Experience revived the tagline Thursday Night Thunder to reflect its new time slot. However, the third word was taken a bit too literally during the season opener at Stafford Speedway as inclement weather forced the final race to be shortened to 58 laps from the original 75.
In his SRX début, Denny Hamlin scored the win in a NASCAR podium sweep as Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer followed. After winning Heat #1, Hamlin started the final in second alongside Paul Tracy, but defending champion Marco Andretti supplanted the latter as the top IndyCar veteran of the night from the beginning when he immediately committed to the inside entering the first corner to take the lead.
Andretti and Hamlin battled throughout the night before the former fell back.
“Just excited to win Round 1 of SRX,” said Hamlin. “It was getting close there at the end.”
While the top three was a NASCAR-savvy trio, the same could be said on the opposite end of the results tables. Just five laps into the race, Brad Keselowski and Bobby Labonte spun, causing the field behind them to stack up with Kevin Harvick briefly going airbourne after getting hit from behind by Ken Schrader. Tony Stewart finished in the bottom quarter after mechanical issues befell him on lap 17.
“Guys need to be driving those school bus figure-8 races at Toledo,” Schrader told Frontstretch afterwards. He had also been spun by Tracy while racing for sixth in Heat #2. “Just way too much damage for what it should be.”
Hamlin is only racing at the first Stafford race, while NASCAR Cup Series peer Ryan Preece will take his guest driver seat for the second next Thursday.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver |
| 1 | 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 2 | 3 | 39 | Ryan Newman |
| 3 | 4 | 07 | Clint Bowyer |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | Paul Tracy |
| 5 | 12 | 5 | Hailie Deegan |
| 6 | 5 | 1 | Marco Andretti |
| 7 | 11 | 52 | Ken Schrader |
| 8 | 8 | 18 | Bobby Labonte |
| 9 | 9 | 6 | Brad Keselowski |
| 10 | 7 | 66 | Tony Kanaan |
| 11 | 6 | 14 | Tony Stewart |
| 12 | 10 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |
Heat #1
| Finish | Number | Driver |
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 2 | 3 | Paul Tracy |
| 3 | 1 | Marco Andretti |
| 4 | 18 | Bobby Labonte |
| 5 | 66 | Tony Kanaan |
| 6 | 14 | Tony Stewart |
| 7 | 52 | Ken Schrader |
| 8 | 07 | Clint Bowyer |
| 9 | 39 | Ryan Newman |
| 10 | 5 | Hailie Deegan |
| 11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |
| 12 | 6 | Brad Keselowski |
Heat #2
| Finish | Number | Driver |
| 1 | 39 | Ryan Newman |
| 2 | 07 | Clint Bowyer |
| 3 | 6 | Brad Keselowski |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |
| 5 | 3 | Paul Tracy |
| 6 | 14 | Tony Stewart |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hlin |
| 8 | 66 | Tony Kanaan |
| 9 | 1 | Marco Andretti |
| 10 | 18 | Bobby Labonte |
| 11 | 52 | Ken Schrader |
| 12 | 5 | Hailie Deegan |
