Mark Webber has signed up to compete in the all-new Superstar Racing Experience which gets underway next year.
The Australian will join Tony Stewart, Paul Tracey, Bobby Labonte, Helio Castroneves, Willy T Ribbs in the competition which will be broadcast on CBS in the United States.
Stewart and Evernham founded the series which will run six races on short-tracks in mid-2021.
“I’ve had other offers to race since retiring from professional racing although nothing really whetted my appetite,” said Webber.
“But, over the past few years I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know the US racing scene much better so this is a great opportunity for me to experience it first-hand.
“It is pretty special bringing together drivers from various classes, and I look forward to competing against old friends, and visiting some of America’s most renowned racing destinations.”
The opportunity arose following Webber’s visit to the Knoxville Sprint Car Nationals as a guest of Jeff Gordon last year.
There, the nine-time Formula 1 race winner met Evernham before a mutual friend floated the idea of his participation in the SRX series.
While details are scarce for the moment, the competition has billed itself as a a ‘new entertainment concept’ where pit stops are replaced by a ‘halftime’ and drivers are paired with random engineers for each event.
“We’ve set this up to bring the focus back to the drivers and their ability to compete head to head as opposed to the car deciding who wins,” said Evernham.
“That’s going to create a unique dynamic for fans at the track and everywhere else.
“Adding superstar-calibre drivers and our unique racing features, you’re going to see all kinds of emotions playing out live.
“It’s going to be quite exciting and rekindle why a lot of people love short-track racing.”
Now working as a Porsche brand ambassador and television pundit, Webber retired from competition in 2016.
Discussion about this post