The final lap at Slinger Speedway did not disappoint. 👏👏 Marco Andretti wins his first race after holding off local legend Luke Fenhaus! https://t.co/kBsf8HZ0mK
The penultimate race of the Camping World SRX Series came to a dramatic conclusion on July 10, with veteran driver Marco Andretti beating 17-year-old Luke Fenhaus and series leader Tony Stewart to secure the first SRX Series win of his career. After the race at Slinger Speedway in Wisconsin, Andretti is now third in the SRX standings behind Stewart and Ernie Francis Jr., who won the previous race at Lucas Oil Speedway in Indianapolis.
The race’s final lap was an epic battle between Andretti, a third generation race car driver (he’s the grandson of famed Italian driver Mario Andretti and the son of Michael Andretti, another accomplished racer) and a young, local upstart, Fenhaus. After a late-race restart, the two battled through the final lap before Andretti edged out the younger driver for the win. After, Andretti heaped praise on Fenhaus, who’s a rising senior at Wausau East High School in Wisconsin.
“I’m so proud of [Fenhaus],” Andretti said after the event. “I’m trying to learn from him, to be honest with you. I know it’s not a popular win, but us old guys have to get it when we can. He’s young, he’s got a lot of time ahead of him. I had so much fun.”
It was a bit of a disappointment for Fenhaus, however. He entered Saturday’s event coming off a historic victory at the Slinger Nationals, where he became the youngest driver to win the event in its 42-year history. At the SRX Series race at Slinger, he started second and led for most of the 150-lap race (92 laps), and his biggest challenge came from Tony Stewart. But a late-race crash by Hailee Deegan and Paul Tracy triggered a restart:
Once racing resumed, Andretti pounced, sailing past Fenhaus for the lead, which he held through the final lap. Even so, Fenhaus was happy with the race overall.
“I loved every minute of it,” he said. “It’s unreal to race against these guys. They’re so good at what they do.”
The inaugural six-race SRX Series will come to a close at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on July 17. Looking at Series-wide standings, Tony Stewart leads the pack with 199 points so far, but second place is a toss-up: After his win on Saturday, Andretti is just six points behind Ernie Francis Jr. We’ll see if he can close the gap in Nashville.
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!