Austin Dillon causes a huge collision in the SRX Racing contest

NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon's SRX Racing debut was a complete disaster as a mechanical failure led the Richard Childress Racing driver to cause a multi-car pile-up.

Dillon became the latest Cup Series driver to join the 2023 SRX Racing series in the fifth round of the season. However, his maiden start in the star-studded series on Thursday night (August 10) at Eldora Speedway concluded quickly.

On Lap 9 of the first heat race, Dillon lost his radiator hose as his car slid on the dirt towards the outside wall. Six drivers were involved in the pile-up, including the RCR driver and another debutant Chase Briscoe.

Matt Kenseth, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Hailie Deegan also got collected in one of SRX Racing history's biggest wrecks.

Watch the incident here.

Dillon and Kanaan wrapped up their night after the incident while others continued. Briscoe had a terrible start to his maiden outing as he had to sit out of the first heat and returned for the main race later in the night.

Full-time SRX Racing drivers Marco Andretti and Hailie Deegan were given priority over the part-time drivers as they hopped onto backup cars.

After the incident, Austin Dillon explained the cause of his incident as he showed journalist Matt Weaver the burst hose that was the root cause.

"The lower radiator hose burst, I don't know why it did that but I have barely seen it like that," he said.

"That was a hard hit, the engine I think is actually fine, doubt the car is," Dillon added.

The #3 RCR driver was hoping for a miracle repair job to make a return for the main race but the damage to too big and he was done for the night at the Eldora Speedway.

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Final results of the SRX Racing series at Eldora Speedway

Founder of the SRX Racing Series Tony Stewart dominated the Thursday night event at Eldora Speedway as he went from strength to strength to sweep all three races.

Showing his sheer brilliance on the dirt track in Ohio, Stewart claimed his fifth victory in the series. Hailie Deegan put on a mighty comeback effort after the unlucky incident in Heat 1 to finish second in the main race.

The NASCAR Truck Series driver stole the spotlight by showing her prowess on the dirt track. Championship leader Ryan Newman had to settle for a third-place finish.

Here is the complete finishing order.

#1 Tony Stewart

#2 Hailie Deegan

#3 Ryan Newman

#4 Bobby Labonte

#5 Matt Kenseth

#6 Marco Andretti

#7 Chase Briscoe

#8 Ken Schrader

#9 Brad Keselowski

#10 Ron Capps

#11 Austin Dillon

#12 Tony Kanaan

Heading to the season finale at Lucas Oil Speedway on August 17, Newman leads Stewart by 39 points in the standings, as he aims for his maiden SRX title.