The formation of the series was officially announced on July 13, 2020. The founding group combined expertise from various sectors of the racing and sports industries: Tony Stewart was a former NASCAR driver and team owner; Ray Evernham was a former NASCAR crew chief and team owner; George Pyne served as a former NASCAR executive; and Sandy Montag was a sports agent. At its inception, management for the series was divided between offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, and New York City.
On June 1, 2021, shortly before the inaugural race, Camping World acquired the naming rights to the series, resulting in the official title of the Camping World SRX Series.
The series debuted on June 12, 2021, with a broadcast on CBS. The inaugural driver lineup consisted of a mix of champions from various disciplines, including Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Hélio Castroneves, Ernie Francis Jr., Paul Tracy, Bill Elliott, Willy T. Ribbs, Michael Waltrip, and Marco Andretti.
The competition format was designed to contrast with NASCAR by utilizing shorter races on short tracks. To ensure parity, the series employed a random pairing system where drivers were matched with different crew chiefs for each race. Founder Tony Stewart likened the concept to the International Race of Champions (IROC), emphasizing the use of identical cars and an all-star cast.
The 2021 and 2022 seasons were held on Saturday nights and televised by CBS Sports. During the first season, races were held at Stafford Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Lucas Oil Raceway, Slinger Speedway, and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The 2022 schedule introduced Five Flags Speedway, South Boston Speedway, I-55 Raceway, and Sharon Speedway.
In 2022, leadership changes occurred within the organization. Don Hawk was named CEO on January 20, 2022. On March 30, Ray Evernham announced he was no longer in charge of the series' daily operations, though he remained an investor.
The 2023 season marked a significant shift in media coverage and scheduling. The series moved to Thursday nights on ESPN, reviving the "Thursday Night Thunder" branding previously used for short track broadcasts between 1989 and 2002. New venues for the third season included Motor Mile Speedway, Berlin Raceway, and Lucas Oil Speedway.
The SRX cars were designed entirely by Ray Evernham and built by Fury Race Cars. The vehicles featured a high rear spoiler, high horsepower, and low downforce. Power was provided by naturally aspirated Ilmor V8 396 cui engines—the same powerplants used in the ARCA Menards Series—with components from Edelbrock. Braking systems were supplied by Performance Friction Corporation (PFC).
Drivers were assigned their cars via a random draw before each event. To assist with fan identification, each driver's car maintained a consistent color throughout the entire season.
SRX events were designed as 90-minute programs without traditional pit stops. Each event included a "halftime" break to allow teams to make adjustments to the vehicles.
The racing program began with two 12-minute heat races. The starting lineup for the first heat was determined by random draw, while the second heat used a full inversion of the first heat's finishing order. The feature race was 100 laps on most paved ovals, 150 laps at Slinger Speedway, and 50 laps on dirt tracks. The starting grid for the feature was based on the average finishing position from the two heats. The series utilized unlimited attempts at a green–white–checker finish to ensure races ended under green flag conditions.
On January 11, 2024, management announced that the 2024 season would be postponed due to market factors. Ray Evernham later identified poor television ratings during the third season as the primary factor for the cancellation.
Following the postponement, the Skip Barber Racing School announced it had acquired the series on March 22, 2024, with intentions to run a 2024 season. However, the sale reportedly fell through in August 2024, leading to a lawsuit from SRX management. In September 2025, the series' fleet of cars was purchased by GMS Race Cars.
The series maintained a diverse entry list beyond its full-time roster. This included a "Rocky Balboa" car reserved for a local track champion at each venue and a "ringer" entry for notable guest drivers. Part-time participants and local legends included drivers such as Tony Kanaan, Hailie Deegan, Greg Biffle, Scott Speed, Doug Coby, Brian Brown, Scott Bloomquist, Kody Swanson, Luke Fenhaus, Chase Elliott, Matt Kenseth, and Kyle Busch.
In the media space, a video game titled SRX: The Game was developed by Monster Games and released on May 28, 2021, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam. The television broadcast teams featured various analysts and personalities, including Allen Bestwick, Lindsay Czarniak, Brad Daugherty, and Matt Yocum, with driver analysts such as Danica Patrick, James Hinchcliffe, Dario Franchitti, and Conor Daly.