DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Did he think we wouldn't notice? | Daily 2-4-2024
On this Sunday show, we'll talk Brandon Overton's chassis shenanigans with plenty of evidence and photos, plus weekend wins for RTJ, Tim McCreadie and Tanner Holmes and more. Let's go!
It's Sunday, February 4th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
We're going to start first today with action at Screven for Winter Freeze. And we're going to start there for a specific reason, and that's Brandon Overton. We've been following this situation with his chassis selection since late in 2023, and it's the story that just won't go away. I've had a comment or two on these shows where we've talked about Overton from people complaining about me bringing this stuff up. Why does it matter, chassis talk is getting old, etc etc. So if you are one of those people, maybe skip this section on the video, or catch me on the next one. For those of you who don't hate fun and a good story, and are down for a little intrigue, come along with me. We've already previously documented Overton's late 2023 switch for a night to a Team Zero car, and it was just a few days ago that Big Sexy was at Golden Isles telling FloRacing's Kyle McFadden that people had nothing better to do than make shit up, and that they would tell us if they made a change. Around that weekend and in the days since, I have had late model folks reaching out to tell me there is definitely more to this story, regardless of what Overton says publicly. Instead of racing at All-Tech Friday and Saturday with Lucas, Overton went back north to Georgia to run Winter Freeze at Screven with the Southern All Stars. Friday night, the Wells 76 was out front early from the pole, but Garrett Smith drove by him just a few laps in, and drove on to the $3000 win. It was an impressive run by the young Smith. Last night in the $12,000 finale, Screven took rubber pretty early on, but it didn't stop Overton from driving to the lead after starting fifth. Smith started second, and again led a bunch of laps, but he made a mistake with 16 to go, jumping out of the grip to try and move by a lap car, and that was the opening Overton needed. He drove by the 10 car, and on to the win. Afterwards, in victory lane, instead of side stepping all of this, Overton added fuel to the chassis fire. Announcer Dewayne Keith asked Overton quote "We're now getting kinda into the nitty gritty of speedweeks, and you are kind of in the middle of the chassis game here a little bit, did you get good notes out of this to carry into East Bay and Volusia?" To which Overton responds "Yeah I sure hope so, our little experiment here is going to be alright I think." That doesn't sound like a guy just running a normal Longhorn. Let me show you a few other things here also. On Saturday, I had a bunch of interesting replies on Twitter from Austin Bloom showing off some screenshots of the car that Overton ran at World Finals. There was chatter the car he drove at Charlotte was something different, and with what Bloom points out, it certainly would appear so. Bloom is a big dirt modified guy, and has some connections to the Longhorn side of things. He ran through and showed us comparisons of Overton's Charlotte car to Chris Madden's Longhorn, and also Dale McDowell's Team Zero. Bars in different places, different mounting points, etc. Here early in 2024, the car that Overton has been driving doesn't appear to be the same as that Charlotte piece, but even now by his own admission, it's a quote "experiment." It does appear to be similar to what the Longhorns are, but as some have told me, it's definitely not quite the same. So why do I think this all matters? Because for a period not that long ago, Brandon Overton was the hottest dirt late model driver on the planet. He was almost unbeatable at Eldora, and took down some serious cash. 2023 wasn't a bad season, but it also wasn't the championship run they were hoping for, and clearly they are searching for something different. This season going well or poorly could very well hinge on these choices, and things seem to be off to a good start. Third and fourth at Golden Isles, and a second and a win at Screven. Stay tuned...
Sticking with late models, two very different nights at All-Tech Friday and Saturday with Lucas. Track prep issues Friday led to multiple delays through the program, and some not so happy people. But I thought the feature turned out pretty good. Ricky Thornton Jr. went the distance for the win, his third in five races in 2024, with Devin Moran and Hudson O'Neal on the podium. We did have a strange moment during the cooldown, where RTJ piled off into turn three to try something, and nearly knocked the wall down. Moran had to spin to miss him as well. You don't see that often. Plenty of passing down through the field, Tyler Bruening was plus 13, and a couple were plus 11. Saturday though, we had a completely different surface, a lot more moisture down, and way faster. Quicktime in qualifying on Saturday was a full second quicker than Friday. Tim McCreadie went flag-to-flag for the victory after starting second. He denied Daulton Wilson, who still is looking for that first series win. Big Perm now has eight second places finishes. Ryan Gustin went 15th to third. The win for McCreadie was an important break through I think. He did technically win twice in 2023, but both of those were split field prelim wins. His last full field Lucas win was in October of 2022 at Talladega. We'll see if they can carry this speed into East Bay. Through these first six races, Devin Moran is the only driver to finish top ten every night. RTJ has the most top fives with five, and he nearly had six last night, but hit the wall late, breaking the J-bar. He was done for the night after running third.
As for tire information, the Flo broadcasts continued to use it both nights at All-Tech, sprinkled in through the features. I hope it continues, because I think it's a valuable piece of information for the fans watching. The haters in the comments keep saying that next I'll want setup and shock build sheets, and that is just a ridiculous response. Tires and compounds are easy to understand. I am not interested in any way in setup info. Several major forms of motorsports share tire selections with fans via the broadcasts, and I think this is a solid bit of progress. The Hunt the Front guys are talking about incorporating it into their series for 2024, with even the potential of on-screen graphics.
A couple of other notes. Against what we saw online late last week, several drivers did not go to Screven, instead deciding to stick with Lucas. They included Tanner English, Ryan Gustin, and Cody Overton. Overton and Gustin have declared for the Outlaws, but this keeps English's possible Lucas bid alive. It's been a battle for those guys early, as they are still looking for a top ten finish. Looking ahead, Sunday is practice day for Lucas teams at East Bay, with racing starting back up again on Monday.
Also down south, teams had started loading in to Volusia today before some weather slowed those plans. DIRTcar Nationals starts Monday with UMP modifieds, and then we'll have sprint car practice join things Tuesday, and the World of Outlaws seasons begins Wednesday.
Speaking of sprint cars, USCS wins at Hendry County went to Davie Franek on Friday and Ryan Timms on Saturday. Through five races, Timms leads the USCS championship at the moment. They move over to Southern Raceway next weekend.
Before we close out, hat tip to our friend Tanner Holmes on his big $10,000 Outlaw kart win on Saturday in Reno. He topped a feature that also included Jesse Colwell, Landon Brooks, Colby Copeland, and Tanner Carrick. They had a big weekend out there, a lot of karts and they gave away a lot of money. Also, hopefully Tanner's sister Carly heals up quick after a nasty crash that led to a hospital trip and a very injured ankle.
That's it for the Daily show today. Hope you guys have a great rest of your Sunday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!