DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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One? Two? Hell, make it three... | Daily 3-7-2024
The talk about sprint car wicker bills just won't go away. We'll update you on that today, plus some sprint car ride news, and all the racing to watch this weekend. Let's go!
It's Thursday, March 7th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
At the national level of sprint car racing, at the moment, we've got the World of Outlaws and High Limit experimenting with one inch wicker bills on sprint car wings. We've talked about this a few times here lately, but the idea is the smaller wicker will create less dirty air for the trailing car, and hopefully better racing. The racing will supposedly get better because less dirty air means more air for the car behind and more grip. They also hope it unhooks the cars a bit. The jury though continues to be out on whether it's working or not, and we are probably not near a resolution, at least for a while. The Outlaws used the inch wicker at Volusia, and it remains in place for this weekend at Kennedale Speedway Park. In Ohio though, two tracks have taken matters into their own hands, and not only are they not going the one inch wicker route, they are adding an additional inch for those that want it. For the 2024 season in both the 410 and 305 sprint car divisions, Attica and Fremont will allow teams that race weekly to run as much as a three inch wicker on the wings. There wasn't really an official explanation given as to why, but Fremont's Rich Farmer commented on Facebook that 90% of races are won from the front row, so why not try it. There definitely isn't consensus that this is the correct move either, and it's left some teams apparently scrambling for the new pieces, as three inch wickers aren't standard anywhere. Elite Wings owner Stuart Williams posted on Facebook that Kistler Racing Products will have the new wickers in stock by Saturday, as we are now just a week away from the Attica opener on March 15th. As I told someone yesterday, I'm not a scientist, so I have no idea if this will work or not, just like with the one inch wickers on the national side. I do know it will be interesting to see the comparison, as we will effectively get a side by side look over the next few weeks. If the national tours though stick with one inch, it does put those Ohio local teams in a bind for when they race with the Outlaws and High Limit. Having differing rules is something the powers that be have been trying to get away from. 1000 plus daily shows deep, I never thought we'd spend so much time talking about one and two and three inch lengths of metal.
In some sprint car ride news from yesterday, Hunter Schuerenberg continues to fill out his 2024 schedule. He started last season in the Vermeer 55, but after getting bounced in June, he made scattered starts the rest of the year with teams like Swindell Speedlab, Zemco in Central PA, and Alex Bowman Racing. In January, Schuerenberg announced a 25+ race schedule with Hayward Motorsports, who had a partnership with Ayrton Gennetten in 2023. The slate of races with Hayward includes starts with the World of Outlaws, High Limit, Maverick and more. And on Wednesday, the new Heidbreder Motorsports announced they have signed Schuerenberg to run their car this season, although and exact schedule was not released. Ryan and Ashley Heidbreder had been sponsors of Sam Hafertepe Jr. and the Hills Racing 15H car, but are getting into full blown team ownership this season, with the operation based in Missouri. Schuerenberg won twice a year ago, with the All Stars and IRA, and was a feature starter during the Knoxville Nationals.
Before we move on to weekend racing, if you haven't listened yet, World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter was on the Business of Motorsports show with Kelley Earnhardt Miller. You can find the episode in the Dale Jr. Download podcast feed from Dirty Mo Media. Lots of good information in there about Carter's past, and the current state of dirt racing and World Racing Group. He talks about TV deals, and charters, his own racing career, and supporting local and regional racers. It's definitely worth your time.
Looking ahead to the dirt racing weekend, the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars head to Texas for two nights at Kennedale Speedway Park. All signs are pointing to a strong field of cars at the 1/4 mile track near Fort Worth, Texas. This will be the first ever trip for the Outlaws to Kennedale, and it kicks off a several week run through the midwest which will include more races in Texas, plus stops in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Through the first five Outlaw races, David Gravel leads the championship over Donny Schatz, Gio Scelzi, Logan Schuchart and Carson Macedo. The series has had five different winners to start the year, and we are coming off the 500th career sprint car win for Schatz last Monday at Volusia. This could be a good chance for Macedo to get his first win. He's one of the best on 1/4 mile tracks, and he's got the most wins at these bullrings with the Outlaws over the last several seasons. If you can't get to Kennedale this weekend, DIRTVision has live coverage.
Some racing you won't get to see this wekeend includes the USCS at Hattiesburg and Magnolia. The weekend is cancelled because of weather, with the next scheduled races coming March 15th and 16th at Tennessee National Raceway. Also, the Tuckasee Toilet Bowl Classic at Clarksville has been postponed to March 29th and 30th. Racing and the $10k to win purses will remain the same for the new dates. And out in California, Antioch Speedway has cancelled their season opener because of continued rain and wet conditions.
Down in Louisiana the Comp Cams Super Dirt Series begins their dirt late model season at Boothill Speedway. They'll run Friday for $5000 to win and Saturday for $10,000 to win. Billy Moyer Jr. is the defending series champion. When we talked about streaming earlier this week, I alluded to the Comp Cams series being off of FloRacing, and that they had a new streaming provider lined up. Yesterday it was revealed publicly that RaceOn, formerly known as RaceOnTexas, will carry the Comp Cams series in 2024. This was another victim of Flo consolidating their offerings, but it's a nice pickup for RaceOn as they continue to build on this rebrand of their service. Some big names are expected for the weekend including Bobby Pierce, Cade Dillard, Ashton Winger, and many more.
In weekly sprint car action, Lincoln Speedway is racing again on Saturday. Danny Dietrich leads track points through the first two events. Port Royal will also open their 2024 season on Saturday night, Devon Borden was the 2023 track champion. We'll see if the weather plays nice in Central PA.
Alright, that's it for the Daily show this week. Episode four of the sprint car build series with Zach Hampton is live on the YouTube channel today. Check that out when you have time. Zach works through squaring the rear end and installs the birdcages, jacob's ladder, torsion arms and radius rods. You can also catch up on the first three episodes any time. Also, keep an eye on dirtrackr.com/watchtonight through the weekend to see your streaming options.
Hope you guys have a great Thursday out there, we'll see you back here on Sunday!