DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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It's a shame there isn't much to talk about... | Daily 3-14-2024
Late model rumors, crew chiefs fired, Brian Carter talking testing, and what's coming up this weekend. Let's go!
It's Thursday, March 14th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
I'm going to start today off with just a quick acknowledgement of the dirt late model rumors floating around for much of Wednesday. My phone was going off all afternoon with messages of people alerting me to the situation and asking what was going on. If you aren't aware, there was a bunch of chatter about the driver situation for the Rocket 1 machine. I've heard so many things over the past 24 hours, I'm not sure what to believe, and I haven't gotten anything super solid. So until there is information from a trusted source, or it's official, I'm not going to dive in too much. It could be a monumental change for the Rocket house car to swap drivers this early in the season, or it could turn into nothing. But I don't want you guys to think I'm just ignoring it. Let's see how this one plays out.
Going back to yesterday and the show we did on the tire penalties from Volusia levied against Bobby Piere, Devin Moran, and Kyle Bronson. A lot of the comments I've seen on my video and elsewhere are people wanting more transparency from the Outlaws and WRG on the testing process itself. I think it's important to note that WRG has been sued in court, in the past, over this exact process, so they have plenty of incentive to make sure it's right and as buttoned up as it can be. But even so, in the last day or two you've seen WRG's CEO Brian Carter in more places talking about this than has ever happened before. He's under no obligation to do that, so this is not an insignificant development. It's obvious that there is some portion of the fanbase and the competitors who have a negative view of Brian Carter, but it's hard to fault him jumping on with a guy like Kenny Wallace and answering all of Herm's tough questions. If you haven't seen that interview, you can find it at youtube.com/kennywallace36. Herm asks Carter about the lab they use, things like tires getting contaminated with oil, what happens when you soak tires in Simple Green, and lots of other things about the testing. You'll never change the minds of all the detractors, but this is more transparency then we've ever gotten before. I don't think that should be overlooked.
Shifting to some sprint car news, we are basically at a point where the silly season never ends, and we've had a crew chief change this morning for one of the national touring teams. The Ridge and Sons eight car will have a new boss going forward, as Tyler Swank and the team have split. Swank was previously the crew chief for Aaron Reutzel with RSR, but shifted over to run Cory Eliason's team for the 2024 campaign out with High Limit. It wasn't a great start for Eliason, as he currently sits 18th in the High Limit standings after the first four events. Through nine sprint car races total, between High Limit and the World of Outlaws, Eliason has just two top tens. One at Golden Isles on February 22nd, and against the Outlaws at Volusia on March 4th. The other seven races saw finishes of 18th or worse, with missed features twice during DIRTcar Nationals. With added sponsorship and a commitment for a full High Limit season, this was definitely not the start they were hoping for, already 111 points back of champiohship leader Tyler Courtney. Eliason does own 10 career All Star wins, plus two with the Outlaws, and five High Limit top fives. No word on plans yet for a new crew chief for that eight car, and what's next on their schedule. High Limit is back on April 9th at Riverside to kick off their midweek championship.
Before we move on to some other topics, episode six of the 410 sprint car build with driver Zach Hampton is live today on the YouTube channel. This episode is a bit shorter, and includes the final front end assembly and a segment on squaring that front end. You can watch it free at youtube.com/dirtrackr, and catch up any time on the previous five episodes in the series. There should be four or five more episodes still to come, plus a shop tour video. New videos will continue to be released every Thursday and Sunday.
Alright, looking around the dirt racing weekend, weather will continue to affect some shows in a few different parts of the country. The Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series has already adjusted their schedule at the Talladega Short Track. There won't be any racing Friday, wit the Bama Bash now a one day show only, Saturday, for $15,000 to win. I think you could see a very solid number of cars at this one as things are fairly quiet around the rest of the southeast. Jump back to the Monday Daily show if you want a full run down on Hunt the Front series full timers. We've got 19 confirmed publicly, but I've heard that number might climb just a bit more, so we'll see there. But definitely a race and a series to watch coming up.
If you're looking for other late model action, James Essex's Northern All Stars will be at Florence Speedway on Saturday for $10,000 to win. That program will also feature modifieds and crates. I think you'll see a decent number of national touring teams at this one as well, including Ricky Thornton Jr. who has it listed as his next event. And the Comp Cams series is back for the second week in a row. They've got $5k to win shows at Arrowhead and Springfield Friday and Saturday.
On the open wheel side, things look hit or miss for the World of Outlaws in Texas. They are scheduled for two nights at Cotton Bowl, Friday and Saturday, but at least one team has decided not to make the trip. TKS Motorsports with driver Chase Randall posted to Facebook yesterday they turned around and went back to Iowa because of the forecast. We'll see if the Outlaws are able to get any racing in. David Gravel still your points leader over Donny Schatz and Gio Scelzi.
Also, we just found out a few minutes ago that Attica Raceway Park has sacked their opener for Friday. They cited heavy rain and cool temperatures as reasons for the cancellation. So we'll have to wait to see those three inch sprint car wickers. Nearby though, Central Pennsylvania is set for a big weekend with Lincoln in action on Saturday and Williams Grove opening on Sunday. There is also the FAST series opener on Saturday at Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway. So plenty of options for sprint car fans and teams.
Don't forget as well about the Speed Showcase at Port Royal for the Short Track Super Series. 60 plus modifieds racing for $50,000 to win on Saturday.
Out in California, it will be a big weekend at the Silver Dollar Speedway. They've got two nights of the Mini Gold Cup coming up, with 410 sprint cars headlining both nights. Friday is unsanctioned with $4000 to the winner, and Saturday is a $10k to win show for the NARC series. With Hanford rained out a week ago, this will be the season opener for NARC. We talked not that long ago about a wide open championship with NARC because of the departures of Dominic Scelzi and Corey Day. Scelzi is picking and choosing in 2024, while Day is full time with High Limit. Brad Sweet, one of Chico's promoters, tweeted earlier this week that the weather is good and they are racing. The forecast shows sunny and around 70 for both days, so it will be a good weekend to see some sprint cars in person.
Down south, the USAC CRA is back for round two at Perris. Matt Mitchell won the season opener, and this will be an interesting championship battle to watch as well. I had missed this from last month, but 2023 champion Brody Roa will not be back to defend his title this season. He's paired up with a different team and will run a bit of a cut down schedule to spend more time around home. The non-wing CRA teams will be at Perris on Saturday night.
Speaking of non-wing, it's also No Way Out 40 weekend at Paragon Speedway in Indiana. They've got $10,000 to win on Saturday plus modifieds. This one should draw plenty of area teams, including USAC regulars.
One state away, the Xtreme Outlaw midgets will open their 2024 campaign with two nights indoors at the Southern Illinois Center. It looks like a very strong field of cars is expected, and the series full timers list has continued to grow. Weather won't matter, as the forecast inside the building looks good for both days.
And finally, the new look ASCS National Tour owned by World Racing Group will begin their year down at RPM Speedway for two nights. Lots of rumblings about series hires for positions like the series director. We know at the moment Brian Dunlap is handling those duties, but a new team is incoming. The 360 teams will race Friday and Saturday night.
That's it for the Daily show this week. Make sure to stop by dirtrackr.com/watchtonight to see your streaming options each of the next few days. There will be plenty to tune into if you aren't headed to the race track.
Hope you guys have a great Thursday and weekend out there, we'll see you back here on Sunday!