DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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I asked Bobby Pierce what his plans are now... | Daily 3-29-2024
The appeals panel has spoken, the suspensions are gone. So what will Bobby Pierce do? We'll talk about it today, plus what's ahead this weekend around dirt racing. Let's go!
It's Friday, March 29th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.
A big thank you off the top to everyone who grabbed a new DIRTRACKR shirt in the last day or so. The support is very much appreciated, and I hope you enjoy them. I really try to provide high quality items for purchase, because I know everyone works hard for their money. If you want to check them out, head over to shop.dirtrackr.com. Shirts and stickers are available now, and new hats are coming in the next few weeks. I am going to try and throttle back a bit from working this weekend, it's been an insanely busy few weeks. So if you order over the next couple of days, I will get everything packed and shipped on Monday.
Also, in that same vein, we are changing the schedule up a bit. Obviously we don't normally do daily shows on Fridays, but I'm trading you Sunday for Friday this week. So no Daily on Sunday, we'll be back with a fresh one on Monday. Stay tuned though, as I do have another video with sprint car driver Zach Hampton coming. We finished out the sprint car build series on Thursday, but I have a very in depth shop and hauler tour that will premiere on Sunday. So still new content coming your way.
Jumping back into the tire doping situation with World Racing Group, we know that the suspensions for all three drivers, Bobby Pierce, Devin Moran, and Kyle Bronson have been effectively lifted, as long as they pay their fines and purse money back from the Volusia events. We talked all about it on the Thursday daily show if you want a full explanation. Obviously Devin Moran will remain on tour with Lucas, and at the moment Kyle Bronson's plans are still unknown. He was originally going to run full time with the Outlaws all season, but removed all Outlaw shows from his schedule following the penalty. I think the big question though, especially now that we know they can race again and not miss any shows, is what will Bobby Pierce do. Before the penalty, he left Volusia with the Outlaw points lead, and was in a strong position to try and defend his series title from 2023. The big penalty and suspension took away any chance of him repeating, but the appeal decision has changed his standing. The amended ruling from the appeals panel voided out 150 points taken away, and Pierce jumped from outside the top 20, 23rd to be specific, to now 16th in the Outlaw standings and in a much more realistic position to climb back into the hunt. His loss of 144 points from that race sees him trail Brandon Sheppard by 138. I said on Thursday I had reached out to Pierce to see what his plans were, and yesterday afternoon we traded text messages about his plans and the situation. He called the appeal ruling bittersweet, and a small victory, but said his goal is to work with World Racing Group going forward to try and make the process better. Pierce told me he's seen some of the comments saying the new penalties are a slap on the wrist, but he doesn't view it that way. And I agree with him. $9400 out of his bank account, and a big championship hole to dig out of don't seem to me to be a slap on the wrist. Pierce said they are still doing research on what happened, and that Devin Moran is doing something similar. He also told me he spent 15 hours working on his appeal speech that was over in 10 minutes. As for what he'll do going forward about his racing schedule, that was actually my first question. I texted him quote "So... Back on tour?" And he replied quote "Yes sir." So when the World of Outlaws Late Model Series returns to action at Farmer City in a few weeks for the Illini 100, expect Bobby Pierce to be in attendance to start working his way back towards the front as a full time Outlaw driver. If you want to see Pierce this weekend, he's headed for the Nippy 50 at Maquoketa Speedway in Iowa. That race is also expected to draw guys like Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Sheppard, Shannon Babb, Tyler Erb, Jason Feger, Brian Shirley, and many more. Friday is $5000 to win, and Saturday is $20,000 to win. If you can't get there, watch it live on FloRacing.
Looking elsewhere in dirt racing this weekend, might I suggest to you the Spring Nationals. They'll be at I-75 on Friday for $10k to win, and Tazewell Saturday for $21,000 to win. We already talked about Hudson O'Neal's plans to be at these races, and plenty of other firepower is expected. I've seen Chris Ferguson, Scott Bloomquist, Garrett Smith, Jensen Ford, Brandon Overton, Dale McDowell, and Jimmy Owens are just some of the names headed to those races. With just a single race complete so far, Ethan Dotson is the Spring Nationals championship leader. Still something like 12 races left though, so it's anyone's game. Both of these nights will be live on Flo as well.
A bunch of other top dirt late model guys are headed for Clarksville this weekend for a pair of $10,000 to win shows. This is the makeup for the Tuckasee Toilet Bowl Classic. Dennis Erb Jr., Josh Rice, Tanner English, Max Blair, and Ricky Weiss are a few expected to race.
Elsewhere, the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars will be at Thunderbird Speedway in Oklahoma tonight, and 81 Speedway in Kansas on Saturday. Eight different winners through eight nights so far, and a tie atop the standings between Gio Scelzi and David Gravel. The Outlaws have never been to Thunderbird before, while 81 has hosted the series 14 times in the past. Rico Abreu is the most recent winner at 81, from April of 2023. There should be strong fields at both races, including Brian Brown, who hasn't raced since Volusia during DIRTcar Nationals. Will we see a ninth different winner? Will the championship battle stay tight? Can a guy like Bill Balog extend his top ten streak that's right now at four races? Plenty of storylines, and you can watch live on DIRTVision.
In Central Pennsylvania, another full sprint car weekend is coming up, and we know some invaders will be around. Cory Eliason, who won last Sunday at BAPS, is sticking around the area to run the Grove and Port Royal, and CJB shared that Spencer Bayston and the 5 car will do the same.
Out in California, the 360 Sprint Car Challenge Tour season gets started on Saturday at Placerville with a $3000 to win show. Justyn Cox is the defending series champion, with Andy Forsberg, Ryan Robinson, and Kyle Hirst the others to win an SCCT title. The traveling series will race 17 times in 2024.
And Attica in Ohio will try again this week to get their year started after the first two attempts were rained out. Four words for you there, three inch wicker bills.
We talked earlier this week about Super DIRTcar Series full timers, don't forget they open on Saturday at New Egypt for $7500 to win.
And finally, this weekend the POWRi midgets get rolling with the Turnpike Challenge. Last night at Creek County, leader Ryan Timms tangled with a slowing lap car with just two laps left, and Blake Hahn capitalized to score the victory over Cannon McIntosh and Jake Neuman. Action continues Friday and Saturday at Shane Stewart's Port City Raceway.
Alright, that's it for the Daily show this week. Drop me a comment and let me know what your dirt racing plans are for the next few days. Remember, no daily show on Sunday, but check out the Zach Hampton shop tour video. We'll be back with a fresh daily on Monday.
Hope you guys have a great Friday and a great weekend out there, we'll see you back here Monday!