DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
Dirt racing news, results, discussion, analytics. Sprint cars, late models, modifieds, you name it. From national series, to top local shows. Brought to you five days a week. Email the show at info@dirtrackr.com.
A High Limit expansion deal is being finalized | Daily 7-5-2024
Logan Schuchart strikes again, we had a first time Summer Nationals winner, we'll look ahead to a busy dirt racing weekend, and it sounds like High Limit's international expansion is all but a done deal. Let's go!
It's Friday, July 5th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.
We are mixing up the schedule this week, so you are getting a rare Friday Daily show today, and there won't be a Sunday show. Instead, we'll be back to normal schedule on Monday. Before we get into today's show, I have one small request for you. If you like what we do here five days a week, please consider subscribing wherever you tune in, either on YouTube or the podcast platforms. It's free to do so, and always will be. My goal at the moment is 40,000 YouTube subscribers, and considering that more than 50,000 people have watched a daily show in the last seven days alone, that feels reasonable. So if you don't already hit that subscribe button.
I don't know if you remember or not, but way back in January, we talked about the possibility of there being High Limit races this coming offseason in Australia. We actually discussed it on the January 29th daily. This came not long after a bunch of American drivers had returned from racing in Australia, and there were even comments from Kyle Larson during the Chili Bowl about potentially going down under in the future. Larson's offseason plans have been a topic of conversation in past years as he stepped away from the Chili Bowl in 2023 to run the Wild West Shootout, but did return in 2024 for a one off attempt that ended up going sideways. I had some friends down under tell me back then that while Brad Sweet was in Australia racing Western Australia Speedweek, that he was also looking into the possibility of promoting some races and branding them High Limit. And this was obviously before the first full High Limit season had even started. And it was just back to Wednesday this week that Landrigan Motorsport, which Sweet had been racing for, announced that Sweet will return to the team again for the 2024-2025 offseason to again race in Western Australia. In the last few days, I've had some sources relay to me that a deal for High Limit races in Australia is nearly complete. It's likely that there could be anywhere from three to five High Limit races, with Perth Motorplex at the center of the schedule. Those folks shared with me that it's not completely done yet, but I was told quote "90%." As you've heard from a number of drivers, Perth is an incredible facility down there, and it's a great place to make this happen. If Larson does indeed convince Paul Silva to go along with him, this could be a big deal for High Limit and those drivers down there. You'd potentially be looking at Sweet, Larson, and Rico. And from there, we know that Carson Macedo has a tight relationship with Sean Dyson, and he wouldn't be up against any restrictions. Plus we've seen names like Cory Eliason, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Brock Zearfoss also make the trip. They would likely be able to put together a nice group of American drivers to take on the locals like Callum Williamson and Dayne Kingshott and Kaiden Manders and more. And you might get others to travel. Those races back in December were all on Clay Per View, but with FloRacing involved in High Limit ownership, it makes me wonder if they might get back involved with streaming some of those shows here in the states. Make a deal with Clay Per View to handle the at-track stuff and have the rights here in the US. It wouldn't be the first time that an American owned series promoted races down under, but it has been quite a few years since the World of Outlaws did it. Those guys get to keep racing, expand the High Limit brand, and get themselves in front of a big base of sprint car fans in Australia. This is definitely a story to pay attention to coming up. I know that Rico's deal to make Australia happen began just after the Knoxville Nationals, as that is when he got the container loaded up with a car and parts and pieces to head down there with the help of Luch Monte.
Jumping to racing action from last night, PA Speedweek was at Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland. Logan Schuchart won back on Tuesday at Grandview, but skipped Wednesday at Port Royal. He was back in the field last night, and again went to victory lane, leading all 30 laps. Schuchart is one of the few drivers taking advantage of the free pass this week from the World of Outlaws, and he's really capitalized so far. Two wins and a fourth. Troy Wagaman Jr was second and Anthony Macri third. With Danny Dietrich right behind in fourth, Macri did pick up some ground in the speedweek title fight, but he's still 30 points back. He's got tonight at Williams Grove, Saturday back at Port, and Sunday at Selinsgrove to close that distance. So far, it looks like 11 drivers have run every speedweek show. And uh, in case you were wondering. No Brent Marks last night. Tonight's Mitch Smith Memorial at Williams Grove is $20,000 to win. You've got the Grove tonight on DIRTVision, Port on Flo Saturday, and the finale at Selinsgrove back on Sprintcarunlimited.tv.
With the Super DIRTcar Series, Mat Williamson struck again, going fourth to the lead in just 15 laps, and then never looking back to score win number three on the season. Matt Sheppard ended up ssecond, he's still looking for that first SDS win of the year, and Jimmy Phelps was third. Headed to Thunder Mountain Speedway next Tuesday, Williamson's championship lead is now 15 over Sheppard, with the top five down to Phelps separated by just 39 points.
At Riverside, we had a first time Summer Nationals winner with Illinois driver Rodney Melvin leading flag to flag. Melvin had been having some good runs lately with the Hell Tour, including a second the last time out at Old No. 1 Speedway on Tuesday, so this was a nice pickup for him on the fourth of July. Ethan Dotson charged to second very late after starting eighth, and front row starter Tanner English was third. Melvin is actually English's father-in-law. I don't want to throw shade on my guy JC Waller here, but I do think if Dotson had had a clear run into three on that final lap, he may have had an outside chance there at the win. In the modified main event, it was Trevor Neville picking up win number three after early leader Lucas Lee had a flat tire. Neville continues to lead championship. Summer Nationals week three continues through the weekend with races at Paducah, Clarksville, and Haubstadt.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series weekend at Deer Creek Speedway will have to wait one more day to get started. They had rain yesterday and made a valiant effort to get the track back in shape, but it just wasn't meant to be. So today they'll run a double program, with grandstands opening at 10:30AM central, and hot laps on track at 12:30. After today's two shows, the top 16 in event points will be locked into Saturday's $50,000 to win main event.
Looking ahead to the rest of the dirt racing weekend...
We haven't seen the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series since they were at Lernerville for the Firecracker 100 a few weeks ago. Ricky Thornton Jr. the winner that night, and he's pretty far out in front of the championship right now. Jonathan Davenport and Devin Moran are very solidly inside that all important top four, and Tim McCreadie has a 35 point cushion over Mike Marlar for that final spot. Hudson O'Neal, Garrett Alberson, and Daulton Wilson remain in the mix, but they have lost some ground. Both Friday at Portsmouth and Saturday at Muskingum County are $20,000 to win and $1200 to start races. I know this will likely shock you, but RTJ is the most recent Lucas winner at both race tracks.
In Georgia, the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series is at Senoia for $20,000 to win on Saturday. Brandon Overton continuing to lead the way there, and he's got a fairly comfy lead over Sam Seawright. Second through seventh there though is only separated by 36 points, so a lot of movement is possible. It's a fairly quiet weekend in the southeast, so as long as the weather plays nice, I could see this one drawing a solid field of cars.
If you want some sprint car racing over the next few days, I'd definitely keep an eye on Knoxville. With the Outlaws and High Limit off, this one will likely draw some big names. We already know that Gio Scelzi and KCP are headed there, and some other national touring teams are possible and likely. We are getting closer to the Nationals, so any laps these teams can get could be valuable for later on. There is also POWRi at Lake Ozark, and the FAST series has a weekend double header at Wayne County.
In Indiana, the USAC sprint cars are back to racing after last week's controversial shows at Macon Speedway. I did hear that some form of an appeal was lodged this week, but I don't know if there was any ruling, and if there was, what the result was. We obviously haven't seen or heard anything official from USAC. These two nights at Lincoln Park will be the first of two trips to Putnamville for the series in 2024. They'll race Friday and Saturday this week, and then Putnamville opens Indiana Sprint Week at the end of the month. Logan Seavey maintains the championship lead, but it's tight at the top with Brady Bacon, CJ Leary, and Daison Pursley all within 100 points. Jake Swanson is the most recent winner at the track.
Alright, that's it for the show today and for the week. As always, you guys tuning in everyday and supporting DIRTRACKR is very much appreciated.
Hope you guys have a great Friday and a great weekend out there, we'll see you back here on Monday!