DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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3 sprint cars signed in... The show must go on! Or not? | Daily 9-16-2024

What do you do when you host a sprint car race, but only a few cars show up? We'll talk about it today, as that's exactly what happened on Sunday at the Terre Haute Action Track. We've also got news from Bloomington Speedway, USAC, and more. Let's go!

It's Monday, September 16th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

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So, my question for you at the top of the show today is how many sprint cars is enough to run a race night program? And I ask, because of a situation that played out on Sunday at the Terre Haute Action Track. The first year Maverick Winged Sprint Series was supposed to be racing there along with modifieds, but right before 5PM eastern time, the show was cancelled, with the series citing lack of participants. Before we go further, a little background for you. Maverick started up this season trying to get a regular winged 410 sprint car series going in Indiana. It's a common thread you hear, why aren't there more winged races in Indiana with all of the different race tracks. High Limit had two stops in the state in 2024, at Kokomo and Lawrenceburg. And the Outlaws had just one, at Haubstadt. So in between other regional series like FAST, MOWA, and POWRi, Maverick scheduled 13 410 sprint car races this season, with stops at Bloomington, Terre Haute, Lincoln Park, Haubstadt, and Red Hill. Races are $5000 to win and $500 to start, and it is my understanding that this series is a collaboration of some sort between Kevin Newton and the Spikers. Before yesterday, of the 11 scheduled races, they'd completed eight, with some early spring rainouts, and they cancelled Bloomington in August because of heat. Jacob Allen has two wins, as does Tyler Courtney, and Emerson Axsom, Todd Moule, Joe B Miller, and Darin Naida have one victory a piece. Along the way, car counts have been respectable, especially during the joint IRA speedweek, where they peaked at 55. The last show at Lincoln Park in August where Naida won had 26, and their lowest happened twice, with 17. So, jumping back to Terre Haute yesterday, here's what I know. They cancelled because of lack of participants, and MyRacePass showed three signed in at the time of the decision. They were series points leader Sterling Cling, plus Geoff Dodge and Jett Mann. I was told there were six cars in the pits, and more were coming. Beyond the three that were signed in, we know that Justin Peck was there with Michael Dutcher's 17GP, and I've been able to confirm that Bryce Norris, Joel Myers Jr., and Carson Dillon were planning on racing. I also know that Ayrton Gennetten was on his way, he was 30 minutes from the track when they cancelled, and I'm assuming Kevin Newton was going to race. That takes us to nine. From there, I don't know who else would have been possible or likely, but there may have been a few others, potentially taking the event to 11 or 12. Even at nine though, that wouldn't have been the lowest attended series race this season, as I know that POWRi ran their 410 series at I-70 way back in May with just eight cars. They had Gennetten, Blake Hahn, Noah Gass, Roger Crockett, Jack Wagner, Will Armitage, Samuel Wagner, and Xavier Doney and ran qualifying, a heat, and a 20 lap feature that Gennetten won. That's obviously an excrement sandwich, but kudos to POWRi and I-70 for still running the race and paying the purse. There may be other races that had fewer cars, but I didn't dig all that deep. I was told that the teams that did make the trip were given at least some tow money, but obviously a day like yesterday is not good for anyone involved. That includes the series who will likely take a hit with both the fans and the competitors. It sucks for the teams that spent money to show up and then not race. And for those fans that did the same, made plans, headed to the track, and then got nothing. So, back to my original question, how many is enough to run a race? It feels to me like the series and track were likely headed for a loss yesterday, so that sucks. Should we as fans expect them to do that and take it in the shorts? You would also hope that the teams in the area would support the series, especially with MOWA rained out Saturday at Highland. But you also can't blame them for maybe wanting a Sunday off. I've seen criticisms about promotion and recruiting teams, and there is probably some truth to all of that. I really like the idea of Maverick, and I do think there is a place for it geographically and in between all of the other regional stuff. But this is a blemish that will sting. The series is set to close out this first season October 4th at Lincoln Park.

In a not completely unrelated bit of news, it looks like the future of Bloomington Speedway has been secured with an announcement in recent days about a new operating group. An entity called Speedway Partners LLC has entered into a five year lease agreement to promote the Indiana race track starting in 2025. This 2024 season was the 101st year of racing at the facility, so good to see that tradition will continue. A brief release about the news said that details about the management team and plans for next year will be released soon. Bloomington's season wrapped up about two weeks ago.

Another news item from recent days involves the BC39 week at the Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That is obviously a USAC midget event, but new this season there will be USAC sprint cars on track as well. On Thursday the 26th, they are going to run a non-points invitation only show for the sprint cars, featuring two heats and a 20 lap main event. The top ten teams in USAC points were invited, with confirmed entries so far from Logan Seavey, Daison Pursley, CJ Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr., Mitchel Moles, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, and Kale Drake. If I remember correctly, I believe there have been sprint car laps at the track before, in a test session, but this will be the first actual racing on the 1/4 mile track that sits inside turn three at Indy. The three day BC39 culminates in a $20,000 to win feature on Saturday night, and at last check there are 32 midgets pre-entered. All the usual suspects are represented on that list. We'll talk more BC39 next week.

Looking around the country this week, it's pretty quiet in terms of racing action until we get closer to the weekend. That's why the streaming schedule is pretty quiet today. There will be a few scattered other things though this week, so make sure to stop by dirtrackr.com/watchtonight to see your options.

We'll call it good there today. Hope you guys have a great Monday, we'll see you back here tomorrow!