DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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You ever wonder why car owners make the decisions they do? | Daily 10-15-2024

We've been talking a lot about silly season here lately, but why exactly do some of these decisions get made, and what exactly are all the factors at play during this time of the year. We'll discuss today. Let's go!

It's Tuesday, October 15th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

Eldora Speedway's final big event of 2024 starts this coming Thursday, with the 44th Dirt Track World Championship. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series finale highlights the weekend, with modifieds, super stocks, and steel block late models also on the card. If you're going to be in town, make sure to stop by The Whistle Stop and grab something good to eat. It's just a seven mile ride straight south of the race track to Ansonia. All week you can get breakfast, lunch, dinner, pizza, and you can get some food to bring back to the track with you. And when you stop in, they've got a full bar so you can enjoy a nice adult beverage. Andrew and his staff do a great job, so if you stop in, tell them DIRTRACKR sent you. If you want to ride a little further south, head to Sure Shot Tap House in Greenville, Ohio, a great place to eat, drink and play. They've got a full menu, plus all sorts of adult beverage options on tap, self pour, plus the Bullseye Game Lounge upstairs with duckpin bowling and 24 arcade games. When you're not at the track, keep yourself fed and entertained with these two establishments, the Whistle Stop and Sure Shot Tap House. Thanks to them for their support of Eldora and this show.

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately, especially as we're at a point in the season where rides are starting to change, crew guys are moving around, and all of that, is the mindset and motivations of dirt racing car owners. I know that sounds a little broad or general, but just hear me out for a minute. I think for the vast majority of car owners at the highest levels of the sport, it's not like they are just drowning in profits. Expenses keep rising, and while the prize money continues to go up as well, it's clearly not keeping up with the money going out the door. Sponsorships are difficult to find, and a lot of these folks are just doing it because they love racing. Some are business owners and can use these teams as a way to have some tax stuff for their books, so clearly we can't overlook that factor either. But, as we start to see combinations come together for 2025, what exactly are some of these car owners looking to do. Because when it's not about making as much money as possible, what's left? Take baseball for example. The Oakland As for most of the last few decades have had one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. The owner won't shell out the cash, the team is okay enough each season, but they can sit back and collect their rights fees and ballpark revenue and do very well for themselves. And that's not uncommon in sports. Some owners are okay with mediocrity, because they still make a lot of money. But that's not true in racing. If you skimp on your sprint car operation on tour with the Outlaws, you're going to get worked on the track, and in your wallet. And I think we can look around at several situations in the sport over the last year or few years and wonder. The SSI, Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O'Neal situation is a perfect example. That car with RTJ was lights out. Winning everything, top of the sport. Then out of nowhere, Thornton is gone and O'Neal is in. Not that O'Neal is a bad driver, but that car hasn't been anywhere near where it was previously. O'Neal didn't make the Lucas chase, and hasn't won a series race since July. We will likely never know for sure what went sideways between Todd Burns and RTJ, but you can't blame it on performance. So is this vibes? Or is there a money factor? Or maybe both? Is Burns happier now watching his car with O'Neal in it versus RTJ? If the money stuff was equal, what's better, vibes or winning? This will be an interesting team to watch this offseason, as if some of the rumblings are true, significant changes are coming here. Some of their own doing, and others not. There are definitely situations where drivers or crew guys wear out their welcome, and no matter what they bring, the hassle and headache just isn't worth whatever their contributions are. And to be clear, I'm not saying that's what happened with RTJ, I just want that disclaimer here. But it has happened other places. And the flipside is true. Not every deal is about a driver getting fired, and sometimes guys leave teams because they aren't happy with how things have gone. Remember there are big egos involved on all sides, and sometimes that doesn't go well. But as we start seeing drivers get hired for 2025, there was a significant amount of thought that went into those moves. And right now, all over the sport, phone calls and text messages are flying every day as everyone tries to position themselves. For the team owners, there are no lack of available drivers, so what are they looking for? Is it just the fastest guy? Is it a guy who's maybe not as fast, but brings a little cash? Or are you willing to hire that unknown or not great guy because he can fund your whole deal for the year. And when you do start to zero in on a guy, is he going to get along with your crew? Do you need to hire new crew guys? Does he gel with the equipment you have, because these things aren't plug and play. The combination of parts and pieces along with the driver and crew all matter. I was talking to an industry friend about that exact thing not long ago. Think about a situation like Buch Motorsports. They lose Justin Peck, so what's the move? I'm sure team phones were going off non-stop with potential candidates, but they settle on Daison Pursley. Daison's talent and potential are right where you'd hope for a young driver, but will he get along with that existing team? Is the funding in line for next season? Does Daison care about what chassis they have? Engines? Shocks? These are all things these guys deal with. I messaged a bit today with someone at a dirt racing team about their driver situation for next year that may or may not be fluid. I had heard some rumors and was hoping to get a little clarity. They aren't sure how it's going to play out with this current wheelman, so to cover themselves they are fielding calls from other drivers and trying to see who's available and what those deals could look like, on the chance that driver moves on, either voluntarily, or not. It's a constant moving target. I'm sure most of us would be stunned to know all of the conversations that have happened between parties over the years that never did happen or play out. I did a Daily show earlier this year about Mark Richards and Rocket Racing looking into the possibility of hiring Jonathan Davenport. That would have been yet another bombshell had that actually happened. All of these things have been bouncing around my head here lately, and I wanted to put it all out and have the conversation with you guys. Sometimes we are going to look at these choices and wonder what the hell they were thinking, and other times we're going to talk about how we would have made that same decision ourselves. But that's why all of this is so interesting to follow. As we move forward, the late model side has been very quiet as of late, but big questions still remain. We don't know, at least officially, who is getting the Longhorn house car deal. What will Brandon Sheppard's next season look like? Is RTJ staying at Koehler? What happens with Chris Madden? Does Rocket keep Tim McCreadie, and I'm sure there is more I'm not thinking of. And on the sprint car side, what initially looked like it might be a quieter offseason, is suddenly starting to sound like it could be just as hot as last year with drivers moving, crew guys, and series choices. Drop me a comment, and let me know what you think about all of this.

We'll call that good for today. Hope you guys have a great Tuesday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!