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.

The sprint car drivers NOT racing with the World of Outlaws in 2025 | Daily 11-27-2024

We know the World of Outlaws will have quite a few returning sprint car teams for 2025, but there are still several question marks, including one car likely dropping off. We'll run you through all those teams today, plus preview USAC midgets at Bakersfield, interesting sponsorship news for the FAST series, and more. Let's go!

It's Wednesday, November 27th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

As I write this, we need just 47 YouTube subscribers to cross 37,000, so if you aren't yet, please consider joining 36,953 of your closest dirt racing friends by hitting the subscribe button.

Also, before we dive in, let's handle a little business. The winner of the Gateway Dirt Nationals tickets courtesy of FloRacing is Diana Frye. Thanks to everyone that entered, it was a shocking number of submissions which was incredible. Remember, the Gateway Dirt Nationals inside the Dome in St. Louis is next week, December 5th through the 7th. If you cannot get to the Dome, FloRacing is the place to be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with live streaming coverage. If you need a FloRacing subscription, click the links below, or visit dirtrackr.com/floracing.

We'll get started today with some updates on the World of Outlaws sprint car full timers list for 2025. Confirmed to be back next season are David Gravel and Sheldon Haudenschild, and we know that Cole Macedo and 2C Racing will compete all season as well. I'd expect Donny Schatz and Carson Macedo back, and I don't have any reason right now to believe that things will change for Buddy Kofoid and Roth. So that covers the top five in the standings. Things get much murkier from there though, so here is where we stand at the moment for the drivers further down the Outlaw order. The big question mark right now is Gio Scelzi and the KCP 18. I think a few months ago this was a team that I would have easily predicted would be back with the Outlaws, but now we aren't 100% sure. A few weeks ago in advance of the last World Finals night, Gio shared a post to Instagram that said quote "One more night" and had a slot machine emoji. If we are reading between the lines here, only one sprint car series has a gambling theme that would go with a slot machine emoji, and it isn't the World of Outlaws. Since it seems clear that High Limit is set to lose a few teams, and none of the Outlaw top five are going anywhere, grabbing Gio and KCP wouldn't be a bad coup for Brad Sweet and High Limit. This team took a solid step forward in 2024, with improvements in basically every major stat category, and we even talked at various points about him being a championship contender. Some tough nights though, including late in Central PA and at World Finals hurt them, and I think they still need just a bit more pace overall to really contend with Gravel and Macedo. If we want a competing sign though, KCP Racing did share the Outlaw schedule when it was released last week, which they did not do with High Limit. Moving down the order, despite a few whispers about conversations with High Limit, I think Logan Schuchart comes back to the Outlaws. Some of his sponsorship has Outlaw ties, so I don't think the 1S makes a move. I also think there is a solid chance that Bill Balog is back on tour with the series in 2025. This was kind of our surprise addition for 2024, and despite some nasty crashes, this team was competitive regularly. We might have to wait a bit for confirmation, but nothing I've heard makes me think things will change. The bottom four teams in the Outlaw standings all have questions going forward. Brock Zearfoss appears to have hired Jim Shuttlesworth to crew chief the 3Z, and he picked up that late season BAPS win. But there have been rumblings for a while this car could be off the road and headed for a pick and choose schedule centered around Central PA. Just like with Jacob Allen, I think Zearfoss could benefit from that type of schedule and the rise in purses in PA. The other three cars, the Sides 7S, the Premier 70, and the Bill Rose 6 I think could all be back on tour next year, but all three will likely have different drivers. Rose went through several drivers in the six after he was injured earlier in the year. That included Kelby Watt, Robbie Price, and Dylan Cisney. No word yet on who could get that seat on a more permanent basis. With Sides, I haven't heard anything definitive about the 7S, but there is some feeling out there that Crawley won't be back. Where he goes, and what Sides does is unknown, but it's hard to picture the Outlaws without Sides involved. As for the Premier 70, it sounds like Kraig Kinser was informed late in the season he wouldn't return to that car for 2025, and supposedly Pete Grove is on the hunt for a new driver. It was a tough year for Kraig, just two top tens, a ninth at Pevely in April, and a seventh at Eldora in May. So to wrap, of the 12 full timers in 2024, we are likely losing just one for sure, although one or two more could be possible. But we know we are gaining Cole Macedo, and there should be at least one more addition coming.

At Bakersfield Speedway today, the USAC midgets will continue their march towards the end of the season with the second to last race of 2024. This race was supposed to happen on Tuesday, but weather pushed it to today, and the track has been working non-stop to make sure the facility is ready to go. Big shoutout by the way to these California promoters this week for making these races happen. Doug Lockwood and his team at Merced did big work to get those races in, and now the effort at Bakersfield from Scott Schweitzer and his group. The expected entry list for tonight is at 36 at last check, and that includes Kyle Larson and the USAC midget debut for Kyle Busch. Busch will run tonight and Saturday at Ventura for Turkey Night to get himself ready to run Chili Bowl in January. I don't know that I've seen it anywhere, but I'm assuming it's a foregone conclusion that Busch will also run Tulsa Shootout. Busch's dirt racing effort, including cars for his son Brexton, have been maintained here lately by Big Al Scroggins, who is pretty legendary in that world. I think a reasonable goal for Busch tonight is to make the feature. He made nearly 30 winged micro starts in 2024, and I think he'll be more respectable out there than some people are expecting. He's had a tough go here lately in NASCAR, but he's still one of the most talented drivers of this generation. We'll also be watching the championship battle tonight between Daison Pursley and Cannon McIntosh. They enter separated by 54 points, and the odds are definitely in Pursley's favor. But this thing isn't over just yet. Any issues for Pursley today, and Cannon Mac could have a real shot come Turkey Night. If you are going to be placing any wagers tonight, Kyle Larson the betting favorite right now for the win over Logan Seavey and Buddy Kofoid. Larson has won four of his last five USAC midget starts going back to Placerville in 2023. The last time Yung Money was outside the top five in a USAC show was 2021, although he's only made nine starts since then. Seavey is the defending Bakersfield race winner, while Kofoid won in 2021 and 2020. Remember that you can do all your pre-betting research over in the analytics section at dirtrackr.com. Five years worth of USAC midget results and analysis available there, a lot of it for free. You can also get more with DIRTRACKR Plus, just $4.99 for a month.

Did you guys see the FAST sprint car announcement from yesterday evening? Interesting to note as we watch the regional sprint car game continue to move and shift, but Kevin Newton and Honest Abe Roofing jumping on to partner up with Aaron Fry and FAST next year. This comes not long after the announced return of the All Star Circuit of Champions to Ohio, but also not too long after Honest Abe had already become the title sponsor of POWRi's regional 410 series. Newton had previously backed the Maverick series, and with it looking like POWRi has aims to expand north and east into some of the same areas Maverick was trying to lock down, it's curious to see Newton spread his support around. It's certainly good news for those that will run FAST next year, as the release from the series points to enhanced tow money and point fund for 2025. As Fry faces a future where he needs to contend for tracks and drivers with Rich Farmer and the All Stars, this added support will make that easier.

If you want some other dirt racing audio this week while you prepare those Thanksgiving meals, Dirt Track Confessions has Steve Post, Hoogie's Garage has Garrett Benson, and there are new episodes of the Dirt Reporters, the Dirt Nerds, Dirt Tracks and Rib Racks, Ohio Dirt, and the Driver's Project. To see a full listing of dirt racing shows and their newest episodes, head over to dirtrackr.com/podcasts.

That's the show for today. We will have a fresh daily tomorrow, so don't forget about the show in between holiday festivities.

Hope you guys have a great Wednesday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!