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.

I can't keep up with all the new dirt late model chassis companies | Daily 11-28-2024

On this holiday edition of the Daily show, we'll talk about a new ride down under for James McFadden, plus his future in the US. We'll also dive into USAC midgets at Bakersfield and the debut of Kyle Busch, Ashton Winger's new chassis and plans, and this proliferation of dirt late model chassis builders, and more. Let's go!

It's Thursday, November 28th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there, hope you guys have a good holiday and get to spend some time with family and friends.

We'll open with some news down under. In Australia, James McFadden has a new sprint car ride going forward. He had been racing that NAPA sponsored car with Hodges Motorsport, even as recently as the Adelaide 500 Sprintcars in the City event. But that car is now on the shelf, and JMac is moving over to the Team Brady 23X car, joining back up with veteran crew chief Kim Buswell. McFadden shared to social media they have a busy summer of racing planned, and that starts this weekend at Perth Motorplex. They were already on track yesterday for practice together. If you aren't aware, Kim Buswell is Dylan Buswell's father. Dylan the current crew chief at Roth for Buddy Kofoid. We know from the end of the High Limit season that McFadden has moved back to Australia permanently, but word is he will be back in the US next summer for all the major sprint car events. And those starts will likely come in a second Roth car. It's seeming more likely that the second Roth entry will not be full time anywhere next year, and will instead be pick and choose and available for JMac when he comes back stateside. This team did earn a High Limit charter after this season, but my guess is that would slide down the order. There could also be a scenario where High Limit only awards four charters for 2024, and makes it six for 2025. We'll see on that front, especially with Brent Marks' status for next year still unknown.

USAC Midgets at Bakersfield last night, this one having been rescheduled from Tuesday because of weather. They did get the track in enough shape to be able to run, but it was not an easy night for the competitors. Passing was at a premium, and there were several big crashes, including Cale Coons in hot laps, Brody Fuson had a huge one in his heat race, and Carson Macedo went for a big ride in the feature. On a track like that, small mistakes get punished big time, and we saw it last night. There were a few drivers that were missing, or out early come feature time, and that included Corey Day, who I don't believe even made the call for the main event after finishing second in his heat race. Kyle Larson started 17th, but was scored 23rd and out of the main event. I'm not sure if he bowed out on purpose, or with a mechincal issue. And a very difficult west coast swing for Tyler Courtney continued. He ran hot laps, and then never came out for the rest of the night. The broadcast crew mentioned he scratched, but we did not get a reason. Three finishes of 15th or worse going into last night, including a crash. Definitely not the stretch of races I thought we'd see out of the past champion driving a car prepared by Paul Silva. As for Kyle Busch's debut, it was going really good until it went really bad. 18th of 36 in qualifying, and for those that thought for some reason he'd struggle, he was faster in time trials than both Justin Grant and Logan Seavey. He was leading his heat race early when he dropped out with a mechanical issue, which we later found out was a bad battery connection, causing the car to cut out over the bumps. He started deep in the B, but went 10th to 5th, just missing out on a feature transfer. Even a decent heat race finish would have seen him make the main event. Plenty of pace out of that 51. In the night's big show, all Tanner Thorson out front. He went flag-to-flag for his first series win since Wayne County Illinois in 2023. Ryan Timms, Cannon McIntosh also on the podium. With Daison Pursley outside the top ten for the third time in four races out west, that points lead was chopped down again. Headed for the finale at Turkey Night, it's only 30. It won't be easy for McIntosh, but not impossible. This thing could go all the way to the checkered at Ventura. The USAC teams are off Thursday and Friday, with Turkey Night going down on Saturday.

I had a few comments over the last few days about the new chassis that Ashton Winger debuted at the Flo series race at Senoia. I hadn't heard anything about it, but Kevin Kovac over at dirtondirt.com has a full piece on Winger's plans that came out yesterday. Winger has been a Rocket guy for a lot of his career, but he and father Gary have partnered with Doug Stevens in Georgia to build these new chassis they have branded Fusion Chassis. Winger revealed to Kovac that his team didn't have any of the new XR1.2 cars yet, and instead of buying a whole new fleet, they decided to go this direction and try out some of their own ideas. It wasn't a bad year for Winger, MyRacePass has him at nine wins in 70 races, but it wasn't quite the 16 win year he had in 2023. That season he was the Summer Nationals champion. He ran all 2024 with the Hunt the Front series and ended up second to Brandon Overton, but he was the only driver in the top five in the standings without a series win. I know that dirt late model chassis builders ebb and flow, but it definitely seems right now like there is a proliferation of guys building their own stuff. We've talked in the past about some of the newer players like Wells' Infinity, Stormy Scott's Category 5, Cory Hedgecock's BMF, and now we've got this new deal with Fusion. And that's to say nothing of Rocket, Longhorn, Capital, Team Zero, Black Diamond, Mastersbilt, Barry Wright, Warrior, and some of the more established builders. Obviously building your own gives you complete control over everything, but that can be both a blessing and a curse. I would be curious to know from brand to brand, how much innovation and difference there really is. I know there is a portion of the fanbase that believes they are all copies to some extent of past designs. If you have the knowledge and ability, building your own stuff could be advantageous, but with the customer support available through the other builders, it's definitely not the right move for everyone. If you use the national tours as a barometer, Longhorn definitely the leader right now, and Wells able to make some inroads with the Infinity in the hands of Gustin most notably. Rocket is coming off a down year, but it's clear they are looking for better next year with the XR1.2 and Brandon Sheppard back in the mix. The other interesting tidbit in the Kovac story is that Winger is looking at a return to national touring competition for next season. He was an Outlaw full timer in 2020, finishing seventh in the standings as a rookie, and signing on again with the Outlaws is on the table. Right now, we know the Outlaws have commitments from Nick Hoffman, Brian Shirley, Daniel Adam, Ryan Gustin, and Dustin Sorensen. We also know Brandon Sheppard is flipping from Outlaws to Lucas. Winger would be a solid addition to that group, and is definitely a driver who could win multiple races next season if they can get this chassis to match what they can do with a Rocket. If you want read Kovac's full piece for yourself, head over to dirtondirt.com. Lots of quotes from Winger in there, and Kovac is the goat when it comes to long form journalism in dirt late model racing.

If you are looking for racing this weekend, I already mentioned Turkey Night at Ventura. That will be USAC midgets and non-wing sprint cars. There is also 604 and 602 crate late models at Swainsboro, that one will draw plenty of southeast guys. There are sprint cars down under at Borderline, Murray Bridge, Toowoomba, and Perth. Hit up our friends at Clay Per View for some of that action. There is also IMCA out at Central Arizona. Make sure to keep up with dirtrackr.com/watchtonight for your streaming options through the next few days.

As we close out today, thank you for 37,000 YouTube subscribers. We blew past it yesterday adding 148 new subs, and are now across 37,100. Hopefully we can get to 38K before the year turns over to 2025.

Hope you guys have a great Thursday out there, we'll see you back here on Sunday!