DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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You can't use lasers in dirt racing | Daily 12-9-2024
The World of Outlaws issued two quiet penalties following World Finals last month, and the reason for one of them might surprise you. We'll talk through those, plus possible changes coming for Justin Grant. Let's go!
It's Monday, December 9th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.
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So, I'm assuming everyone tuning in today remembers the little dustup we had back a month ago at World Finals between Chris Madden and Ricky Thornton Jr. There was contact on track between the two, and then after Madden's Saturday night win, RTJ had words about Madden during his podium interview, and things continued during what was supposed to be the podium photo session. Madden and RTJ ended up chest to chest, and then there was a bit of a scuffle in the aftermath right on the frontstretch of the Charlotte dirt track. It looked like there was some shenanigans involving some crew people. Apparently the series didn't take too kindly to what happened, and in the days following World Finals, actually issued penalties to some of the involved parties. I had missed this from before, and outside of it existing on the Outlaw website, I can't find mention of it anywhere else. But the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and World Racing Group did place Chris Madden himself, and Team 22 crew member Brian Morabito on probation for what went on, and Team 22, owned by GR Smith, was fined $500. The brief announcement of the penalties says quote "After review of the video footage, two members of Team 22 Inc. – identified as Madden and Morabito – made clear and aggressive physical contact with two other separate individuals" unquote. Both Madden and Morabito will remain on probation until April 30th, 2025. This is obviously not a massive penalty, and more just the series saying hey, don't do that again, and we'll be watching. Team 22 is planning a pick and choose schedule with Madden next season, and they will run the full year with Drake Troutman. Troutman will effectively run his own Team 22 operation from his Pennsylvania shop though, and a series choice hasn't yet been announced.
Following World Finals though, this wasn't the only penalty quietly handed out by World Racing Group. There was also a very interesting violation on the sprint car side, and a fine issued there as well. Over the last few seasons, there have been multiple sweeps and crackdowns on using technology to try and signal drivers and pass along information, and this has remained a focus for the various series and events. We saw it at the Chili Bowl in 2024, where they swapped out Raceceivers and did a technology check for drivers. This came effectively with no warning, and we watched it play out live on FloRacing as Chili Bowl officials made their way to each car in advance of the night's feature. We've also seen attempts to find and limit smart watches, think back to Eldora late model special events, and in some places crew guys signaling has been severely curtailed. That includes at Eldora and with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. This particular violation though happened with the sprint cars, and their regulations have very clear limitations on what crews and drivers are and aren't allowed to do. Specifically in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series rulebook, under Chapter 2, Section 1, Subsection O, there is a provision in there about signaling. It says quote "Hand signals, colored gloves and colored sticks will be permitted for the use of communication with drivers. Flashlights, anything with electricity and/or two-way radio communication or any electronic communication with drivers will not be permitted" unquote. And it's that second part that was violated by this team. During Friday night's sprint car feature event, the penalty announcement says that Outlaw tech director Ethan McDermott observed a crew member from the Brian Brown team using a laser pointer to signal Brown in the car while he was on track. The crew member was confronted and confirmed he was using it to pass information to Brown. Based on the rule I just shared, this is against policy, and Brown's team was fined $300 for the violation. I'd be curious to know what the system and method actually was for communication with the pointer. I have a hard time believing Brown could discern info while under green, but there were a pair of early cautions in that race. So do they have like a morse code system of laser flashes for various messages. And where are they pointing the laser that Brown could actually see it. At Charlotte, crew members are standing in turns three and four outside the track, because that's where the work area is. So that 21 crew guy would have had to be up against the fence to shoot the laser toward the car. Also, if you are curious, Brown finished 13th in that race after starting ninth, so whatever the messaging was, it didn't seem to help Brown not go backwards a bit in that main event. He was a top five finisher in both the Thursday and Saturday features though. Overall, 2024 was a bit of a down season for Brown, as he missed some time with illness, and had just two wins after seven the year before. Great spot though by McDermott, and it makes you wonder how much similar behavior is going on. This type of signaling is clearly banned by the rulebook, but it didn't stop the team from doing it anyway. It goes to show how valuable that information is, if teams are willing to try this type of illegal signaling. It's also another clear illustration of the constant cat and mouse games that go on between series officials and the teams. If you want to see the two penalty annoucements for yourself, you can find them at worldofoutlaws.com/news.
As we keep up with the updates on Chili Bowl entries, there is a curious situation that has popped up with the Chad Boat owned team. We talked, I think last week, about their six entries for the event, and that two are still listed as TBA. My guess for those two was Ty Gibbs and Tanner Holmes, but I've been told in recent days that Holmes racing in Tulsa will likely come with another team. So, who could drive that other CB Industries entry? Well, the list itself gives us a big clue, as NOS Energy Drink is listed as a sponsor. And there is chatter going around, including on social media, and Thomas Meseraull mentioned it in a recent YouTube video, that it could be Justin Grant. The rumor is Grant has departed the Dave Estep owned team that he's raced for in recent years, and that he will join Boat for this event. There is even a paintscheme rendering floating around. Over the past five USAC midget seasons, Grant is third in wins, but 2024 was definitely off pace for JG. Just a single win, at Jefferson County in July, and he was a distant seventh in the standings, nearly 300 points behind champion Daison Pursley. At the Chili Bowl, Grant has seven main event appearances in 16 attempts, with a best finish of second, that came in 2021. Last year though, his D-Main exit was his worst Chili Bowl run since an L-Main end in 2014. If it's true that JG has left RMS completely, then Boat's team would be a no-brainer landing spot for the Chili Bowl, and potentially a USAC midget run. They already have a relationship with NOS, and an open seat with Daison Pursley headed for full time sprint car competition in 2025. This would be the second straight season with a high profile RMS departure, as TMez left this team late in 2023, and now potentially Grant out. Estep and RMS at this point don't have any entries listed for the Chili Bowl. At last check, we are sitting at 263 Chili Bowl entries.
That's the show for today. Thanks as always for tuning in and hanging out every day.
Hope you guys have a great Monday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!