DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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What I'm hearing on several sprint car deals | Daily 1-2-2025
On this final show of the week, I'm clearing out my rumor inbox and sharing what I know about several sprint car drivers and teams, including what's up with Chase Randall, Danny Sams' potential plans, and several other names to watch. We'll also talk weekend racing, results down under, and more. Let's go!
It's Thursday, January 2nd, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.
Should we talk about some sprint car rumors today? I'm sure I'll ruffle some feathers with this information, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time I've pissed people off. We've hit on a few things in recent days, but I've got a bunch of stuff on my list that I've been sent from various sources here in the last few days and weeks, so let's dive into some of these situations. First, I know we talked very briefly about Chase Randall yesterday. Going back to the summer, Randall left the TKS Motorsports sprint car, and he closed out the year bouncing around to a few different teams. His last 410 appearances were against High Limit at Texas, and he raced Trophy Cup. He's currently in Australia for the winter racing there. Some of the cars he ran late in the year included the Beaver 12, with Tiner Hirst, the LA Competition 58 in Pennsylvania, 4-Crown with Kevin Newton, and the Krull Racing 14H. All through the offseason he's been linked to a bunch of different open rides, including the Jason Meyers 14, the Roth 83, the Crouch team, and others. It's my understanding though that deals couldn't be put together for any teams, even though Randall has sponsorship to bring. I mentioned on the show yesterday that a family owned car might be his future, and based on information from multiple sources, that's the plan. When the TKS sprint car showed up to World Finals with Cory Eliason, the Albaugh sponsorship was no longer on it, and word is Albaugh decided to stay with Randall. They are using that backing to get their own team setup again. This is the same Albaugh that sponsors Carson Macedo at Jason Johnson Racing. Randall previously ran a family deal in the Bush's Chicken adorned 9 car, and Bush's is on his Australia ride as well. There is some though that they are contemplating a High Limit run.
Another possibility for High Limit is Danny Sams. He posted back on Christmas Eve that they are going to run a national tour next year, and I'd heard they were having discussions with both sides, High Limit and Outlaws. One source told me not long after that they are likely High Limit, with an announcement expected soon. I know Chase Raudman talked about Sams on a recent video, and he'd be a solid addition to either series. With the shorter schedule and freedom, I think High Limit makes a lot of sense for Sams and his team.
On the west coast, it wasn't long ago that Hank Davis announced he was going to run a bunch of 410 stuff in 2025 with Shannon Wheatley. Wheatley's 45 ran a bunch of races last season with Landon Brooks, and they picked up a weekly win at Skagit, plus an Outlaw top ten at Cedar Lake. No word on Brooks' future plans, but I'm told that Davis and Wheatley could be looking at a bunch of NARC racing. If they don't run the full schedule, they will run quite a bit of it. It was thought late in the year that Davis was a candidate for the Michael Dutcher car, but this deal with Wheatley is a solid landing spot.
Two other names to throw out here. The first is Sye Lynch. He's been talked about as a potential series full timer in the past, and he had a solid troll job back on New Year's Eve. He posted a black and white photo to social media in a casino next to the High Limit area. It's certainly no confirmation of anything, but he definitely had folks talking about that. His name hasn't been one I've heard recently being thrown around, so we'll see. The other driver to watch over the next month or so is Kelby Watt. 40 410 races in 2024, including stints with Bill Rose, TKS, and his family owned car. He's still very new to 410 competition, having just 51 total starts, but I've heard his name connected to several deals through silly season. I know he's probably off the radar for most sprint car fans, but he had some respectable runs this past season against the Outlaws and High Limit. I would not be surprised to see him land somewhere before all the dust is settled.
One final note on the rumor front, I was on The Driver's Project podcast this week, and Daryl Turford asked me about what information I was sitting on currently. The big one is a crew chief change coming for a top sprint car team in the sport. One of my good sources clued me in about this in recent days, so that will be something to watch for. I'm still gathering some information on this one, so when I know more, I'll update you guys.
The dirt late model offseason is officially over as of this weekend, and action is headlined by the Wild West Shootout at Vado Speedway Park. The schedule at the Wild West Shootout is always a little odd, so here's the deal. They practice Friday night, race Saturday and Sunday. Monday is an off day, Tuesday practice again, they race next Wednesday the eighth, take Thursday off, then race again Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So between this Friday, and next Sunday the 12th, they race six nights, with two practice nights. Besides the super late models, there are also Xmods and modifieds on the undercards. Four of the six nights for the late models are $10,000 to win and $600 to start, and two, the first Saturday and the final Sunday, are $25,000 to win and $1000 to start. Last year, they were in the 40s for car count, and I think I would expect something similar this season. The field will be headlined by names like Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce, Mike Marlar, Garrett Alberson, Drake Troutman, Tyler Erb, and Dale McDowell. Once action is complete at Vado following January 12th, a lot of these teams will haul ass cross country to start Speedweeks with Lucas at Golden Isles on January 15th. In 2024, Bobby Pierce won four of six features and won the week long points championship. Cade Dillard and Kyle Larson also picking up wins. No Larson this year, and I also don't see the bonus deal where drivers winning multiple races could win extra cash. If you aren't headed for Vado, FloRacing with live streaming coverage all week.
Also this weekend is the Ice Bowl at Talladega. A bunch of divisions there, headlined by $7500 to win for super late models. I'd love to tell you who's expected to race this one, but I can't find any details on that. Nothing on the Talladega Short Track socials, or website, or MyRacePass that I can find. Ryan Gustin the winner at this show last year, and they had 32 cars. No Flo streaming this year for the Ice Bowl, things have shifted instead over to Crate Racin USA TV.
At the Tulsa Shootout, preliminary action continues through Friday, and then things get serious on Saturday with Drillers on the line. I haven't seen that there has been any top of the ramp brawls this year, but we did have Anton Hernandez DQ'd over an illegal engine, and Ricky Thornton Jr. broke a power plant in A class winged and will have to run through the soup. We have seen a few wins from Kyle Busch, and some decent charges through races from Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson. Racing is live all weekend on Flo.
If you are curious how things are going down under, we've seen James McFadden and Brad Sweet pick up sprint car wins in recent days. At Bunbury on New Years it was JMac topping Ryan Newton and Kerry Madsen. And just a little bit ago back at Perth, Sweet topped Dayne Kingshott and Callum Williamson. The sprint car teams in the west will be back to Bunbury on Saturday. At Western Springs, Buddy Kofoid picked up the midget win in the World International feature, topping Michael Pickens and Kaidon Brown. Pro Speedcar week also gets rolling, with four nights across Victoria and South Australia. Speedcars in Australia are midgets, if you aren't aware. USAC and FloRacing's Drake York will be on the call for those races with Wade Aunger. They've got stops at Southern 500 Speedway, Borderline, Simpson, and Premier. Check out our friends at Clay Per View to watch a bunch of the action from down under. You can also catch highlights on their YouTube channel.
Alright, that's the Daily for this week. Now that the season is getting rolling again, make sure to stop by dirtrackr.com and check out the streaming schedule. We keep that updated with everything from a bunch of the different services, and you can find links to watch.
Hope you guys have a great Thursday out there, we'll see you back here on Sunday!