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.
Is it over before it really started? | Daily 1-26-2025
Big late model names struggle at Volusia. Is it time to worry about them? Plus could we see drivers switch between the national tours? We'll talk about potential candidates. We've also got weekend sprint car results, series full timer updates, and tire penalty news. Let's go!
It's Sunday, January 26th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.
In your agriculture or construction operation, or even around the home, it's important to keep expenses low. And one way to save is on fuel costs. You can do that without sacrificing performance with Kubota's fuel-efficient machinery. Engineered for optimal energy use, their equipment ensures you can work longer while spending less. Kubota's commitment to fuel efficiency means you can tackle tough jobs while keeping operating costs low. Make the smart choice for your bottom line—choose Kubota for fuel-efficient machinery. To check out the full line of Kubota equipment, head to your local dealer or visit kubotausa.com.
We are off an running for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series season with two nights at Volusia in the books. I know it's only two races, but under no circustances would anyone have picked Cody Overton and Ethan Dotson to be your top two in the standings after the weekend. Even though he didn't get a win, Jonathan Davenport was really the best car over the two nights combined, finishing second in both features, but he's way down in 32nd in the standings. Remember the Outlaws give bonus points to declared teams to start the season. We'll get back to this situation in a minute. The Friday night win went to Ryan Gustin. He battled with Nick Hoffman, before getting away late and topping Davenport and Cody Overton. Hoffman spun out of that lead battle and later finished 9th. The Saturday victory went to Garrett Alberson, who track down race-long leader Jimmy Owens inside ten to go, and he led the final nine laps en route to his first career Outlaw win. Davenport again second, with Max Blair third. It was an odd weekend for a lot of the big names. Chris Madden, Alberson, Daulton Wilson, Ricky Thornton Jr., Devin Moran, Owens, and Dale McDowell all missed the show Friday. And Bs were stacked again on Saturday, with names like Brandon Overton, RTJ, Dennis Erb, Drake Troutman, Brandon Sheppard, McDowell, and Hudson O'Neal all making appearances, with varying levels of success. I'm going to keep qualifying these statements with the fact that it's early, but do we need to start worrying about some of these guys? Hudson O'Neal 24th at Golden Isles, 30th on Friday, but he did go 22nd to eighth on Saturday. Madden two Bs and a 28th. And RTJ 22nd at Golden Isles, 10th in a B Friday, 19th last night. You get to have some off nights during speedweeks and it's okay because of the drops, but this lack of pace for some of these guys can't keep up for long. And when we're talking about O'Neal and RTJ, these are guys with nearly completely new crews for this season.
Back to the bonus point situation. Thanks to this little wrinkle in the Outlaw rules, it actually gives us a look at who's made the necessary submissions to declare as an Outlaw full timer. We knew with the addition last week of Austin Smith, the Outlaws were officially to 21, but it's actually a lot more than that. There are a number of drivers who appear to be hedging between the two series. And the list includes several big names. Guys we've been talking about as Lucas regulars who are also on the list on the Outlaw side include Brandon Sheppard, Drake Troutman, Tim McCreadie, Jimmy Owens, Brandon Overton, Carson Ferguson, Ricky Thornton Jr., and Daulton Wilson. All received those bonus points, along the Outlaw guys we knew about, plus Frank Heckenast. It's clear the Outlaw PR machine and officials aren't looking at these guys as full timers, because they aren't included on the driver page and didn't get announcements. But of those eight guys were thought were Lucas regulars, I think we could see some flip. I've heard some interesting rumblings about Tim McCreadie for example. We also knew as of Chili Bowl, Thornton and Koehler hadn't decided yet either. Depending on how things progress in the coming weeks, this will definitely be a situation to watch. We don't have our first real Outlaw/Lucas conflict until later in March, and if weather pops up, it could be longer than that.
Late model speedweeks continue this week with Monday and Tuesday races at Needmore Speedway in Georgia. Both of those $10,000 to win, and sanctioned by the Hunt the Front series. We'll see who ends up making that trip, remember those are non-points events for the HTF series. After that, it's back south to All-Tech for Lucas starting on Thursday. The World of Outlaws late models are back racing starting February 13th at Volusia. There will also be DIRTcar late model nights during DIRTcar Nationals.
Looking at other racing from the weekend, we had a banger down under at the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic. James McFadden came out on top for his third career classic win, but it was wild. At various points we had JMac, Jamie Veal, Lachlan McHugh, Jock Goodyer, and Cory Eliason in the mix. Goodyer was banging the boards, and McFadden rolled a lot of hot bottom. Lap traffic was also a big factor. If you didn't watch that one, I'd definitely recommend hitting the replay over at FloRacing. Eliason the top finishing American in second, with Garet Williamson seventh, and Cole Macedo eighth. This will be the end of the Aussie season for a lot the American guys as they'll head back to begin preparations for the season here which starts very soon. We'll have ASCS at Volusia this coming weekend, and then the Outlaw season starts a week from Wednesday.
Going back to the Thursday show last week, we talked about the Outlaws adding Skylar Gee and Zach Hampton to their 2025 rookie class, and as expected, the field grew again on Friday. The Vermeer 55, now being driven again by Hunter Schuerenberg, will flip from High Limit to the Outlaws for this year. The 55 ran last season out with High Limit, with Chris Windom in the seat. Windom though also jumping to the Outlaws for 2025, but he'll be driving for Jason Sides. The addition of Schuerenberg pushes the Outlaws to 14 total. And the rookie class is up to six. This Kevin Gobrecht rookie of the year battle will be one to watch all season, as we haven't had a class like this in a long time. Schuerenberg back in the 55 with Clinton Boyles on the wrenches could be a sneaky car to watch in this fight. Schuerenberg has won with just about every big time series out there, except the Outlaws and High Limit. But he's got USAC wins, All Star victories, MSCS, MOWA, FAST, POWRi, and IRA scores. I think the rosters for both sprint car series really rounded out well as we get ready for the season to start. The Outlaws at 14, High Limit at 13. I still think High Limit could get Chase Randall, and then the last remaining driver I know about right now who had series aspirations is Emerson Axsom. We'll see if they decide to go one way or the other, or stick with a pick and choose schedule.
One final Chili Bowl note for you before we shut it down for today, with all the tire testing results back, the event did end up busting one more driver and team for a failed test. Sam Johnson was found with a non-conforming sample following his second place heat finish during Friday prelim action. He joins Clinton Boyles and Hunter Schuerenberg as drivers to be penalized during the event. Boyles and Schuerenberg were DQ'd for Saturday, and they'll be good to race in 2026. Johnson though will likely be ruled out of the 2026 event because of his infraction. Event tech director Cody Cordell said at a drivers meeting that any failed tests from Thursday, Friday, and/or Saturday would result in 2026 bans because they wouldn't get the results back in time.
Alright, that's the show for today. Hope you guys have a great Sunday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!