DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Hunt the Front getting help, sponsors behind Kasey Kahne's changes? | Daily 1-27-2025
Hunt the Front adds some key help, for at least a few races anyway. We'll talk through that, plus this Kasey Kahne situation has taken new turns, and his unexpected change in plans suddenly makes a lot more sense. Let's go.
It's Monday, January 27th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.
Get ready, race fans! The motorsports event of the season is here—Racing Xtravaganza, happening Friday, January 31st, and Saturday, February 1st, at the York Expo Center in York, Pennsylvania. This is more than just an event—it's where the racing world comes together to Meet, Compete, and Evolve! Whether you're a driver, fan, or just love the thrill of motorsports, there's something for everyone. From 100s of race cars competing for the $1,000 Renewal by Andersen People's Choice Award, to the $12,000 BAPS Auto Paints Cornhole Challenge presented by Explore York. The stakes are high, and the excitement is real! And don't miss the Front Runner Construction 2025 Ms. Racing Xtravaganza Pageant, a fan-favorite highlight of the show. Plus, check out the MyRacePass Seminar Room for expert sessions, meet your favorite stars on the Sports Insurance Specialists Main Stage, and let the kids enjoy Free RC Racing. Bring the whole family—Kids 10 and under are FREE, parking is FREE, and military veterans, seniors, and students get discounts at the door. Don't wait! Save even more money by grabbing your discount tickets now at TicketHoss.com. Lock in your spot for Central PA's can't-miss racing tradition and be part of the action before the outdoor season kicks off! Racing Xtravaganza—January 31st and February 1st at the York Expo Center. Be there! You can find the Racing Xtravaganza Website and direct Ticket Hoss links below in the video description.
It's a Monday in January, but don't let that fool you. There will be big time late model racing tonight, and also tomorrow. The Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series is getting in on the speedweeks action this year, slotting themselves into the schedule between the opening World of Outlaws Volusia weekend, and Lucas at All-Tech. They are at Needmore Speedway in Georgia the next two nights for $10,000 to win shows. Needmore sits a little north of Valdosta, and isn't far from several of the other speedweeks tracks. There should be a very strong group racing the next two nights, and we saw a bunch of the possibilities on track last night for open practice. Ryan Gustin quick time overall, with Brandon Overton and Drake Troutman also fast. Other names that participated included Ethan Dotson, Dennis Erb Jr., Kyle Bronson, and Cody Overton. We also know that Hudson O'Neal is racing Kevin Rumley's car, and the series posted to social media they expect Ricky Thornton Jr., Jimmy Owens, and Daulton Wilson to race. FloRacing's Kyle McFadden also says that we could see Jonathan Davenport, who said they were thinking about it. Ashton Winger is sitting out to regroup, and McFadden said maybe Bobby Pierce after Volusia they had, but he doubted it. For guys looking to experiment a bit, this could be a good chance for some laps, as there are no points on the line. After Tuesday night's action, there is open practice at All-Tech on Wednesday, with racing for Lucas starting back up on Thursday. You can watch tonight over on Hunt the Front TV.
As for Hunt the Front itself, some interesting developments for their team. Besides bringing in some content help to lighten the load for Jonathan, they've also got some technical know-how in their corner for the next few races. Leading into this Needmore race, they've had long time crew chief Taylon Center at their shop in Florida, and he's helping them out at the track tonight and tomorrow. In a recent HTF video, they said if all goes to plan, they plan on racing later this week at All-Tech with Lucas as well. All-Tech is a place where we've seen Joseph run well in the past, with Lucas top tens in 2024 and 2022. As for Taylon Center, if you don't know who he is, he's an experienced crew chief who has worked for some top drivers in his career. That goes back to Hudson O'Neal and Ricky Thornton Jr. at SSI Motorsports. Center and RTJ grew up together out in Arizona. In recent seasons, Center had been crew chief at the Tri Star team, first with Ryan Gustin in the seat, and last year with Cody Overton. Things with Overton were up and down in 2024, as you would expect with a rookie driver, but Center has plenty of wins on his resume. With Jesse Enterkin now not with Hunt the Front, Center being at the track will allow Joiner to really just focus on driving for the next few nights. For the "Hunt the Front needs to hire a crew chief" crowd, you're getting your wish, at least for a few races. No plans were talked about beyond All-Tech.
Going back a few days, Kasey Kahne Racing showed off new car designs for both Brad Sweet and Kasey Kahne in advance of the High Limit season starting in March. Sweet's NAPA car will be mostly white celebrating 100 years of NAPA. And Kahne goes black with several different sponsors on the car, including some new and some old. These are notable, because Kahne's nine ran mostly blank for 2024 after losing sponsor Karavan Trailers in the preceding offseason. Karavan is owned by Scott Boyd, who is also a partner in SLS Promotions. SLS obviously a big promoter of World of Outlaws sprint car events in the midwest. It sounded like Kahne going High Limit racing last year played a part in that deal going away. Curiously though, the Karavan logo did re-emerge on Kahne's car at some point around May last year from what I can tell, even with Boyd shifting some funding over to Carson Macedo and the JJR 41. That logo was small on the bodywork near the driver area, but present. I bring all this up, because on Kahne's new wrap, Karavan is back in a bigger way, with placements on both the wing sideboards and top. I guess some of these SLS/World of Outlaws/High Limit tensions have settled a bit. The other sponsor addition is one I'd heard about a while back. And this plays directly into the curious situation of Kahne deciding to fall off High Limit, but then later rejoining. If you might remember back a few months, crew chief Eric Prutzman was announced as switching from Brad Sweet's team to Kahne's, and this new pairing was going to run a lighter pick and choose schedule. Prutzman wanted to scale back, but Kahne wanted to keep him. So Prutzman would oversee the KKR operation as a whole, and handle Kahne's car when he wanted to race. But suddenly right before Christmas, it was announced Kahne was back on the road full time. I was told a few weeks ago that the addition of a new sponsor probably played a role here, and that this sponsor was tied to NASCAR. As part of the deal, Kahne would also return to do some pavement racing. I'd been sitting on this info, because I was trying to figure out the pavement part, who Kahne would be racing with, and where. But before I could put all the pieces together, the whole thing was announced. That will teach me to move quicker in the future when I have solid rumors and good information. Anyway, this new sponsor is HendrickCars.com. Kahne obviously spent a significant portion of his career driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick Cars also Kyle Larson's main sponsor, and they are backing Corey Day's move into pavement racing. But besides Hendrick Cars being on Kahne's sprint car, he'll also make an Xfinity Series start at Rockingham in an RCR car with Hendrick Cars, and yes, Karavan Trailers as sponsors. In my quest for information, I assumed this deal would come in a Hendrick affiliated truck or Xfinity car, which is where I went wrong. I didn't even have RCR on my radar. Quite the escalation though for Kahne in the span of a few months. From not being full time with High Limit, to now having sponsors on board, a full High Limit run, and his first NASCAR appearance since 2018. Crew help was an issue for Kahne a year ago, but with Prutzman and veteran crew guy Andrew Bowman onboard, that will be significantly stabilized. Kahne is still searching for his first career win with either the World of Outlaws or High Limit. His last sprint car win of any kind was in 2023 at a NOSA show at Huset's. Before that it was 2016 in a weekly race at Lincoln.
We will shut it down right there for today. If you want more dirt racing content, make sure to follow DIRTRACKR across social media. Wherever you are, so is DIRTRACKR. Just search D-I-R-T-R-A-C-K-R on your favorite platform.
Hope you guys have a great Monday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!