DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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Tony Stewart Racing, Donny Schatz looking to late models for speed? | Daily 2-6-2025

Carson Macedo silences the questions, what exactly is the World of Outlaws provisional policy, Wednesday winners and weekend action to come. Plus, changes to the TSR 15 driven by Donny Schatz didn't just stop at the crew. We'll discuss. Let's go.

It's Thursday, February 6th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

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It was indeed a big field of sprint cars last night at Volusia for the World of Outlaws' opener. 52 cars officially signed in, and we had to run a non-qualifiers race after qualifying. We talked yesterday about Wednesday being a show-up points only event, and the reasoning given was to give everyone a night to settle in, especially with no practice night. For the rest of the week, things will be full points. The other question I saw yesterday was regarding series provisionals. For DCN and World Finals, the full time teams are given unlimited provisionals. That's why you saw some guys have no problem using one last night. The one wrinkle, is that those unlimited provisionals for DCN only go to teams who were full time last year. So the new guys don't get them. After Volusia then, only two provisionals are available until June 30th. Two more are available after that. So don't be surprised to see bigger feature fields than normal the rest of the week. That provisional policy is spelled out explicitly in the Outlaw rulebook. The drivers who took advantage last night included Chris Windom, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Gio Scelzi. In the main event, big statement from Carson Macedo. He led all 25 laps for the win, and showed he's ready to compete even as he continues to heal from that broken leg suffered down in Australia. He's still limping considerably, and didn't climb up for a wing celebration, but his pace was very strong. He even admitted he wasn't sure he'd be ready. Looking back at last season, this team started in a hole after Volusia, and half miles weren't quite the strength they'd been for this team in previous years. If Macedo and the 41 can keep this up, they could be a serious challenger for Gravel. Behind Macedo's win, Gravel finished second after starting sixth on the night he received his championship ring. And Kyle Larson went 10th to third. He's still looking for that first Volusia win. There were issues for a few guys, including Christopher Bell. He started fourth, but the hit wall and suffered a flat. He finished 16th. And Buddy Kofoid had a DNF after crashing late in a battle with Kyle Larson. He got over the turn four cushion, and ending up flipping after contact with Logan Schuchart trying to save it. With the bit of a free night in the books, things get serious from here on out. Points on the line going forward, and solid money all weekend. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, all $12,000 to win and $1200 to start. And the finale Saturday is $20,000 to win and $1500 to start.

Before we move on, I did want to talk about last night's hard charger in Donny Schatz. That team had engine issues in heat three and needed to battle into the night's feature through the B-Main. Very solid drive in the main event going 21st to 8th. The Tony Stewart Racing 15 comes into this season with a new look on the car, and a completely different crew in the pits. Scuba Steve Swenson is gone as crew chief, and in his place is Todd Devnich, who was elevated in the offseason from car chief. They've also added Gary Patellaro from Roth and Ian Lyon to that squad. We spotlighted all of these crew changes on the show back on January 5th. What's interesting though, is the crew changes aren't the only thing that's new on the TSR 15 for 2025. Devnich and Schatz apparently got to work this offseason, and are working through some equipment changes. The first thing that was spotted at Volusia yesterday that I was alerted to was a new shock package for Schatz. Unlike basically any other sprint car in the country, Schatz's 15 was on FOX Shocks yesterday. FOX is huge in off road racing and other categories of motorsports, and they have a presence in dirt late model and modified racing. But in the sprint car pits, things are different. You see a lot of Factory Kahne, CSI, maybe some Penskes, and a few other brands. In past seasons, we've seen the TSR 15 on a few different shock brands. That included Penske as recently as 2019 and 2020. At some point, maybe in 2021, they went to Factory Kahne. And the car had FK stickers on it until sometime in the spring of 2022. From that point, the shocks were then blank with just TSR stickers on them. I was told though, that they were still FKs, just without the branding. Yesterday though, clear as day, FOXs on the 15. Some industry friends I asked said that FOX has had shocks in their line for a while that can fit a sprint car, they just weren't building something sprint car specific. I have had a few teams tell me though that FOX was around last year talking to teams about making the switch. The interesting connection here for Schatz and FOX actually comes from dirt late model racing. The Rocket house car is a FOX team, and owner Mark Richards and Schatz have had a relationship for a while. Hard to think there haven't been conversations between those two about this move. The other thing to watch for with Schatz and the 15 is the chassis they are using. Schatz has been a J&J guy for many years, but word on the streets is they tested some others this offseason. The car yesterday had J&J stickers on it, at least on the body panels, but with all the changes we've seen from this group, this could be another area they take a serious look at if Schatz doesn't make improvements against guys like Gravel and Macedo. The slow pullback from championship level competitiveness has been a storyline for the last several years, and this wouldn't be the first time we've seen this group searching. Remember back to last year at Volusia, this team had a data acquisition system on the car during the open practice night. And to be fair, they were significantly better in 2024 then they had been in previous years. But clearly it wasn't good enough, hence all the changes. Even with the engine issues, last night was a solid start. We'll see how it goes the rest of the week.

At Ocala on Wednesday, Jonathan Davenport picked up his first Lucas win of the season. He led all 30 laps from the pole, topping Drake Troutman and Ricky Thornton Jr. No surprise given the speed we've seen from the 49 so far. Second on the final night at All-Tech, and third the night before at Ocala. Nice run for Troutman as well, going ninth to second. He had really struggled through the first five nights, with a best finish 12th. The only big name missing from last night's feature was Devin Moran. He was set to have a good starting spot, but they suffered some engine issues and decided to sit out the rest of the night. The rest of the week at Ocala, just like at Volusia, is for points though, so no more sitting out. Full time Lucas teams will be able to throw their worst couple of finishes out after they leave Ocala on Saturday night though. Moran still leads Daulton Wilson and Tyler Erb in the standings. Guys like Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Owens, Tim McCreadie, and Hudson O'Neal will be looking to move up the order and not leave speedweeks in such a big hole. Remember too, we should see Bobby Pierce join the mix for Friday and Saturday.

If you want other late model racing this weekend, the new Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series is at Screven for Winter Freeze. This one will draw names like Ross Bailes, Cla Knight, Zack Mitchell, and Ethan Dotson among others. $5000 to win Friday and $15,000 to win on Saturday. I think you'll see some teams hit this one up, and then go to Volusia next week.

Other action to check out this weekend includes the Sunshine Swing for the Short Track Super Series at All-Tech. Stewart Friesen topped Alex Payne and Tanner Van Doren last night, and they've got three more race nights to come. A little surprised to not see Mat Williamson at the track for this one. There is also 360 sprint car action at Hendry County for the USCS. A bunch of the teams that were at Volusia last weekend for ASCS will be at this one, including Blake Hahn, Matt Covington, Davie Franek, and Scotty Thiel.

Alright, that's the show for this week. Thanks as always for tuning in and the support. Hope you guys enjoy the racing out there this weekend, we'll see you back here on Sunday!