DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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This won't be the last time we see dirt late model racing's best tangle in 2025 | Daily 2-16-2025

Speedweeks is officially over and today we'll talk through the major takeaways, plus drama between Bobby Pierce and Jonathan Davenport, other weekend winners and more. Let's go!

It's Sunday, February 16th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

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Speedweeks and this early season part of the schedule is now over with DIRTcar Nationals wrapping up last night. All the big time teams, really across several series, including sprint cars and late models, will have some time off now for at least a few weeks. We are a month or more away from the next late model national tour races, and a few weeks from our next big time sprint car shows. There is racing coming up, but it's all regional in flavor. For the late model teams specifically, with as non-existent as the winter offseason is, I think you'll see a lot of these guys head home and take a break. I don't know that I'd expect a lot of them to go run some of the regional stuff. They'll use the next several weeks as a second chance at an offseason. Coming out of this past month of racing down south, I don't know that we've really learned anything new or super surprising. The fast guys are still the fast guys. Bobby Pierce and Ricky Thornton Jr. have been the top two the past two seasons, and it's business as usual for RTJ. Three more wins, second in one championship, and third in the other. Pierce didn't win during speedweeks, but he's very much on schedule with the World of Outlaws, leaving this month third in the standings, but just six points behind leader Ryan Gustin. I do think that Jonathan Davenport and Devin Moran made some pretty emphatic statements about where they are right now. These two clearly just as fast as Pierce and RTJ. Moran with four wins, Davenport with three. They top the Lucas standings, and are both in significantly better positions than they were a year ago. It feels right now like it's these four at the top, and then everyone else. Davenport's win on Saturday night at Volusia, driving around Drake Troutman on a rubber down track was about as impressive a run as you'll see. JD somehow able to rail the cushion and work by Troutman who had the grip in the rubber is something that just never happens. And even last night after Davenport had success, others tried it, but failed. We've obviously seen Davenport melt faces plenty in the past, but we might be seeing him returning to that 2022 form when he won $2 million in a single year. I think the two way fight for dirt late model supremacy is now expanded into a big four, and you're going to see these guys at each other all season. We even saw a little bit of that back on Friday between Davenport and Pierce. Pierce throws a slider early in that feature, Davenport crosses him back over, throws a tight slider into three, and Pierce goes for a ride. His night was ended by contact in the aftermath, and he was not happy. Kevin Kovac at Dirt on Dirt had a story about the situation, with Pierce admitting quote "a little bit of lost respect for him." Him meaning Davenport. This won't be the last time we see a run-in amongst this group in 2025, as just like those of us watching, these guys all know who they need to beat on a nightly basis. I feel like the only real surprise winner of speedweeks was Tyler Bruening taking the Lucas opener at Golden Isles. None of the rest were unexpected. The Rocket cars continued their struggles the rest of the week, and they will all have to go back to the drawing board. Just two top ten finishes between Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Erb, and Tim McCreadie through the final three nights. I keep seeing these comments and replies about how of course the Rocket cars aren't winning, the fields are 90% Longhorns. And yes, that is fairly close to true, but dirt late model racing isn't the Powerball. It's not about odds and probability. You don't win because you have more cars. You win because you're fast. And Rocket right now is just missing that speed. Chris Madden was also nowhere to be found this week, Jimmy Owens didn't make any features the final three nights, plus he had that nasty crash, and Hudson O'Neal went without a feature appearance. Some other guys who I thought were impressive included Max Blair, he continued to rack up top tens. Garrett Alberson was fast again, winning his second race at Volusia. And Ryan Gustin solid, he leaves DCN with the Outlaw championship lead. Looking at both standings, I'd say Max Blair and Drake Troutman will take serious looks at going Outlaws. Who knows what Tim McCreadie does, he is at least a little higher with the Outlaws. Daulton Wilson definitely looks better with Lucas. I will say though, Ben Shelton and Michael Rigsby talked about Blair and Wilson like they were already Outlaw guys. No big names though will flip sides. So with this opening stretch now done, drop your comments, let me know your thoughts about what we've seen over the last month or so.

With the Super DIRTcar Series, we had four different winners in four nights, with Matt Sheppard, Alex Yankowski, Peter Britten, and Eric Rudolph picking up scores. Yankowski ended up with the big gator last night. I don't believe we had any more shenanigans though. We'll see if this Yankowski/Sheppard thing comes back later this season. None of these races were for championship points, and things don't real serious for the big blocks unil late in March at New Egypt.

Elsewhere this weekend, we had the USAC sprint cars wrapping up Winter Dirt Games at Ocala. Brady Bacon took the Chris Dyson car to victory lane Thursday, Kyle Cummins made a very late move on CJ Leary to win Friday, and Daison Pursley finally got one on Saturday after finishing on the podium in every other race. It was the first win for the Chad Boat sprint car team. I had someone ask what the schedule is for that Chad Boat car with Pursley, but I haven't heard what their plans are. I'm sure we'll see them fill in races between Pursley's winged schedule. Cummins leaves Florida with the championship lead by 24 over Justin Grant. Pursley actually tied with Cummins, but he's not full time. Logan Seavey down the order quite a ways, he was outside the top ten the last two nights. The sprint cars disappear now until April 4th.

Other weekend sprint car winners included Davie Franek and Dale Howard in USCS action at Southern Raceway. The USCS is right back to Southern this coming weekend.

We'll call it right there for today. If you are celebrating, happy Daytona 500 day out there. Enjoy the racing. Otherwise...

Hope you guys have a great Sunday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!