DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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Can this device stop traction control in dirt racing? | Daily 2-25-2025

Traction control is a sneaky problem that is difficult to police. One group though is doing something about it, and the big dirt racing players are paying attention. We'll talk through the whole situation today. Let's go!

It's Tuesday, February 25th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

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Traction control, and the illegal systems that can be fitted to different types of cars in dirt racing, have been a topic on this show several times in recent years. We've talked about technology checks at places like Eldora and the Chili Bowl, and there have been quiet rumors for the past year that some top teams in sprint car racing were using it. In northeast modified racing, Matt Sheppard has been accused so many times of using traction control, that they are selling t-shirts right now with "TCShepp" emblazoned across the front. We've seen cars stripped down to check wiring looms, we've seen guys protested and MSD boxes sent off for testing, we've heard stories of jamming systems with fish finders, but right now in 2025 there is no hard and fast method for keeping teams from using it. It's easy to hide, and difficult to police. One place though seems to have grown tired of it's use and the talk around it, and they are actively working towards developing a system to root it out. And I wanted to spotlight this today, because this will be a place to watch in the next year or couple of years. If they are ultimately successful, these systems could find their way into all sorts of dirt racing series and applications. And that place, I think a bit strangely, is not here in the United States. It's actually in Australia. The Sprintcar Control Council and various teams and officials have been working on a system that mounts to the chassis near the driver, it plugs into the car's wiring harness, and it logs anything that might be suspicious. Teams are not told when or where their car could be checked, and officials can fairly quickly mount and unmount them during race nights. At the moment, they have just two of these systems available for official use, but they hope to continue it's development, and maybe add more, and/or shrink them down. My guy Toby Bellbowen, who runs the Sprint Car Hub YouTube channel and Facebook page, has done a great job documenting a lot of this process, and in recent days he posted a video with the national tech officer of the Sprintcar Control Council, Allan Bain, where they did a complete show and tell of the system. Work has been ongoing for a few years now, there have been some issues along the way, which Toby has talked about, but the system has been given the okay by several Australian engine builders and it's been in use here and there around Western Australia. WA obviously home to the Perth Motorplex. As Bain says, the system is looking for quote "any illegal movement in spark timing." To develop the system, the SCCA worked with several sprint car teams during testing sessions to understand the process. They actually purchased some of the traction control setups that are available, and then built from there. For teams here in the US, not just in sprint car racing, this could be a piece of equipment that ends up mounted on your cars. Bain talked about the ability to use this across other car types like late models and midgets, and he said quote "there's a lot of interest from the major groups overseas in what we're doing." That would clearly seem to point towards the US, so we could be talking about World Racing Group, USAC, maybe High Limit, and others. High Limit obviously making a Perth Motorplex appearance back in December. There are different methods for implementing traction control, and at the moment, this system focuses on just the ignition, but it seems as though it's a solid start at trying to rein this problem in. How pervasive traction control is, I don't think anybody really knows, but it's clear that some are worried about it's use. I'm going to link to Toby's most recent video below, but you can also just go find the Sprint Car Hub YouTube channel. He's done a number of content pieces on this system and it's implementation. And I'm sure as this process continues, he'll be right in the thick of keeping us updated.

If you're a fan of some of the regional sprint car series, we've been doing some updates on their full time rosters through the offseason. We've done runthroughs for the All Stars and POWRi, and today I thought we could look at the IRA and FAST. Steve with Master Gassers has a nice list of the various series full timers, so I'm just going to copy off his homework here. Find him on Twitter @mastergassers for lots of good sprint car content. For the IRA, they've got 18 looking at the full pull right now. This series is again wide open with the defending champion not back. After 2023 it was Brenham Crouch departing for High Limit, and 2024 champion Scotty Thiel is in a new ride, and going pick and choose. A lot of IRA favorites are back, along with some new names. The full list looks like this: Max Guilford, Logan Julien, TJ Haddy, Will Gerrits, Jake Blackhurst, Danny Schlafer, Jordan Goldesberry, Austin Hartmann, Tommy Colburn, Corbin Gurley, Scotty Neitzel, Jake Neuman, Kris Spitz, Tyler Brabant, Kyle Schuett, Alex Pokorski, Logan Wienke, and Travis Arenz. Blackhurst maybe the favorite here, he was second behind Thiel last season. The IRA schedule still a ways off. Things don't get rolling until April 4th at 34 Raceway.

With the FAST series, they've got six onboard right now. That list includes Lance Heinberger, Ricky Peterson, Anthony Gaskins, Nate McDowell, Michael Lutz, and Michael Bauer. Brandon Spithaler the defending FAST champion, but he's committed to the All Stars. Zane Devault was the other main challenger here, and we don't know his plans just yet. He raced the Lane machine in 2024. The FAST season is just a few weeks away. They start March 15th at Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway. That track undergoing a lot of updates this offseason, include new walls and catchfencing.

If you want dirt racing this week, there is some scattered action, including IMCA at North Florida today. It looks like Wednesday will be pretty quiet, before things ramp back up again on Thursday. Make sure to keep an eye on the streaming schedule over at dirtrackr.com/watchtonight to see all of your options. There you can see what's on, where to watch, links, and start times where we have them.

We are going to call it good right there for today. Hope you guys have a great Tuesday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!