DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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A WILD night at the race track for this driver... | Daily 3-31-2025

The story today of one driver getting DQ'd from two races and protested in a third... All on the same night. Plus we'll talk Brandon Overton, Brandon Sheppard, sprint car stuff, and more. Let's go!

It's Monday, March 31st, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

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Since we went all in on the Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart Racing, Ford engine stuff yesterday, I obviously didn't talk at all about the racing from the weekend. So I'm going to run through a bunch of stuff from the last few days and hit on some various points.

The only completed weekend World of Outlaws sprint car race was the Friday show at Lawton. Buddy Kofoid gets win number two on the year, he's now finished first or second in four straight races. He and the Roth 83 team are doing what they need to do to try and overcome the slow start at Volusia. They remain triple digits back though of David Gravel. Our two closest competitors continue to be Carson Macedo, who is 78 points back, and Logan Schuchart, who is 88 back. What's crazy, is Macedo's average finish through the first 13 races is 4.85. If he's able to keep that up all season, that average finish would be good enough to win the Outlaw title every season going back to 2019. I think during most seasons, we'd be talking about championship leader Carson Macedo right now. But Gravel has been on a level we haven't seen in a VERY long time. 24 straight top tens, 19 straight top fives, and an average finish for the season sitting at 2.3. These are peak Schatz-type numbers going back to like 2017, 2018. A couple of drivers to spotlight down through the field, include Emerson Axsom. A podium on Friday, and four top tens in his last five races. And Chris Windom now has the most Outlaw top tens in a season for a Sides car since 2019. Those guys have really settled in, and Windom looks like he's finding his footing with the wing on. As for the wind situation, definitely the right call to shut the racing down on Saturday at 81 Speedway. It looked like both Cory Eliason and Blake Hahn were basically blown into the turn one wall during heat races. Wing cars and high winds don't work. Tough call to make, but the right one. The Outlaws are back Friday and Saturday at Arrowhead Speedway in Oklahoma.

On the High Limit side, Brad Sweet's numbers through six races are eerily similar to Gravel's. Six top fives and two wins, with an average finish of 2.33. The real difference though is just the amount of races. Sweet's lead is 47 over Tyler Courtney, but Aaron Reutzel is coming. He's now all the way up to fourth after the disaster at Las Vegas, thanks to back-to-back wins, plus a fourth on Saturday. Things did get wierd for Reutzel on Friday after the win, needing multiple trips over the scales before he was finally declared legal. There was also someone hitting the restart cone, which looked like maybe the 26, but no penalty assessed. Daison Pursley finally had a solid weekend with two top tens after multiple crashes in races previous. And I don't know what's gotten into Kasey Kahne, but he was again on the podium Saturday. Two second place finishes in four races, and his first ever laps led with High Limit. The last time I can find him leading laps with a national tour was the Outlaw weekend at Huset's back in 2022. And Sye Lynch continues to find life on the road difficult. He didn't race Friday because of a prior engagement, and Josh Baughman drove the car. Lynch then 24th on Saturday at Central Arizona. Going back to 2024, he's got seven straight finishes of 20th or worse with High Limit. High Limit was supposed to be at Vado Speedway Park tomorrow night, but as of a little bit ago, that race has been cancelled because of weather. They are expecting gale force winds in that area. They will try again this coming weekend with Route 66 and Dodge City next.

Both Nippy 50 nights saw the same results with Bobby Pierce winning and Ricky Thornton Jr. second. No surprise from either of those guys, who continue to show why they are at the top of dirt late model racing. I did think Brandon Sheppard looked better, although I don't know why his better finishes this season have come in the family B5, and not the Rocket house car. He led laps this weekend, and finished third and sixth. I believe those were Shepp's first laps led since the Wild West Shootout. He hasn't led laps in a Lucas race since Brownstown a year ago, and his last Outlaw laps led were at Cedar Lake in August. He'll be back in the Rocket house car this coming weekend against the Outlaws at Atomic.

Another driver who's been quiet this season has been Brandon Overton. He did get that DIRTcar win at Volusia, and he's been consistent with Lucas in the Riggs Motorsports car, but just not quite in the mix for wins regularly just yet. It looked like maybe he was going to win Friday at Whynot with Hunt the Front, but Dalton Cook snookered everyone in that one over the final few laps. Overton did bounce back though on Saturday to win with the Spring Nationals at East Alabama. Overton is a new dad, so hopefully he's getting some sleep in between these race days. It is taking him and Anthony Burroughs a bit of time to get settled together. Overton's next scheduled race is until the Lucas show at Georgetown. I wouldn't be surprised though to see this car roll into some tracks in the coming weeks.

Down at Needmore Speedway, it was a tough weekend to be Mark Whitener. The Georgia race track hosted Crate Racin USA for two days, including a $10,000 to win 604 late model feature, and a $4000 to win 602 late model feature. Florida's Whitener was there actually racing in four different divisions, including the 602s, 604s, street stock and limited late model. At the end of Saturday night, after being competitive both days, Whitener was left with two disqualifications, a 14th, and a protest, which eventually went his way. Whitener won the 604 race on the track, but was later stripped of the win when his Augie Burttram-owned Big Frog Motorsports car was found to have an illegal oil pan on the sealed GM crate engine. Burttram shared details to Facebook on the issue, with the oil pan on the car apparently only different then the legal one because of a stamped part number. Apparently the same company makes both. Michael Brown was awarded the $10,000 win in the aftermath. In the limited race, Whitener started second, ran there for nine laps, and then shows as out of the race after that, and the final rundown on MyRacePass says DQd. There was video floating around on Facebook of Whitener taking a nasty punch coming off the track, and it looked like maybe he got into it with the polesitter Cam Boyd on the track. The two ended up sideways under yellow with Whitener swerving at him. I didn't see a full explanation on that situation though. Whitener also won the 602 race, and was protested by second place finishing Grayson Ott. His car and engine were deemed legal in that one. That was the lone sort-of bright spot on the night, as he ended up 14th in the street stock feature after starting third. I'm not sure I've heard a story of a guy getting DQ'd out of two races in one night and getting protested in a third. Wild night at the race track.

That's the show for today. Hope you guys have a great Monday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!