DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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Your favorite dirt late model driver is using these | Daily 4-7-2025

Today on the show, some interesting recent news from FloSports and what it means for the future of their involvement in dirt racing. Plus we've got the full breakdown on chassis, engine, and shock combos for the top late model teams, and more. Let's go!

It's Monday, April 7th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

Last week on the show we did an episode where I compiled the chassis, engine, and shock package for a bunch of the top sprint car teams, and after that I had some requests for the same thing but on the late model side. Unlike the sprint car teams, this information is much more readily available and talked about for the top late model squads, so I doubt you're going to be super surprised by any of this. For some comparison, it took me multiple hours of research to do the sprint car list, but this same late model list took maybe 45 minutes. Between driver and team websites, stickers on cars, and Dirt on Dirt, the visibility of these choices is much more public. A lot of this information is also just part of the general dirt late model conversation between the media, announcers, and the drivers and teams themselves. So here is the full 25 driver list. Some pretty overwhelming favorites here, including Longhorn on the chassis side, Bilstein on the shocks, and Clements with engines. Those three together is also the most common combination. Other chassis choices include Infinity, Rocket, BMF and Sniper. The other shocks out there are Penske, FOX, and Integra. And the engine options also include Vic Hill, Eagle, Durham, Dickens, and Cornett. I will say that Tim McCreadie is a bit of a question on this list at the moment. I have him listed with Rocket and FOX, but as we've talked about, they are likely switching to Longhorn here shortly. And I would assume a swap to Bilstein shocks as well. The other small outlier is Jonathan Davenport. We know that team utilizes both Clements and Cornett powerplants. Just like on the sprint car side though, it's clear there is no one magic combo. Obviously Pierce, Ricky Thornton Jr., and Jonathan Davenport do a lot of winning in Longhorns, but their engines can be different. And even though Longhorn is so often associated with Bilstein shocks, there are teams using Longhorns with other shock brands, like Ethan Dotson with Penske. Also Daulton Wilson. I don't have Chris Madden on this list, but he's another that's had that combo in the past, although at the moment with GR Smith he's on Bilsteins. Another combination we saw win this past weekend that is also not listed is Dale McDowell's Team Zero chassis on FOX shocks with Clements power. So no lack of ways to go dirt late model racing with different packages of parts and pieces and still win. As I did with the sprint car list, I'll post this same list to social media soon so you guys can share it around and examine it more.

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In some business of dirt racing news, FloSports announced last week they have raised additional venture capital in a series D round of funding. This latest injection of cash is believed to be around $20 or $25 million, and takes Flo up to $100 million in total funding. FloRacing is obviously one of the many verticals available for sports fans under the FloSports banner, with the company also streaming NASCAR events, wrestling, track and field, NCAA sports, hockey, and a lot more. This latest round was led by Dream Sports, a sports tech company based in India. Flo's other major investors include Causeway Media Parters, Warner Bros Discovery, DCM Ventures, Bertelsmann Digital Media, and Fertitta Capital. If you're a UFC fan, you'll recognize the Fertitta name, as the Fertitta brothers famously bought the UFC in 2001 for $2 million and sold it in 2016 for $4 billion. According to various reaction pieces I've seen, Flo plans to continue expansion with this funding and add even more live sports rights to it's streaming platform. Something I thought that was interesting in the release from Flo, is that they are now profitable. CEO Mark Floreani was quoted as saying "Over the past two years we have doubled our revenue and achieved sustained profitability." As we've seen play out on even just the dirt racing side of the business, Flo has very much been in the startup mode over the last several years of move fast and break things. We saw them snatch up rights to tracks and series, and then slowly shrink down to just the properties that were successful for them. The company becoming profitable is a very big deal as they push for stability. The big question going forward will be what the eventual exit looks like for these investors. Does FloSports eventually go public, or would it be an acquisition target for a much larger media entity, or maybe even private equity. Back a few weeks ago when the High Limit sprint car series announced a dramatic investment into their franchise system, with $18 million up for grabs for teams over the next several years, a lot of folks were asking where the money was coming from. But Flo being profitable and getting this injection of cash are two important revelations here. Obviously FloSports is a lot more than just racing and their partnership with High Limit, but the future for the company looks to be solidifying quickly.

A couple of interesting stat notes for you today before we shut it down. First, the World of Outlaws late model series has yet to have a repeat hard charger in 2025. Cody Overton, Hudson O'Neal, Drake Troutman, Dennis Erb Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Sheppard, Ethan Dotson, and Dustin Sorensen all have one each. The Outlaws also have the deepest starting feature winner of any major national tour in 2025, no matter the division. Jonathan Davenport's 12th to the win charge at Volusia during DIRTcar Nationals is the best such charge this season. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series does come close, with Devin Moran's 11th to the win charge at All-Tech on February 1st. Lucas still quiet for a few more weeks, but the Outlaws are back in action starting Thursday with the Illini 100 coming up at Farmer City. This will also be the opening weekend for the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets.

That's the show for today. Remember when it comes to tuning into the Daily, you have a lot of options for where to find these episodes. They are available on YouTube, Facebook, and Spotify in video form. You can also listen via Spotify, YouTube's podcast feature, and all major podcast platforms. That includes Apple and iHeartRadio. You can also read the show over at dirtrackr.com/daily as full transcripts are available for each day.

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