DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

Dirt racing news, results, discussion, analytics. Sprint cars, late models, modifieds, you name it. From national series, to top local shows. Brought to you five days a week. Email the show at info@dirtrackr.com.

It sure seems like the Tony Stewart Racing-Ford deal is over for good | Daily 4-14-2025

The signs of the Tony Stewart Racing/Ford engine divorce were even more evident at Pevely, and today we'll talk about it, including the one key area to watch for to see if things really are getting better now that they switched. Plus the Outlaws lose a full timer, Danny Dietrich super trucks to a win, sketchy racing at Terre Haute, and more. Let's go!

It's Monday, April 14th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

Your Kubota machine can be transformed into a powerhouse of versatility with their full line of implements and attachments. You can customize your Kubota for any job, from digging to lifting, land clearing to landscaping and more. Whether you need a grapple, bucket, or other implement, each is designed for seamless compatibility and peak performance. Enhance your productivity by pairing your Kubota with the perfect attachments. Contact your local dealer to discover what's available for your machine now. If you need to locate one of the more than 1000 dealers nationwide, open up the myKubota app or visit kubotausa.com.

Wrapping up the dirt racing weekend, I want to hit on a few things that I didn't get to with the Sunday show. The first is Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart Racing 15 team. I did mention briefly they were on a World of Outlaws podium on Saturday night for the first time since winning at Lincoln Speedway last October. This is obviously of note because of the recent move away from the Ford 410 sprint car engine, and back to a more traditional piece. I don't know which engine they had in the car this weekend, as the hood does have Shaver and Kistler stickers on it, but not the Ford, and I don't know that they go back. The initial statement and TSR comments talked about more testing happening, and that they were waiting on parts, with a return possible in the future. But this is starting to feel more and more like a divorce in progress. Dad has moved into the spare bedroom and the kids are being told it's not their fault. Ford Performance is still listed as a partner on the TSR website, but more logos have disappeared elsewhere. That includes the blue oval being photoshopped off Donny Schatz's firesuit on social media, and the car was completely devoid of Ford logos at Pevely. The races before, some Ford logos were gone, but the gaps on the paint job were almost jarring this weekend. Rudeen in the meantime continues to run with the Ford steam. Justin Peck was 15th and 11th at Pevely. I do still think it's going to take some time for this group to dial things back in with a completely different engine package, and the sixth and third at Pevely were encouraging. Both race nights though still took some Schatz magic to make happen, with an 18th to sixth charge on Friday, and a very strong six to two in the Saturday heat that set him up for a dash appearance and a good feature starting spot. The track taking rubber on Saturday certainly not ideal. I think the area we need to pay attention to for improvement will be qualifying. Schatz, even going back to 2017 and 2018, not a particularly prolific qualifier. Over the last eight plus seasons, just 31 total quick times in 566 sessions, compared to 118 for David Gravel. But he is three or four spots down from some of those better seasons on average. If they start making gains there, that will be a big sign they are headed in the right direction without the Ford engine. Through the first four races though with the different power, the qualifing average is right near his average for the season. He's just starting too far behind in the heats right now to have a real shot later in the night. Saturday was just his second dash appearance of the season. Schatz used to be in 50 or 60 percent or more of dashes in a year, and that has fallen off big. Last year it was 36% of dashes he made, and this year it's 13%. If they can just get him a bit closer to the front at the start of the night, we know he can pass the cars. He leads feature plus minus and heat plus minus a lot of seasons. And consider this, going back through the 2017 year, of the top ten drivers with the most wins, Schatz has the third worst starting position average for his victories. Only Brent Marks and Kyle Larson have started deeper on average for their victories. He has traditionally not needed to start on the pole to win.

One World of Outlaws Late Model Series note for you, that tour is down to 20 full time teams after Farmer City. Dillon McCowan made the decision to hit up Lucas Oil Speedway Friday and Saturday, giving up his full time status. The young Missouri driver had made just one feature appearance against the Outlaws this season, that was on the opening night way back at Volusia. The decision paid immediate dividends, with two top ten runs at Wheatland. Not shocking given he was an MLRA regular previously. So it will be pick and choose for him going forward, with his schedule showing Mississippi Thunder in May as his next race.

At BAPS Motor Speedway on Sunday, Danny Dietrich made the overnight 800-plus mile trip home worthwhile by scoring the win over early leader Jeff Halligan and Brock Zearfoss. Dietrich made the trip to Pevely to race against the World of Outlaws with weather around Central PA Friday and Saturday, but they surrendered a 19th place starting spot in the Saturday night feature and left the track early to make it to BAPS on time for Sunday's race. Dietrich told Jeremy Elliott they wanted to miss the traffic, and bailed on the feature because he thought it was going to take rubber. It was definitely a decision that paid off. And after missing Pevely because of truck problems, Cale Thomas debuted in the Shark Racing 1A at BAPS and went 16th to 10th in the feature. Not a bad start there. Can I just say, I hope this Sunday thing starts to take off with sprint car racing. I know BAPS has more 410 Sunday shows scheduled, and they will be a nice addition to Sundays at Huset's. I'd bet with the timing of the shows, we'll be able to go straight from BAPS to Huset's for some of these days coming up.

There was also Sunday action at Terre Haute, with the season opener for the USAC Silver Crown Series. Sketchy night at Terre Haute, with racing right around the fence, especially in three and four. And it eventually caught several guys out, including the leader through half way, Daison Pursley. He lost the lead to Logan Seavey on lap 55 after a run-in, and then his race was ruined completely with even heavier contact with 31 to go that saw him spun around. He ended up 13th. Seavey drove on the win, topping Justin Grant, who just nipped Brady Bacon late for second. Defending champion Kody Swanson was out early, it was his worst series finish since May of 2023. And Ricky Thornton Jr. ran in the top ten for a lot of the main event in his series debut, but he lost a right rear tire late and finished 12th. The Silver Crown cars are back Saturday, with a pavement race at Toledo.

We'll call it good right there for today. If you missed it over the weekend, I sent out a new issue of The Slider, which is our free email newsletter. This one features a piece about high school dirt racing from Jacob Hord. If you want to check that piece out, and sign up free to get The Slider, head over to dirtrackr.com/theslider. You can peruse all previous issues as well.

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