DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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Danny Dietrich calls out Shark Racing's flexing sprint car wings | Daily 4-30-2025

Danny Dietrich and Shark Racing are at odds over sprint car wing flexing, and I was pulled into it with a photo I took of the 1A. We'll wade into the situation today and talk through what isn't an easy problem to solve. Let's go!

It's Wednesday, April 30th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

Doing a show a show like this every day always keeps you on your ties. One minute it's a normal Tuesday, and the next you are suddenly in the middle of a sprint car wing controversy between two Central PA teams. Just to get you up to speed if you missed any of it, obviously Ashton Torgerson a Sunday winner at BAPS in the Shark Racing 1A. It was a victory that most of us didn't see coming. Yesterday evening though, Danny Dietrich, who is never one to shy away from controversy and drama, floated a theory online as to why Torgerson was fast suddenly on Sunday. He used a couple of photos showing the top wing of the 1A, one of which was one I took. Both photos seem to illustrate some measure of flexing of that top wing center foil, and the theory would be that the flexing then allows for more downforce. Dietrich saying quote "that's one way to make the new kid on the block look fast." The flexing wing also supposedly a reason why Torgerson didn't do a wing dance in victory lane. In response, Jacob Allen posted a photo of Dietrich's wing with the caption "Call the cops Danny Dietrich cheating." He also posted a photo of himself holding his baby, but with Dietrich's face photoshopped on it. Again, rarely a dull moment around here. This morning, Dietrich went live on Facebook to dive deeper into his thoughts, and explain the situation further. Most rulebooks, including the World of Outlaws, set that center foil thickness at a maximum of nine inches, and Dietrich said he thinks it's possible they are running a nine inch thick center foil, but with supports inside for a seven inch foil. That would then allow that outer aluminum sheathing to flex down at speed with the pressure from the air on it. Obviously none of this has been proven or examined, but that's what he thinks. Those center foils have inner supports that run both parallel to the side panels, and perpendicular, and it is possible for them to be manipulated. Looking at the Outlaw rulebook at dirtcar.com/rules, there is a sizeable section for wing rules, but nothing about the inner structure of that foil is mentioned, nor any sort of verbiage about flexing. There is also not a mandate for the thickness of that aluminum sheathing. With all of that out of the way, you are now basically up to speed. Now, the photo of mine that Dietrich shared wasn't from this past weekend with Torgerson in the car. It wasn't even from 2025. That shot was captured at Golden Isles early in 2024. So that photo specifically isn't evidence for Torgerson. It does seem to show that wing flexing, but I also have another photo from that same night that doesn't show flex in the wing. And looking at other shots of the 1A, you'll find some that look damning, and others that are normal. The entire internet has been pouring through images and videos and trying to see for themselves. And the same can be said of a bunch of other race cars. Are Shark and other teams messing with those wings? Is the 1A using a damaged or old wing? Those are certainly not answers I have. I'm also in no position to render a judgement about the legality of any of it. It does seem clear though that teching is a problem around the sport. It's also not something easily solved. When guys aren't busted, it's a problem. And when teams are busted, it's a problem. We've seen plenty of examples of both cases. Teching is a constant cat and mouse game, there isn't enough manpower, and nobody across the landscape of any sport on this planet is immune from criticism for officiating. Take this wing flexing thing as an example. As a hypothetical, let's say the inner structure of the 1A wing is legal. But they have found a gray area that allows for the flexing. Maybe with the sheathing. What do officials do? It's something that can only be spotted at speed, and photos and videos aren't enough to measure tolerances. And Dietrich himself talked this morning about how every wing flexes at least a little bit at speed. This exact situation is a problem facing Formula 1 at the moment. Teams are using carbon fiber tricks to get wings to flex and open at speed. And the millions of dollars behind F1 are still trying to figure this out. They have tolerances in place for how much wings can flex in a static position, and they are running high speed cameras to try and watch flexing at speed. Still no perfect solution. So if F1 is having a hard time policing this, you can see how difficult of a problem this would be for a local track, or even a regional or national dirt racing series. In this specific case, I don't blame Shark for what they maybe are or aren't doing. That car races everywhere and has yet to be found as illegal. And with what's gone on recently, I'm sure they aren't loving this attention. But I don't blame Dietrich either. If he thinks this is some sort of injustice, making a public stink about it is definitely one tactic for getting there to be change. And he's got the voice and platform to garner the attention, as we've seen in the last 24 hours. I think like a lot you though, I'm just going to pull up a chair with a bowl of popcorn and watch how it all plays out.

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Tonight at Texarkana 67 Speedway, the Kubota High Limit sprint cars are back to racing after a month off since their last event. This break was really only supposed to be about three weeks, but the series lost multiple events to weather issues after the west coast swing. The midweek championshp opens tonight, and then they've got stops at Texas Motor Speedway's Dirt Track Thursday and Saturday. As a quick reset, Brad Sweet leads the championship by 47 points over Tyler Courtney with six races complete. Sweet and Aaron Reutzel with two wins each, and Corey Day and Kyle Larson have the other two. Reutzel, Brent Marks, and Rico Abreu are the rest of the top five. The series released a pre-entry list yesterday with what I think is 28 cars on it. High Limit regulars, and several regional guys. Other names expected include Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs back in the Chad Boat-owned car, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Ryan Timms. This track has hosted the ASCS National Tour in the past, but I don't believe it's held a big time 410 event, even though they've tried. And unfortunately, weather is in the area today. The track posted earlier that the series is set to make a decision about tonight's racing at noon. Hopefully things clear out and they are able to race. Pay attention though to websites and social media if you are planning on attending or watching on FloRacing. Things do look solid for the shows at Texas coming up though. There will be significant shifting in the standings coming up, as guys like Tanner Holmes, Kaleb Montgomery, and Austin McCarl, who are all in the top 10 right now, will fall out as they aren't expected to race. Guys needing some good runs include Sye Lynch, Brenham Crouch, Daison Pursley, and Danny Sams. And Spencer Bayston really needs to start turning this thing around in the Meyers 14.

We will shut it down right there.

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