DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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Several High Limit teams breaking from the pack, Spencer Bayston's tough year, dusty start out west | Daily 6-16-2025

There are two big money sprint car shows this week, and we'll talk about which drivers are going where, and some names headed west that might surprise you. Plus things get dusty at Grays Harbor, but that didn't stop the James McFadden train, drivers tune up at Huset's, a first time All Star winner, and much more. Let's go!

It's Monday June 16th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

Pennsylvania Speedweek presented by Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews is almost here! From June 27th to July 6th, the Keystone State is the place to be to see some of the best sprint car drivers in the nation battle it out on Pennsylvania's most iconic dirt tracks. This year each race pays a minimum of $10,000 to win with the Mitch Smith Memorial at Williams Grove on July 4th paying $20,000! New this year, is the first ever Speedweek kick-off event on Sunday, June 22nd at the Latimore Valley Fair. Come out and see your favorite drivers, get first dibs on buying the 2025 Speedweek t-shirt and stay for an auction of racing memorabilia. In the heart of the PA Posse's home, Central PA's marquee event, Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek, has a storied history of being the most anticipated week of racing. The coveted title has been won by some of the biggest names in sprint car racing including, Fred Rahmer, Greg Hodnett, Danny Dietrich and Lance Dewease. Can Anthony Macri make it three Speedweek Championships in a row? A feat that only Fred Rahmer has on his resume. Bring the whole family and experience the most electrifying week in racing. Pennsylvania Speedweek – ten nights, ten tracks, one unforgettable experience! For more information go to pa speedweeks dot com or find them on Facebook and X!

Coming up this weekend. we've sort of got dueling rising crown jewel events in sprint car racing. I say rising crown jewel events, because these events aren't Knoxville Nationals, or Kings Royal level yet in terms of history and prestige, but I think both track owners have made significant investments into trying to get them closer. At Huset's, we've got the High Bank Nationals starting on Wednesday, with the finale there paying $250,000 to win. And starting Thursday at Skagit, it's the Super Dirt Cup that pays $100,000 to win. The bulk of the heavy hitters in sprint car racing will be at Huset's, as it's a World of Outlaws event. That means all the Outlaw teams, and we know that the big cash is going to draw in a lot of High Limit guys and other travelers. We already talked about Christopher Bell making two early week appearances back in the Don Kreitz 69K, and Huset's confirmed Kyle Larson will be in attendance as well. Looking at the pre-entry roster from a few days ago, and knowing the updates, Huset's will be at 60 plus sprint cars. I think there are 50 plus on this one, but we know guys like Larson, Tyler Courtney, and Tanner Thorson have been added. I wonder though how much longer it will be before we start seeing some more guys from the national scene instead choose to go to Skagit in the future. Huset's obviously pays more, and it's closer, but the competition is stacked. It would be a much longer tow to Skagit, but still very good money, and you don't have the face the entirety of the Outlaws and High Limit guys. Looking at the Skagit roster, Cory Eliason to the 45 seems to be confirmed, but also this one is really a who's who of west coast sprint car racing. All the California guys, Trey Starks, Tanner Holmes, plus Justin Peck in the Rudeen car. Kevin Rudeen, owner of Skagit, so no shock the 26 went home. We'll also get the red hot James McFadden in the Tarlton car. There are a few others though who are curious, including Scott Bogucki. He's usually a midwest guy, so clearly he was tempted. Then just yesterday it was Brent Marks being announced as an entry for Skagit. He was actually initially on the Huset's list. It's a long way from Central PA to Washington, but Marks and crew chief Heath Moyle not afraid to make the tow. And here just a little bit ago, it was Danny Sams being announced, again a long tow for another High Limit full timer. Skagit drawing some of these guys away I think will really help boost the stature of that event, and the attention it garners. Kevin Rudeen though and his staff clearly burning up the phones to recruit drivers west, and I'm sure maybe a bit of tow money to help out. For the sprint car fans out there, are you tuning into one side or the other, or will you be double-screened up this week.

Sticking with the west coast theme, James McFadden did indeed close out the NARC Fastest Five Days in Motorsports with another win. That officially made him four for five on the week. He led early, then got passed by Trey Starks after the open red, but battled back on the last lap to take the lead with a slider when traffic held up Starks. McFadden the winner, with Starks and Dominic Scelzi on the podium. Weird scenes though earlier in the day at Grays Harbor. They headed out to hot lap, and the track turned into a dust bowl almost immediately. Even the Ohio people were saying, hey, maybe that's too much dust. Cars were sent back to the trucks, and the entire track surface was reworked. It led to what I think was about a two hour delay. Not sure what went wrong there, but I know Tanner Holmes commented that he thinks some of these race programs are just starting too early. The sun is still beating on the tracks, and it's causing them to dry out. A two hour track prep delay for a rework is not great, but at least they got it right, and fans were rewarded with a good show.

Up at Huset's, some drivers getting in some last minute laps with the normal weekly show there last night. We also had a last lap pass there, with Chase Randall pouncing on Jack Dover after the white flag with a slider into one and two. Randall picked up his first 410 sprint car win in nearly a year, with the last coming in MSTS competition at Jackson last July. Dover was second and Kaleb Johnson third. Last night's field also included Spencer Bayston, Ryan Timms, and Chris Windom. Bayston's crap season continued with another incident and a folded up front end. He was 25th and DNFd, and that was after finishing 19th on Friday at Knoxville against the Outlaws, and missing the Saturday feature completely while his teammate went on to the win. Bayston winless since Pevely with the Outlaws back in 2023. While Corey Day already has multiple wins in the team car in a shortened schedule, Bayston has just a single top five in 32 races so far. He sits eighth in the High Limit standings, and this Huset's week coming up will be a tough one to try and bounce back.

The third 410 winner from Sunday was Bryce Lucius in Ohio Sprint Speedweek action at Millstream. He outdueled Tim Shaffer to get the lead, then held off Cap Henry down the stretch to earn his first career All Star and Ohio speedweek win. Lucius now with five career 410 wins, which includes a FAST win earlier this year at Muskingum County. Speedweek action continues today with a stop at Wayne County for $7500 to win.

Sunday late model wins went to Jason Feger with the Summer Nationals and Gregg Satterlee with Appalachian Mountain Speedweek. Feger with back-to-back Hell Tour scores, and he clinched the week one championship thanks to last night's victory at Sycamore. No rest for the wicked with the Summer Nationals, as they start week two today at Wilmot Raceway. Satterlee's App speedweek win was at Bridgeport, and he leads the championship over Trever Feathers. Speedweek won't technically end though until July 11th, when the rescheduled Selinsgrove race is set to be run. Hat tip to Briggs Danner on a top five run in that one in his dirt late model debut.

And in Sunday sail panel action at Devil's Bowl Speedway, it was Mat Williamson taking down the Short Track Super Series win. He topped a charging Stewart Friesen and Felix Roy. Williamson currently the north region points leader, while Matt Sheppard leads the south. The Short Track Super Series back next week with a stop at New Egypt.

We'll wrap it up right there for today. Don't forget you can watch the Daily show completely ad free over at patreon.com/dirtrackr. That is one of the perks of the top tier membership I have named "reserved seating." You can sign up free as a member on Patreon, but the premium tiers do have added benefits. So check that out at patreon.com/dirtrackr.

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