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.

The WEIRDEST looking race car you've seen in a while | Daily 9-24-2025

A sprint car team shuttered, the end for another dirt track, and no, this modified isn't AI generated, it's a real car that we'll talk about today. Let's go!

It's Wednesday, September 24th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

When I put these shows together five days a week, I do a ton of research each day, usually multiple hours to try and bring you the best possible picture of what's going on in dirt racing. I watch a ton of racing action, but that's not enough to understand everything that's happening. Which is why I built DIRTRACKR's analytics section. It's got race results and stat breakdowns for all the top national series and special events, and at this moment is nearing 2400 races worth of data. And if you want access to every tool and number I use for these shows, grab a subscription to DIRTRACKR Plus. $4.99 a month, or $49.99 a year. The year subscription gets you two months free effectively. And you can cancel any time very easily. Signing up gets you access to exclusive insights not found anywhere else. Whether you're a race fan, member of the media, or work for a series or track, DIRTRACKR Plus is the perfect resource for current dirt racing data to elevate your knowledge. Both World of Outlaws series, all three USAC National divisions, the Chili Bowl, High Limit, Lucas and a lot more. See everything Plus has to offer and sign up for a subscription over at dirtrackr.com/getplus.

This past weekend, Granite City Motor Park in Minnesota hosted their 5th annual Piston Cup event, featuring multiple WISSOTA divisions. That included 18 entries for the modifieds, but there was one car there that looked very different from the others that unloaded. I was sent a photo of this car yesterday, and I know other shots of it have been making the rounds on social media. This car is so wild looking, I had one friend tell me they thought the photo was AI generated. I saw one comment that said it looked like it was drawn by a toddler. But, it is in fact a real race car, and it was built and driven by Minnesota racer Matt Baker. Baker only gets to race a handful of times a season, as he told me he's busy running a business, but his car has certainly gotten some attention. I traded some messages with him today because I wanted to know more about the wild design, and he told me this is the first time he's built a car completely from scratch. He's become known for running odd designs, but past cars were chopped up from other cars and pieces. He told me this one is called the Diablo E1, great name, and he put it together to test a few ideas for another build. Baker doesn't have access to a wind tunnel, but said he loves playing with aero stuff, speculating on what could work and having fun with it. There are supposedly a bunch of non-convential things happening here, which you probably didn't need me to even say. He wouldn't go into great detail though on his ideas, which is typical car builder. He also had the rear of the car covered in one shot I saw. On the aero side, Baker did reveal that he's hoping to have less lift on the back of the roof, and more airflow to the spoiler. The body is the most notable thing here, but a lot of people have also called out the right front camber. Sifting through photos though, when the car is on track at speed, the camber looks more normal. This particular car and design will be one and done, as Baker will take what he learned from the E1, and put it towards a new version, the E2. Granite City ran two shows over the weekend, and Baker went 18th to ninth in the first, but unfortunately DNF'd in the second after starting sixth. He said the car really wanted to rotate a lot in the first show, but he tightened it up too much for the second. I was super curious what officials had to say about the car, and he told me the tech guy had one concern about it, but that it was within the rules. Baker said quote "I've never been DQ'd on a body infraction." The next version of Baker's design will take a few months to build, as he can only work in his spare time, and that he won't race again until 2026. My favorite part of the conversation was when he said quote "I'm no stranger to being laughed at. The odds are really stacked against me being a single car operation. So I figure I might as well swing for the fences. When you land on something good, that you designed, prototyped, tested, and beat the big name cars with… it's a feeling like no other" unquote. I love that. Hopefully we get to see the E2 on track early next year.

Moving on, we know that there are several NASCAR drivers and past drivers who are heavily involved in dirt racing. The easy ones that come to mind are Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. All drivers, owners, and/or both. Current Hendrick Motorsports driver, and past DIRTRACKR interview guest Alex Bowman is also on that list. We've seen both winged sprint cars and Chili Bowl midgets campaigned out of the ABR shop in recent years. The midgets have done well in Tulsa, and Bowman and his guys build really nice stuff. Bowman himself was driving some, but after crashing during a High Limit race at 34 Raceway in 2023, he scaled back to just focus on his Cup ride. The sprint car did come out some after his injury, and we saw guys like CJ Leary and Hunter Schuerenberg drive it. The Ally 55 car though hasn't been seen during this 2025 season, and for very good reason. We found out via a social media reply late last week that ABR has sold all of it's sprint car equipment. Bowman still has midgets in his shop, but no more winged 410 stuff. The car last appeared at World Finals in 2024, but Leary missed the feature both nights it ran. Before getting injured in 2023, Bowman made 38 410 appearances from 2021 to 2023. He ran 14 times with the World of Outlaws, 12 with the All Stars, plus other races with High Limit, the AFCS, MOWA, and FAST. He's got two top fives, and eight top tens, including running sixth in the very first High Limit show in 2022. Certainly a bummer to hear that the ABR sprint car team is no more, but it's hard to blame Bowman for getting out. That's a lot of money to just have sitting around the shop, and I could see a scenario where he doubles back to dirt stuff after his NASCAR career ends. Having a top flight ride like he does at Hendrick has to be his main focus, especially after missing races with that injury before.

Finally today, the end is near for yet another race track. Announced last night, Fayetteville Motor Speedway here in North Carolina will finish out it's 2025 season, and then shut down for good. The track's owners have sold the 500 acre facility, that includes a dirt track and drag strip, and the site will be redeveloped for industrial and commercial use. Just five races remain on the track's schedule, including a stop this weekend for the Carolina Clash late models. That one pays $7500 to win. They also have street stocks and other divisions October 4th, weekly action on October 25th, and special events November 8th and 29th. You can see the full statement from promoters David Mitchell and Shay Martin over on the Fayetteville Motor Speedway Facebok page.

That's the Daily for today. If you've gotten all the way to this point in the episode, and you don't already subscribe to the show, maybe consider hitting that button. You can subscribe for free on YouTube and the podcast places, and like and follow on Facebook. New shows are posted five days a week to those platforms, plus dirtrackr.com.

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