DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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California and the "national" tour question, WRG CEO talks sprint cars, XR boss charged in WV | Daily 11-12-2025

What defines a national racing series? That was the question posed today by one media member with regard to the World of Outlaws going or not going to California. We'll talk through the situation today, and I'll share why all the reactions to the question were a bit moot. Plus World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter talks the state of sprint cars, and we'll update the Barry Braun, XR saga. Let's go.

It's Wednesday, November 12th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.

This coming Saturday, November 15th, is the final 410 sprint car race of the season, and it's happening at BAPS Motor Speedway in Pennsylvania. If you aren't nearby, you can grab a streaming pass at sprintcarunlimited.tv. The Sprint Showdown is $10,000 to win, and the field should be very good. Names to watch include Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, Chase Dietz, Brent Marks and more local Posse favorites. You'll also see Tanner Holmes in the Buch 13, Spencer Bayston in the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall 17, Sye Lynch, and more. Hot lap time trials begin at 2:15PM eastern, with racing at 3. The undercard includes 358 modifieds, plus big car and small car enduros. And besides regular grandstand tickets, BAPS will have the infield open for viewing and parking. Find more event info and purchase tickets at bapsmotorspeedway.com. And if you can't be there, watch the action live at sprintcarunlimited.tv. That's sprintcarunlimited.tv for 410s at BAPS on Saturday.

It's been quite the fascinating day on the sprint car social medias thanks to a discussion about the World of Outlaws going or not going to California in 2026. On his 90 at 9 show this morning, Jeremy Elliott floated the idea, and framed it as a question around whether or not the Outlaws can be called a national series if they don't go to California. He said he didn't believe they needed to go west to be called a national series, but others didn't agree. Looking at the World of Outlaws dates that have been published so far, there is really only a two week window for a west coast trip next year, and it had people wondering. It's a rumor I was sent as well in recent days, that a California trip might not get included. One dissenter to Jeremy's opinion who drew a bunch of reaction was Carson Macedo. He posted to X quote "Without California on the schedule, the World of Outlaws might as well be the Allstars. Couldn't disagree with this more. If Vado doesn't get rescheduled, and California gets cut out... the furthest the series goes west is South Dakota? Might as well be a regional series" unquote. The replies are filled with World of Outlaws haters, and folks trying to convince Macedo to flip to High Limit. What's notable, is Jeremy didn't definitively say it's not happening, but I think a lot of folks took it that way reading through comments. I want to look at this from a few different angles though. First, we have seen a pullback from California in recent years. The Outlaws used to have two entire swings through western states, and in 2025, it was just a handful of weekends during the second half of the season. High Limit filled that void with two trips, but the series co-owned by two California guys is only going once next year. As I said before, I don't think that's a great indicator. People can talk all sorts of stuff about racing politics, and feelings, and whatever, but at the end of the day, these decisions are financially based. Full stop. Did they make enough money for the trip to be viable. It's a binary question, yes or no. Yes we keep doing it, no, we don't. I'll even give you a split on the no side. No we didn't make money and there is no hope in the future, or no, we didn't make money, but a path to profitability is in sight. If the spring High Limit trip was a raging success, they'd be back. And if the Outlaws were wildly successful out west, this wouldn't even be a question. There is a sprint car scene in California that is battling to try and stay strong. Some of the best drivers anywhere have come out of there. But those things don't matter if the finances don't work. It's expensive to go to California, and I don't know why the expectation would be that the series and the teams, on either side, need to take a financial hit to go. As for the quote unquote national tour discussion, none of that matters to me. There are a bunch of states that neither the Outlaws nor High Limit visits, and plenty that only one goes to. There wasn't a single High Limit show in Iowa this year, even though the state hosted 29 410 races. The Outlaws didn't go to Kansas. High Limit wasn't in Minnesota. And neither series was in Arkansas or West Virginia, even though both states hosted 410 shows. Not going to a state doesn't suddenly make the Outlaws or High Limit regional. They are the top two series, no matter where they go. It's a ludicrous discussion. Now, back to what started all of this, this two week window. This season, the Outlaws hit Vado in New Mexico, before two weeks in California. That included Kern and Perris the first week, then Tulare the second week for the Dennis Roth Classic. In 2026, Tulare isn't available because the fair there is getting expanded, so the Roth doesn't have a home. I have not seen a draft of the Outlaw schedule, but I'm told that one was distributed to teams in recent days, and those two weekends that would be for California are listed as TBAs. Supposedly though the teams were informed that even though they are TBAs, those would still be Cali races. A source tells me that currently World Racing Group is working on a different track for the Roth event, and that the other weekend will be in California as well. If you want to take it further, Brian Carter was on Winged Nation today with Steve Post and Erin Evernham giving his yearly state of the sport interview, and even he said it. Carter mentioned going to tracks in California they haven't been to in a long time, and that they could potentially return to the northwest in 2027. So on some level, all the outrage and reactions to Jeremy's question were a bit moot. The Outlaws will be in California next year, and are looking at an expansion out west for the following season. For those that think going to California is a requirement for being called a national series, don't worry then, we still have two national tours.

Jumping a bit more in that Brian Carter interview on Winged Nation, he did say that the full Outlaw schedule will be released in the next week or so. And that jives with what I've heard. I was told that the various WRG-owned series would have their schedules released in the weeks between World Finals and PRI. Also on the schedule front, he alluded to quote "Sheldon's event" in Ohio getting expanded. I'm assuming that means Sheldon Haudenschild, who promoted the Buckeye Brawl at Millstream this year. I wonder if this is a solid indication that Sheldon stays Outlaws with that move to KCP. It would be a bit weird to run High Limit, but promote Outlaw races, especially an event that is multi-day. Carter also talked about additions and improvements coming to DIRTVision, with fans getting to choose their own camera views at more events, more onboards, and additional interactivity. He talked about things like chats. I'll link below to the Winged Nation YouTube video if you want to see that Carter interview for yourself.

Updating the Barry Braun, XR saga. I mentioned yesterday that Braun had been arrested in Lake County, Minnesota on unknown charges, but today we got more clarity. Several West Virginia news outlets are reporting that the arrest stems from an ongoing investigation in that state. WVVA has a story up that says the West Virginia State Police began an investigation in September into a fraud scheme, and quote "As the investigation unfolded, officers uncovered a consistent pattern of deceit and fraudulent activities linked to Mr. Braun, especially within the world of racing venues and their related businesses" unquote. The story also says quote "The investigation quickly brought to light enough evidence to secure warrants in Ritchie County, West Virginia. These warrants included charges for fraudulent schemes and obtaining property under false pretenses. Eventually, law enforcement successfully located Mr. Braun in Minnesota, where he was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff's Department. As of now, legal proceedings are in motion to extradite Mr. Braun back to West Virginia, where he will face these serious charges" unquote. We won't be following this story daily going forward, but we might check back in if and when a verdict is reached.

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