DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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World of Outlaws heat races matter, Shaffer joins Grove for Ohio Speedweek | DIRTRACKR Daily 6/8/21
It is Tuesday, June 8th, two thousand and twenty one. Welcome into DIRTRACKR Daily. I'm Justin Fiedler.
Today on the show we've got a few news items to cover off on, we take a look at tonight's Short Track Super Series action, and I've got some thoughts and observations about World of Outlaws heat races. Let's jump in.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series announced yesterday they are adding a race in New York to their 2021 schedule. Orange County Fair Speedway will now host the Outlaws on August 19th, and the addition creates a four race weekend that will see the Outlaws travel between New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. It will be the Outlaws' second appearance at the big .625 mile oval, with Rick Eckert winning the last trip there in 2004. So you'll have Orange County on Thursday night, Williams Grove on Friday, Sharon Speedway on Saturday, and the weekend closes out at Eriez Speedway on Sunday. To see the full World of Outlaws Late Model Series schedule, visit worldofoutlaws.com.
Also announced yesterday, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will not make up the May 28th race at Terre Haute that was lost to rain. Series and track officials could not find a suitable replacement date. Fans who had tickets to the event will receive a credit, or can request a refund. For details on how to do that, visit worldofoutlaws.com. The sprint car series is back in action this weekend at Knoxville for two nights.
In a post to their Facebook page yesterday, sprint car team Grove Racing announced that Tim Shaffer will return to the seat of the number 28 machine for the upcoming Ohio Sprint Speedweek for the All Star Circuit of Champions. Shaffer competed for Grove Racing last season before departing for the Heffner Racing ride in Pennsylvania. Skyler Gee had been driving the 28 for Grove to start the season, but that pairing recently parted ways with Gee now driving for Mark Coldren. Shaffer has picked up a couple of Central Pennsylvania wins this season, and was a winner in the 28 last season, grabbing an All Star victory at Attica in September. Ohio Sprint Speedweek kicks off Friday night at Attica, and then will visit Fremont, Wayne County, Sharon, Waynesfield, Muskingum County, Limaland, and Portsmouth through June 19th. I don't know how this move affects Shaffer's ride with Heffner, if it does at all. We'll keep you posted.
The Short Track Super Series continues it's run of Tuesday night racing with a joint north region/south region showdown tonight. Both tours will converge on Big Diamond Speedway for 50 laps and $5000 to win. In the north, Anthony Perrego holds a very slight one point lead over Mike Mahaney with three races complete. And in the south, the top two are reversed, with Mahaney leading Perrego by 35 points with five races in the books. This is the sixth appearance at Big Diamond for the series, and Billy Pauch Jr. is the defending winner of the event. Two other drivers to watch include Mike Gular who is the defending track champion, and Matt Sheppard who has been hot in the modified lately. He won last Monday at Lebanon Valley with the Super DIRTcar Series, followed that up Tuesday with the STSS win at Penn Can, and won at Big Diamond in 2019. And you can never count out Stewart Friesen when it comes to northeast modifieds. Crate 602 sportsman are also on the card tonight, and if you can't be there, watch all the action live on FloRacing.
To try and keep dirtrackr organized, I have a little app I use to keep track of my ideas, and notes, and website fixes, and possible future podcast guests. I'm always in there writing down things I see as I watch dirt races, and one thing that has stood out to me recently is the heat race interviews that have happened on DIRTVision with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars specifically. I feel like heat races get a bad rap, and with the Outlaw format of heats lined up straight up by qualifying, sometimes we hear that there just isn't enough passing in them and that they don't matter. But don't tell that to the drivers. If you've paid attention closely enough, those heat race interviews conducted by Chase Raudman give us a big clue into how the drivers handle heat races. Once the heat is complete, a car has been coming to a stop on the front stretch and Raudman walks out there with a mic for a quick one or two question chat while the next heat is getting lined up, and the crazy thing to see is just how out of breath the drivers are. In most cases, you don't get to see the drivers interviewed fresh off the track. They usually have to roll across the scales, or they have a lap or two to come down and catch their breath. But these quick interviews have shown us just how hard the drivers are working during those heat races. The Outlaws' heats are only eight laps most nights, but these guys are up on the wheel for every second of them, and it's wild to see them huffing and puffing after what really amounts to probably two minutes of green flag action. Those heat races can make or break your night, and these guys are digging trying to get into a feature transfer spot or make the night's dash. Back through 2018, 90% of Outlaw shows have been won by a driver who appeared in the dash, so it's vital to make moves in those heat races to really have a chance to win. And for guys further back, only the top six usually make the feature, so finishing sixth means a guaranteed $1000 for starting the main event, versus maybe only making a few hundred bucks if you finish seventh in the heat and don't transfer from the B main. It's one of the big reasons why we love dirt racing, because you gotta go, and you gotta go now. There is no riding around waiting for the right moment to make a move. Next time you're tuned into DIRTVision, keep an eye out for those heat interviews.
I'm working on a new conversations episode that will hopefully drop later today or tomorrow, with all eyes on the dirt late model Dream at Eldora this week. Stay tuned for that in the podcast feed and the dirtrackr YouTube channel.
Also, if you have time today, catch me filling in on Winged Nation with Steve Post on MRN. We'll be talking to Western PA Speedweek champion Ryan Smith and new All Star winner Bill Balog. You can find that show at mrn.com and the Winged Nation Facebook page.
There are three items on the streaming schedule for today, all on FloRacing. Besides Flo 24/7, there is Short Track Super Series action from Big Diamond Speedway and IMCA divisions from Jackson Motorplex. To see the full daily streaming schedule with links to watch, visit dirtrackr.com/watchtonight.
That's it for the show today, hope everyone has a good Tuesday. If you have thoughts about the topics on today's show, leave them in the comments below or tweet at me.
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Thanks for tuning in, I'll see you tomorrow for more DIRTRACKR Daily!