DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Seven dirt racing questions to ponder | Daily 12-24-2021
Coming up on this Christmas Eve edition of the Daily, I've got seven dirt racing questions for you to ponder while you drink your egg nog and wait for Santa. Let's go!
Today is Friday, December 24th, two thousand and twenty one. Welcome into DIRTRACKR Daily. I'm Justin Fiedler.
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
I want to do something a little different with today's show and pose a bunch of dirt racing questions that I'll respond to, and then I want to hear what you have to say. Feel free to answer one or multiple in the comments below, on social media, or via email.
We'll start first with a driver of the year. You can obviously take this in multiple directions, and include whatever criteria you want. For me, I think it has to be Kyle Larson. Even with what he did in 2020, I think his 2021 season was even more impressive. Crown jewel wins across both pavement and dirt, late models and sprint cars, NASCAR and midgets. Just crazy stuff. The Chili Bowl, a Kings Royal, the Knoxville Nationals, the Prairie Dirt Classic, the Cup championship, and so many more. It was maybe the greatest season ever in the history of motorsports from one single driver. And it's not something I think Larson will even be able to match in the future. With the Cup Series going back to practice and qualifying on many of the weekends, Larson's chances to race dirt will be less in 2022 and beyond. We will still get to see him plenty though, and I like that he's inspired a bunch of other guys to venture out more, including his Hendrick teammates. Honorable mention here is Brandon Overton. Almost a million dollars in winnings from late model shows is nuts.
Next question, what do you think was the most surprising winner of 2021? I'm going with Dave Blaney in the World of Outlaws show at Sharon in May. He started fourth in that race, and I understand it's a track he knows extremely well. But he led just one lap in a car that is basically a science experiment, it was his only top five this season in five Outlaw appearances, and it was his first Outlaw victory in nearly 24 years. At one point in his career, Blaney is very familiar with World of Outlaws victory lanes, but it had been a crazy long time since that was the case, and it was maybe the top candidate for feel good win of the year too. You know Sharon went crazy that night.
Question three. Who's a dirt late model driver you think could take a big leap next season and either compete with a series or take down some big wins? I'm going with young Mississippi driver Spencer Hughes. He and PCC Motorsports are planning a full rookie run with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and I think the sky is the limit for this squad. Hughes got the PCC opportunity earlier this year after the team split with Kyle Strickler, and he was impressive in limited starts, grabbing four top five finishes with Lucas and 13 top tens. He's still incredibly green as a driver, and the seat will do him good. I would not be surprised to see one or multiple wins from this group next year.
Question four. Who's a World of Outlaws Sprint Car driver not named Brad Sweet or Donny Schatz who you think could win the title in 2022? I'm going with Carson Macedo for this one. This will be his fourth season as a full timer, and year two with Jason Johnson Racing. He went from one win in 2020 to 11 in 2021, and his average finish improved more than two positions year over year. He missed out on the championship by 134 points behind Sweet and David Gravel, and it won't take a huge leap for him to be at the top next season. Crew chief Philip Dietz is one of the best in the business, maybe top two or three right now, and I think this team can only get better with a young Macedo continuing to grow as a driver.
Question five. What's a series or track or division you are interested in diving more into next year? My answer for this one is the ASCS National Tour. I'm curious to see what new owner Terry Mattox can do with this 360 sprint car series, and I feel like we don't talk enough about how the ASCS has been a breeding ground for sprint car talent. Past champions with the ASCS include Jason Johnson, Shane Stewart, Aaron Reutzel, and Sam Hafertepe. Top past rookies have included Paul McMahan, Kyle Hirst, and Jason Sides. Just this year we saw Blake Hahn win a championship, JJ Hickle grab rookie of the year, and Ryan Timms bag five series wins. All of those names could be front and center in the coming years. The ASCS is on the list of series to add to the dirtrackr.com analytics section as well.
On to question number six. What's something the sport as a whole of dirt racing needs to do better next year? I have two things for this one. The first is safety. We need to continue pushing for safer tracks and cars, and proper coverage and equipment on race nights. Better fencing, protection around openings, firesuits for safety workers, ambulances at all races, and proper gear for the racers. Crashes are going to happen no matter what we do, we just need to keep making sure guys are walking away from those incidents and fans in the stands are safe. The other answer to this question is more selfish, but I want to see the sport continue to build the stories around the racing. More video content, more behind the scenes, let's learn more about these teams and drivers. Really invest in what's happening around the incredible racing on a nightly basis. Let's make more stars and more heroes out the drivers we are watching every weekend.
And my final question for you today is what can I do better in the coming year with dirtrackr? What do you want to see more of, what do you want to see less of? What am I missing, who should I be talking to? What do you like about the website, or what don't you like? This entire project is just a little more than two years old, and I know we've come a long way, but I want to keep improving and keep pushing to bring you more and better and help you really grow your dirt racing knowledge and fandom. So drop your thoughts and answers to all of these questions below in the comments, on social media, or via email at info@dirtrackr.com.
It's getting to be that time of the year and the first of the Lonnie Wheatley pools is now open. The Tulsa Shootout gets under way next week, and pool entries are due before heat races start on Wednesday morning. If you want to participate, find @sooner7nc on Twitter.
The only thing on the streaming today is FloRacing 24/7. To see the full daily streaming schedule with links to watch, visit dirtrackr.com/watchtonight. Keep an eye there through the weeked as there is some dirt racing upcoming on Flo and DIRTVision. Western Springs and Woodford Glen in New Zealand are in action as is Perth Motorplex in Australia.
If you missed it yesterday, I dropped a new Conversations episode. This one features new Atomic Speedway owner Charlie Vest. We talked about all the big things coming to Atomic in 2022, including facility improvements and a huge schedule. We also got into Charlie's own background and racing career. Check it out today in the podcast feed or on the YouTube channel. I've now done 55 Conversations episodes to go along with the nearly 500 daily shows, so if you need an escape from the family this weekend, go find some of those past shows and give them a watch or listen.
That's it for the show today, hope you have a good Friday and a good holiday weekend. If you have thoughts about the topics on today's show, leave them in the comments below or tweet at me.
Thanks everybody for tuning in, I'll see you tomorrow for more DIRTRACKR Daily!