DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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Deep dive into the effects of dirt late model racers chasing big money | Daily 3-23-2022

Coming up we do more exploration of late model drivers chasing the cash and answer some big questions, plus details on the RaceSaver sprint show being lost at Devil's Bowl. Let's go.

Today is Wednesday, March 23rd, two thousand and twenty two. Welcome into DIRTRACKR Daily. I'm Justin Fiedler.

I mentioned last week that I had a few YouTube comments that I wanted to turn into show topics, and we are going to use one of those comments for today's show. About a week ago, on my show about Chris Madden dropping off the World of Outlaws full timers list, Red Road posted a comment asking several questions abou the future of dirt late model racing. He said quote "With the latest trend of the Big Guns choosing to race for Big Money and not Championships ... won't this leave more opportunity for up an comers and slumping drivers or will the purses get smaller without the big names to pull fans to the tracks? Secondly ... how well is it going to work for the Big Guns if more Big Guns show up at the Big Money Races decreasing their chances ... will chasing the Big Money still be lucrative?" unquote. There is definitely a lot to unpack there with each question. This idea of some of the bigger name drivers not running tours full time has been an ongoing theme in the late model world and something we've talked about quite a bit here, including on yesterday's show. For the most part in recent seasons, most of the top guys have run either the Outlaws or Lucas full time, but now we are starting to see more and more drivers go away from the series to just chase the big money races. You've heard me say these names before, but Overton, Davenport, and Owens are just a few. Between the shows at Eldora like the World and Dream, the newer FloRacing stuff, now you add in the big money XR races, plus all the regular crown jewels, there is plenty of opportunity through the season to make money without running a series. The benefits of running one of the national tours has always been the points fund and guarantees like tow money. You've even seen Lucas and Outlaws make big strides here lately by bumping those points funds and adding in more bonuses and cash available to teams that run all year with them. These moves are happening for really two reasons. The first is to obviously entice more guys to stay on as full timers, but it's also the sort of trickle down effect of their being more cash in the system because of the streaming services. These organizations can put more cash on the line because they are bringing in more money than probably ever before. Back to the comment and questions from Red Road. First, will these vacancies open up more opportunities for other drivers. The answer is most certainly yes. On the Outlaw side you've seen that with the addition of guys like Kyle Hammer, Gordy Gundaker, Max Blair, and Tanner English. On the Lucas side we have new guys this season like Garrett Alberson, and Daulton Wilson and Ross Robinson. English has run with Lucas before, and Ashton Winger has run with the Outlaws before, but both have real chances at race wins and solid seasons. If some of these other guys were in the mix, there would be fewer opportunities. And that's the deal with these touring series. You won't ever end up with more than 10 or 12 cars as series regulars, because beyond that the math just doesn't work out. If you aren't making features and getting decent finishes, you can't make enough money to make it work. The next question was will purses get smaller with fewer bigger names. I think the answer there is no. There are still going to be enough big names coming through, even if they aren't full time, that you can still draw crowds and get people to tune in via streaming. The focus will shift towards those guys that are present, and we could see more stars get created I think. More chances for other guys to shine. And the last part of the comment, was how will those big guys do with more and more other big guys showing up to those big money races. Sort of will the model be busted if there are too many battling for the same pie. I think that's a really valid question, and one I'm not sure we yet know the answer for. I think these next two weeks between the Outlaws and XR shows at Bristol will be an interesting look at what will happen through 2022. With the list of heavy hitters that's headed for Bristol, will some of these other guys now reconsider and hit the Outlaw shows at Cherokee and Farmer City instead, given that there will be potentially less competition, but still good money to be won. You'll still see Overton and Owens and Davenport and Madden at Bristol, but the real conundrum will come for the next group of guys behind. What makes sense for some of those mid tier guys, or drivers that probably weren't going to win, but had chances at top ten results. Is it worth it for them to go lock horns with so many heavy hitters. We will find out that answer in the coming days, as super late models join the Bristol program starting Friday, and the Outlaws are at Cherokee for two nights. That could also give us some clues as to who might try and chase the full XR Super Series deal as well. It's interesting time for sure, and something I think we'll just have to watch play out through the season. This move will work out for some drivers, but others will take a hit from this strategy. Drop me a comment, let me know your thoughts on Red Road's comments and questions.

And speaking of dirt late models, Blake Anderson had Tyler Courtney on his show over at FloRacing to talk about the late model stuff Sunshine is going to do this season. Besides racing in the Million at Eldora, we will also see Courtney at the FloRacing Night in America Series show at Eldora coming up on April 12th. He'll get a chance to run that race to get some laps at the Ohio track before the Million in June. It sounds like maybe some other late model stuff is possible as well. Blake and Courtney also mentioned that we won't see Kyle Larson at the Million that week because of a wedding he's attending. I don't know if that means the whole weekend is out, or not. But Larson will obviously be racing in Atlanta that weekend with the Cup car, so plenty of complications there. If you want to watch that interview, go find Anderson 410 at FloRacing.com.

So far in 2022, we've been pretty lucky I think with racing and the parts and tire shortages, but the problems persist, and we were reminded of that today. The Texas 305 RaceSaver Sprint Nationals scheduled for this weekend at Devil's Bowl Speedway has been cancelled because of a shortage of the right rear tires that those cars use. According to a post on the track's Facebook page, they do hope to reschedule the event for the future. It's an unfortunate consequence of the world we live in right now with the continuing supply chain issues, and it's the the first racing we've lost to this type of problem. There has been lots of chatter over the past year about tires, and of engines sitting at engine builders waiting on various parts and pieces, and teams mishmashing cars and parts just to get to the race track. It doesn't help either that when tires and some parts do come available, there are those out there that buy more than they need and hoard them, sort of like the folks that buy up all the bread and milk at the grocery store before a snow storm. That doesn't help anyone and makes these shortage problems worse. As we move through 2022, this is an area to continue to keep an eye on and how it affects both racers and the tracks and series.

In the podcasts department, there is a bunch of new stuff this week. Winged Nation has Mandy Pittman, Passing Points has Grady Chandler, and there are new episodes of Credentials Denied, the Dirt Reporters, the Dirt Nerds, and Ohio Dirt. To see the full list of shows and episodes hit up dirtrackr.com/podcasts.

There are two shows on today's streaming schedule. XR+ has day two of the Bristol Dirt Nationals and there is FloRacing 24/7. To see the full daily streaming schedule with links to watch, visit dirtrackr.com/watchtonight.

That's it for the show today, have a good Wednesday. 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!