DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Brandon Overton says tires are to blame for late model racing's issues, and not aero and deck height | Daily 9-15-2022
Brandon Overton says tires might be more to blame for the perceived issues in dirt late model racing this season. We'll talk about that, plus all of the racing coming up over the next few days. Let's go!
It's Thursday, September 15th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
So first of all, I'm really proud of you guys. We talked a bunch of modified stuff yesterday, I had a modified on the thumbnail, and I still got a decent number of views. Normally if I go off the rails and put anything modified related in the video thumbnail, my views tank for the day, so it's nice to see you guys are coming around. We also had a ton of comments about yesterday's topics, so well done. We might do a modified theme guest for an upcoming episode of Conversations, so if you want more mod content, stay tuned.
Before we get into the meat of today's show, this is my last episode for the week. I have day job stuff going on tonight and tomorrow, so we'll be back on Monday with a new show.
Alright, there is a bunch of big racing happening over the next several days and we'll start with the Late Model Knoxville Nationals. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is incoming to the sprint car capital of the world for $50,000 to win on Saturday night and the smack talk has already started. Dirt on Dirt's Derek Kessinger tweeted this morning he was headed to Knoxville for the real nationals, but has since deleted that message and replaced it with one that just says Knoxville bound. I've also seen some taxi cab references this morning as well. Nothing like a little sprint car vs. late model banter to get a weekend started. Mike Marlar is the defending Late Model Nationals winner, and going back to 2016, he's won three of the last five. The other two were won by Jimmy Owens in 2018 and 2019. Thursday and Friday's prelim programs are both $7000 to win, and drivers will earn points to set themselves up for Saturday's main event that pays $50k to win and $2500 to start. 13 race nights are still left in 2022 for Lucas, and Brandon Sheppard's chances to run down Tim McCreadie for the championship are running out quickly. He needs to get hot and quickly if he's going to make a serious challenge. The pre-entries list on the Knoxville website is pretty light at the moment, but I'd expect a healthy field. We were nearly at 50 cars for this event last season. You'll get the Lucas regulars, plus names like Chris Madden, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Marlar, Bobby Pierce, Kyle Bronson, Kyle Strickler, Shane Clanton and more. One driver who was really good at Knoxville last year that could use a boost this weekend is Tyler Erb. He won both prelim nights a year ago, but this season with Lucas has been difficult. He's won three times, but his average start and average finish are down from a year ago, and he's only got four top tens over his previous 10 races. You can watch the Late Model Knoxville Nationals all weekend long on FloRacing.
On the topic of dirt late model racing this season, the drivers and fans continue to bemoan the perceived lack of passing, and the domination in some of the big shows from guys like Jonathan Davenport. In a piece this morning from Kevin Kovac over at dirtondirt.com, Brandon Overton says that the tires should have a bigger focus on them then some of the other rules that continue to be brought up. He said quote "I didn't really care about the damn rules, I didn't really care about the damn deck height. It doesn't matter to me. What matters is when you got the wrong tires." He says at Eldora, they ran Hoosier LM30s on three corners with the LM40 on the right rear, and instead they should be on LM20s on three corners. He and crewman Grant Pearl point to the fact that the 30s just don't quite fall off like the 20s do, so guys are able to run harder through the long races and it makes for less of the comers and goers. It's an interesting perspective, especially from a driver who's had a ton of success at Eldora lately, including that win in the Dream and a second in the World. I still wonder though why this feeling continues to permeate through late model racing. Yes, we've had some guys dominate big shows, like I mentioned before Davenport. But there has been passing. Davenport went 21st to fourth in the Dream. Dale McDowell went 25th to 8th in the World. There is still a lot of passing going on. What I think this illustrates though is how difficult it continues to be to legislate and officiate these series. There are so many moving parts, and a lot of really smart people on both sides, the teams trying to get better, and the officials trying to keep things fair and somewhat economical. Overton probably has a solid point about the tires, but I feel like at least part of the blame for this situation could be on the issues with tire supply. There is a solid chance that the 30s were used at Eldora so guys would go through less tires over the four days of racing. I do like his thoughts in the piece about wanting to be part of the solution. Drivers, tracks, and series all need to continue working together towards the future and a better situation for all.
The other big money racing around the country this weekend is the Fonda 200 for the Short Track Super Series that will pay $53,000 to win on Saturday night. Stewart Friesen has won the event the last two times, and will be a favorite to win it again. Tonight at Fonda is the Ultimate Underdog 33, with any modified driver that hasn't won a feature this season eligible to compete in that event. Friday is then prelim action with qualifying races, and then the Fonda 200 on Saturday, which will also pay $1000 to start. Some names to expect to see at Fonda include Mike Mahaney, Alex Yankowski, Anthony Perrego, Jimmy Horton, Danny Creeden, Mat Williamson, Matt Sheppard, Max McLaughlin, and Ryan Godown. The entire weekend from Fonda will also be live on Flo.
As some pointed out to me yesterday, the Freedom 76 at Grandview is also happening on Saturday night. This one is for 358 modifieds, and the main event is 76 laps for $30,000 to win. We've talked about Grandview quite a bit lately with it's future in doubt, you can go find those videos from the last two weeks. I couldn't find any information on streaming for this race, so I'm guessing it's not available, but this show will draw some cars away from Fonda. Mike Gular is expected to race, as is Matt Stangle, Craig Von Dohren, and others. Ryan Godown is the defending event winner, but he'll be at Fonda for the 200. With no streaming, the only way to watch this one is to head to Grandview on Saturday night.
For the sprint car fans, there are plenty of options over the next several days. The World of Outlaws are in California for their final west coast weekend of the year. The Saturday show at Placerville was cancelled because of the track being used by local fire fighting efforts, but Friday at Hanford is still on. The Tom Tarlton Classic will pay $21,000 to win and Carson Macedo has won the two previous runnings of the race. 2021 it was an Outlaw show, while in 2020 it was not. Other previous Outlaw winners at Hanford include David Gravel in 2019 and Logan Schuchart in 2017. Gravel and James McFadden lead all drivers in average finish over the last three Outlaw races there. In the race for the World of Outlaws championship, Brad Sweet currently leads David Gravel by 72 and Macedo by 98 with 12 races left. To overcome those deficits, Gravel needs to average beating Sweet by three spots a night for the rest of the season, while it's about four spots for Macedo. All three drivers are riding nice top ten streaks, but Macedo has been the best as of late. In the 10 races since the Knoxville Nationals, Macedo has four wins, and a worst finish of seventh at Skagit on September 3rd. His average finish over that stretch is 2.6. He'll need to maintain that pace to keep up with Sweet. You can watch the Outlaws from Hanford tomorrow night on DIRTVision.
In Pennsylvania this weekend, you've got three straight nights of 410s, starting today at BAPS for the Greg Hodnett Foundation race. This one should draw a nice field with $5000 on the line. It's unsanctioned, but with the All Stars in the area this weekend, you'll see a lot of big names. That includes Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, Buddy Kofoid, Brent Marks and more. You can watch tonight on Sprint Car Unlimited TV. Then Friday and Saturday are the All Star shows at Williams Grove and Lincoln. The Saturday Lincoln race is the $20,000 to win Dirt Classic. Recent All Star winners at the Grove include Dietrich, Marks, and Macri, while Justin Peck has won the last two Lincoln races. It seems like the locals might have the edge at the Grove, while travelers and series regulars have done well at Lincoln. Tyler Courtney is on his way to the All Star championship, as there just aren't enough races left for Peck to run him down. The two All Star nights will be live on Flo.
Also on FloRacing over the next few days you can tune into the Hockett/McMillin Memorial from Wheatland for the ASCS National Tour and WAR Sprint Cars. There are also two nights of USAC sprint cars coming up from Circle City and Haubstadt. At Wheatland, we should have big fields for both the winged and non-wing portions. I would not be surprised to see both sides have over 60 cars. The ASCS main event Saturday pays $10,000 to win and the WAR show pays $4000 to win. Derek Hagar won both prelim nights for the ASCS in 2021, while JJ Hickle was the big show winner. Wesley Smith took the non-wing victory a year ago over Xavier Doney and Jack Wagner. We are about at the end of the WAR season, and Kory Schudy is on his way to the championship with a massive 580 point lead right now.
As for the USAC sprint cars, Friday at Circle City is $5000 to win, and Saturday's Hustler at Haubstadt is $12 grand to win. Justin Grant has stretched away from the field in bit in the championship, but second through fourth is tight between Brady Bacon, CJ Leary and Robert Ballou. Leary won at Circle City earlier this season, and Ballou is the most recent winner at Haubstadt.
Drop me a comment, let me know where you're headed, what you're watching, and your weekend win picks.
There are eight shows on the streaming schedule today, with a lot more to come this weekend. Today's slate includes the Hockett/McMillin Memorial, Fonda 200, and Late Model Knoxville Nationals on FloRacing. There is also regional action on Speed Sport and 410 sprint cars from BAPS on Sprint Car Unlimited. To see the full daily streaming schedule through the weekend, head over to dirtrackr.com/watchtonight.
That's it for the show today, enjoy the dirt racing weekend.
Thanks everybody for tuning in, I'll see you tomorrow for more DIRTRACKR Daily!