DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Brad Sweet, Kasey Kahne Racing team all business at World Finals | Daily 11-3-2022
Today on the show we'll talk Brad Sweet getting closer to Outlaw title number four, Wednesday World Finals results, plus we'll look ahead to the Oval Nationals and more. Let's go!
It's Thursday, November 3rd, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
At World Finals last night, I felt like we saw why Brad Sweet and that NAPA 49 team have won three straight World of Outlaws championships. Those guys were all business from the moment they rolled the car out of the trailer, and Brad did exactly what he needed to do from start to finish to edge closer to title number four. Third quick in his qualifying flight, second in his heat to make the dash, and then a very nice eighth to second run in the dash after not a great draw. From there, he was not really a factor in the main event for the win, but a podium finish in third was good enough for him to extend the points lead with two nights left. On the flip side, David Gravel did his part through the early portion of the night. Quick time in flight A and a heat win also set them up in the dash. He drew the five, so was in a decent spot, but things started to slip a bit in that dash. Gravel got shoved up the track on lap one and ended up rolling to a stop. He did get restarted, but ended up eighth, which meant a P8 start for the feature. And then he was able to hang around the top five for most of the 30 lapper, before settling for sixth at the end. So Sweet in third, Gravel sixth, means six points were added to the advantage, to make it 22 now. That's about 11 positions, or 5.5 spots per race that Gravel must now beat Sweet. Out front in the main event, Carson Macedo was in control for the duration, but a late issue with a broken nozzle line ended his bid for the win. Logan Schuchart slipped by the stricken JJR 41 with two to go, and bagged the $15,000 win. Down a cylinder, Macedo was able to limp his car home to still finish second. We did have some tire issues in the sprint car feature on Wednesday. I know they were worried about debris on the track, but race director Mike Hess said they couldn't find anything. Sweet talked about it as well in his post race interview. The track didn't take rubber, but the surface is pretty abrasive. It will definitely be something the teams will need to manage through the weekend. The sprint cars are off today at World Finals, but will be back in action on Friday and Saturday.
We had a very similar look in the night's World of Outlaws late model feature with Shane Clanton in control for most of the race. For the Georgia Bulldog though, it wasn't a mechanical issue that kept him from the win, it was a charging Mike Marlar. Marlar started ninth and had worked his way to third inside ten to go. We then had a three car battle out front between Clanton, Marlar, and Trent Ivey. A late spin for Tyler Erb reracked the field, and Marlar was able to get clear of Clanton by the white flag. The victory was the second series win in a row for Marlar, and his fifth total of the season. With Dennis Erb Jr.'s championship sewed up, the only other battle we're watching is for rookie of the year and that second spot in points between Max Blair and Tanner English. Blair finished one spot in front of the 81E last night, so with two more chances to close the gap, Blair now trails English by 18 points. Hudson O'Neal made his first start in the Rocket house car on Wednesday night. If you missed it, the car does have a bit of a different look with some added red. O'Neal finished 13th after starting 15th. One other late model note from last night, we had James Essex and Bret Emrick on the call, and I really enjoyed them in the booth. It was strange hearing Essex on the mic at an Outlaw show, but cool nonetheless.
So looking at the rest of World Finals. Tonight the late models are back on the schedule, joined by the Super DIRTcar Series big block modifieds. The sprint cars will be a part of the fan fest in the afternoon. Friday is sprint cars and big blocks with the late models off. And then all three will race on Saturday.
I did get to spend a bunch of time at the track yesterday. I shot some photos and some video that you will start seeing shared on my channels coming up. It was also really cool to see some friends and I appreciated everyone that stopped me to say they watch the show and enjoy what I'm doing. It had been a few years since I was at an Outlaw event and it was great to be back wandering the pits. I'll probably head back out tonight and bring my little guy. He's never seen super late models and big block modifieds in person, so he'll be in for a treat.
Out in California tonight, the Oval Nationals get going for the USAC National Sprint Cars and CRA sprint cars. These are the final three nights of the season, and Brady Bacon's last opportunities to try and close the 83 point gap to Justin Grant for the series championship. Bacon was fastest last night in open practice at Perris Auto Speedway, and he was a prelim night winner a year ago. I think the gap is probably too large to overcome, especially with how consistent JG has been this season, but you never know I guess. In 2021, Jake Swanson was the other prelim night winner, with Kevin Thomas Jr. taking down the Saturday victory. Tonight and Friday are $6000 to win, with Saturday's feature paying $20,000 to win. The event is a joint national and CRA weekend, so we should have a nice field of cars. A year ago we were in the mid-30s, and just one week ago at Cocopah, we had 40. I don't see any reason why we wouldn't be close to that again. All three nights are live on FloRacing if you can't get to the track.
And about 400 miles to the northwest of Perris on Saturday night, both the NARC 410 series and the 360 Sprint Car Challenge Tour close out their 2022 seasons at the Stockton Dirt Track. Dominic Scelzi is the NARC points leader and just has to sign in and I believe take his qualifying lap to lock up the championship. On the 360 side, Andy Forsberg has a 36 point lead over Tony Gomes for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour title. Ryan Robinson and Corey Day picked up Sprint Car Challenge Tour wins at Stockton earlier this year, while Colby Copeland, DJ Netto, and the tire shortage have NARC wins at the track in 2022. It should be a good night of racing, and I'm sure we'll have a few guys doing double duty. This one will also be live on Flo if you aren't nearby.
Elsewhere around the country this weekend, there's a $14 grand to win late model show at Atomic on Saturday, and the Iron Man series is paying $10,000 to win at Duck River. The crate show at Magnolia has been lost to weather.
Just a quick show note, this is my last episode for the week. I am hoping though to try and make it back out to World Finals on Saturday for championship night though and grab some more photos and video.
There are three shows on today's streaming schedule, with more to come over the next few days into the weekend. You'll have World Finals on DIRTVision, the Oval Nationals from Perris on FloRacing, and more. To see the full daily streaming schedule through Sunday, head over to dirtrackr.com/watchtonight.
That's it for the show today, enjoy the dirt racing weekend. Please hit that like button, and subscribe to the show if you don't already.
Thanks everybody for tuning in, I'll see you tomorrow for more DIRTRACKR Daily!