DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Reaction: WRG CEO Brian Carter talks publicly about High Limit, streaming, 2023 Outlaw schedule | Daily 11-9-2022
World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter addressed the High Limit Series on Tuesday, and we'll get into his comments, plus a bunch of other news bits, including an angry tweet from Tony Stewart. Let's go!
It's Wednesday, November 9th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
I know that a bunch of you watched my interview with Brad Sweet from about a month ago where we talked all about the new High Limit Sprint Car Series. As of right now, that video has over 13,000 views and another thousand plus downloads of the podcast version. One of the main topics around High Limit, especially when it comes to guys like Brad Sweet, is how things will land with the World of Outlaws allowing or not allowing their platinum teams to compete with this new series. We obviously know where Brad and several of the other drivers stand on this, but until yesterday, we hadn't gotten any public acknowledgement from World Racing Group about any of this. But, as has been customary for many years, World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter made his yearly appearance on MRN's Winged Nation following World Finals. He sat down for 45 minutes or maybe a little more with Steve Post and Erin Evernham to talk all things Outlaws. There is a ton from the conversation to react to, and when you're done watching this episode, I would highly recommend giving it a watch. I'll link to the video in the description below, it's available on YouTube and the Winged Nation Facebook page. We don't hear from Carter very often, and there was a ton of interesting information he provided. He did not go so far as to say what his decision is or will be about allowing platinum teams the chance to do more moonlighting, but he did say that he's not going to rush into deciding. He said there is still a lot to consider, and he wants to make sure he has the full picture around sponsors, the schedule and how this could affect Outlaw events. In terms of conversations with the teams and drivers, Carter did say those have been up and down, but that he doesn't blame anyone for wanting more. When you watch the video, there is quite a bit of paper in front of him, which he references pretty often. He came armed with a bunch of numbers and stats as he shared his opinions and thoughts about the future for platinum teams and what they are asking for. He is very much a numbers guy, and it makes me think that he's not going to easily budge off the way the agreements with full time teams are currently structured. Erin also asked him about streaming and transparency with the teams about how much something like DIRTVision makes money wise, and Carter said that it's not quite as lucrative as some believe. He mentioned things like the revenue split with Apple, which is 30% for apps, he talked about their broadband providers and satellite fees, along with staffing as all things that affect their revenue. And as you might have expected, he did make the point that he's not really under any obligation to be transparent about the numbers, as its his business. He doesn't ask the teams to be transparent about their businesses around things like merch sales. I did like his comments about the at-track experience versus watchers at home via streaming. Carter doesn't want home viewers to have more information than those watching in the stands, which is why they invested in the big screens. They want to maximize the viewing experience for at-track viewers first, and then try and bring as much of that as possible to DIRTVision for those that can't attend. Towards the end, they also talked about the 2023 schedule, and Carter alluded to their possibly not being a spring west coast swing, which is something I've been hearing for a while. He also confirmed no Bristol next year. After watching the full interview, I'm not surprised by anything he said, and there are some chances in there to read between the lines a bit about several topics. I've known Brian for nearly ten years at this point, and if there is one thing I know about him, it's that he's going to do what he thinks is necessary to keep the company and the brand strong and healthy for the future. Love him or hate him, he's navigated WRG and the various series through some really dark times into a point today where they are as healthy as they've probably ever been. That's good for WRG, but it's also good for dirt racing as a whole. We need the World of Outlaws, their events, and the DIRTcar community to be in a good place. Go watch the interview and let me know your thoughts down below in the comments.
Alright, I've got a few other quick hit things for you today, and we'll start with the other WRG-centric bits. First, I know there was some issue on social media regarding purses from World Finals earlier this week. It seems as though some thought purses were quietly cut around the late models, which is actually incorrect. There was confusion between what people were finding on the Outlaw website versus what teams actually got paid. But if you looked at the series competitor notes for World Finals, the purse information that was available there matched payouts. The series did apologize to some of the teams for the confusion.
Also, I've been asked a few times about the Xtreme late model series that we've seen run in the offseason the past few years. From what I've heard, that series is not happening this year. The weather is obviously a challenge through the winter, and I'm sure the difficulty in getting events scheduled and completed played a role. Also, and I don't know this to be a fact, I'm just thinking out loud, but Drydene had sponsored that series, and if they were not interested in returning, that could have played a part as well. Several of those races that were sanctioned though will still happen, like the Blue Gray 100 at Cherokee Speedway in South Carolina.
Back on Monday's show, Loufish asked me about Tony Stewart's tweet from last Tuesday, and instead of responding in the comments, I just figured we'd talk about it here. He posted a link to a TikTok video from the World of Outlaws account, and said quote "this is the respect we as car owners and drivers get from the World of Outlaws. Hope you all enjoy world finals. Maybe they’ll show the fans a higher level of respect #Disrespect #zeroclass" unquote. The TikTok video has since been deleted, but if you didn't see it, it was a shot of Jason Sides from a few years ago where he flipped off the camera man. I'm not super certain why that stuck in Tony's craw, as it's not like Sides didn't know what he was doing. This felt a little though like just a public opportunity to take a shot at the series, which isn't the first time that's happened this season from TSR and a few other organizations. Donny Schatz did something similar after the rain race at the Grove, and behind the scenes teams have been unhappy this year about a number of issues. I personally have no problem with a video like that, and when I was a part of the social media team years ago, we were always finding ways to push the envelope. We no doubt pissed off a few along the way. I'm not sure when we got so sensitive, but we forget sometimes that the series is called the World of Outlaws.
And a quick final note about Grandview Speedway. We've been talking about this story since August, but as of October 26th, Copart has terminated their agreement with the track owners to purchase the property. The auction and salvage company needed an extension to their original pact with the Rogers family to try and resolve permitting issues, to which Theresa Rodgers declined. So the deal was cancelled, and Grandview will move forward as a race track. Their 2023 schedule is on as planned, and promoter Bob Miller confirmed to Speed Sport that they will have a Pennsylvania Speedweek show on June 27th.
Before we shut it down, the Short Track Super Series race last night was fogged out mid-program, so they will try again tonight at Rocket Raceway Park.
Around the other dirt racing podcasts this week, Winged Nation has Brian Carter, Passing Points has Angie Battles, Forward Bite has Devon Morgan, Quicktime has Freddie Rahmer, All Gas No Brakes has four new episodes, and there are new shows for the Dirt Reporters, the Dirt Nerds, and Dirt Tracks and Rib Racks. To see the full list of shows and episodes, head over to dirtrackr.com/podcasts.
Three shows today on the streaming schedule. FloRacing has the Short Track Super Series from Rocket Raceway Park in Texas and Flo 24/7. And XR Plus has open practice for the XR Super Series from the Dirt Track at Las Vegas. 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. 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!