DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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The dirt late model national tour that is looking REALLY fun for 2023 | Daily 12-12-2022
Coming up we'll talk the World of Outlaws Late Model field, including the addition of Nick Hoffman. We've also got details on the BC39, Chili Bowl entries cross 300, and more. Let's go!
It's Monday, December 12th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
Back on Friday while we were talking the Lucas Chase for the Championship and the new eased restrictions and higher payouts from the Outlaws, there were a few other news items that broke, and I wanted to double back to them today.
We'll start first with Nick Hoffman joining Tye Twarog to go full time with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series in 2023. This was the ride left open when Devin Moran departed to replace Hudson O'Neal with Double Down Motorsports. O'Neal obviously replacing Brandon Sheppard in the Rocket house car. Isn't it funny? BShepp decides to leave Rocket and it's created this whole domino effect of driver changes that's led to Nick Hoffman full time with the Outlaws. Hoffman has been probably the most dominant driver in a dirt modified over the past five or eight years. DIRTcar championships, Modified Nationals wins and titles, a bunch of gators down at Volusia, and now finally a move to full time late model competition. In between all the modified success, we have seen Hoffman run scattered late model races, including a fill-in stint with Scott Bloomquist. Of drivers at other levels, Hoffman, at least to me, has been one of those guys you wanted to see take the next step. He's so good in a modified, and has a ton of knowledge and expertise, and I'm excited to see how that translates to late models. The Twarog operation will run out of Hoffman's shop in North Carolina, and will include one of Tye's employees and Hoffman's guy Mason. He told FloRacing that he's done everything he wanted to do in a modified and that this was the time to make the change. He'll have support from NOS Energy Drink among various other sponsors both he and Twarog will bring to the team. Besides the full Outlaw slate, he'll fit in other big shows with series like Lucas and at Eldora. I don't know about you, but I really like how this Outlaw field is shaping up for 2023. Right now we've got Tanner English, Max Blair, Boom Briggs, Payton Freeman, Chris Madden, Todd Cooney, and now Nick Hoffman. That's seven right now, and if we add back Dennis Erb Jr. and some of the other full timers from last season, we could be in for a hell of a season. On the Lucas side, we know Rocket and O'Neal are going that direction. And I'd assume names like Tim McCreadie and Ricky Thornton Jr. will return. We still don't know which direction Sheppard is going with his new team, but either way will be fun I think.
The final big shoe to drop in sprint car racing should be out at some point today, with the High Limit schedule set to be released. There are a ton of rumors floating around about dates and money and other stuff, but we'll wait and see what ends up being official. Once that's out, I'm sure then teams will start deciding what their plans are for next year and who is going which directions. Stay tuned for that through the day.
When we talked the USAC Midget schedule back on Friday we didn't have the BC39 dates just yet, but they ended up being released on Friday as well. The event at the dirt track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is moving to September and becoming a four day event, the 27th through the 30th. The release says we are getting a new format, but we don't know what that is just yet. This had been a midweek show in previous years, but will now be a standalone weekend for the series. With the big Huset's weekend not returning, you have to think that USAC is looking at this as a possible chance to build another crown jewel into the schedule. I had a bunch of people ask about Terre Haute missing from the USAC schedules, and after all the things that happened there in 2022 with promoter Scott Ronk, it's probably not a good sign for the future of that race track. It is not on either the Silver Crown or sprint car schedule for 2023, where it has been a staple. Some TBAs do still remain, so maybe it could still be added at a later date, but we'll just have to wait and find out.
Speaking of midgets, the Chili Bowl is now across 300 total entries. As of last Friday we are sitting at 308. We did get the Chad Boat cars added, but still no Keith Kunz lineup. I had also previously mentioned Clauson Marshall, but I've heard in the days since that CMR has gotten rid of all of their midgets. They brought five cars a year ago, with entries for Tyler Courtney, Emerson Axsom, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Corey Day, and Ryan Newman. Of those five drivers, Corey Day is listed for 2023 in a Matt Wood ride, and Axsom is with Reinbold Underwood. Nothing for Stenhouse, Newman, or Sunshine as of yet. We know Kyle Larson isn't racing because of the purse situation, and we're waiting to see who else maybe decides to sit out. The KKM entries when they are added should provide some clarity there, names like Rico and CBell would be possibles. David Gravel said he is not racing, and Brad Sweet has not been happy in the past about the payout, so he is another we could not have entered. Stay tuned.
A couple of others items for you... On top of having a USAC National Sprint Car event for 2023, the tiny Action Track USA in Pennsylvania will also host the Short Track Super Series next year. NE modifieds on that bull ring should be a wild time. Kudos to the Action Track for scheduling some big time series.
Also, over the weekend we saw a few changes to some Ohio based sprint car teams. Greg Wilson is departing the Seeling 97 after a couple of seasons together to return to his own W20 ride. The Seeling team with Andy Potter are replacing Wilson with JJ Hickle. Hickle spent last year with Brandon Ikenberry in the midwest, which included a Knoxville Nationals feature start. Potter said on Facebook that they are targeting the Outlaw and All Star shows in Ohio, plus FAST and AFCS races and a trip to Knoxville.
And before we close out, I wanted to briefly mention the USMTS schedule for next year. It came out a few days back, but I hadn't gotten a chance to talk about it yet. 44 nights of racing, $2 million in purse money, and the champion again takes down $100,000. They are starting in early March at Rocket Raceway Park, and are closing out at Arrowhead speedway in October. Dustin Sorensen was the 2022 series champion. To see the full schedule, head over to usmts.com.
There are three items on today's streaming schedule. DIRTVision has the iRacing World of Outlaws and DIRTVision Now. There is also FloRacing 24/7. To see the full daily streaming schedule with links to watch, visit dirtrackr.com/watchtonight.
Alright, that's it for the show today. Make sure to hit that like button, and subscribe! We'll be back here tomorrow for more DIRTRACKR Daily.