DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Clarity on Christopher Bell's Chili Bowl absence; Cannon McIntosh and Shane Golobic lock in | Daily 1-10-2023
Coming up we'll talk night one of the Chili Bowl, look at Tuesday's field, plus we've got updates on why Christopher Bell isn't there, and the visa situation for sprint car drivers. Let's go!
It's Tuesday, January 10th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
Night one at the Chili Bowl is complete, and we have our first two feature starters for Saturday night's main event. Cannon McIntosh picked up the feature victory on Monday, with Shane Golobic in second. Those two are in for sure. Chris Windom ran second to McIntosh for much of the feature, but got nipped late by Golobic and he'll settle for a Saturday B-Main, along with Trey Marcham, Chase Briscoe, Gavan Boschele, Ryan Timms, and Kyle Spence. McIntosh was in control for most of the feature, and somehow survived a right rear tire going flat, that became evident during a caution with just a few laps to go. Neither Golobic or Windom could take advantage though. Jerry Coons Jr. had heartbreak late when the wheel nut on his right rear backed off. He had to head to the work area and got trapped there going green, giving up a top five run. As for our guy Tanner Holmes, I was really impressed with his night. He started on the pole of his heat race and picked up the victory to put himself into a qualifier. He then went third to second in that qualifier to give himself a top ten starting spot in the feature. A flip in the feature did cause big damage to his car, but the Chad Boat squad did an amazing job to get a tie rod replaced and clear the nerf bar and get him back out of the work area. He ended up racing back to 13th, which will put him in a C-Main come Saturday.
I didn't feel like there were any big surprises last night. No big names got trapped in lower mains, and the feature lineup ended up being about what you would have expected. I said yesterday that I thought McIntosh and Golobic were the two to watch, and that ended up being the case.
The other racing we got to see last night was the Invitational Race of Champions, and we were treated to a damn good 25 lapper. Rico Abreu led early from the pole, but Spencer Bayston was on the attack, and he was able to grab the lead around half way. He didn't just drive away with it though, as McIntosh was in the mix, and was even able to get in a slider on Bayston. But, driving in a third RMS entry, Bayston made the crossover move, and then got away just enough at the end to earn the victory. McIntosh settled for second with Rico third. It was a nice little teaser for the rest of the week, and Bayston definitely looked fast. I was surprised with Justin Grant, who started second, but finished ninth. Buddy Kofoid was also a non-factor, ending up seventh. In his post race interview, McIntosh wasn't happy with how Bayston raced him, but I didn't see anything super egregious between the two. They made contact when Bayston crossed him over, but it didn't feel dirty, just a racing deal I think.
A side note for you. We talked last week about Nick Hoffman racing the Chili Bowl, and he ended up 16th last night after transferring through a B-Main. He's already back in the Charlotte area though today, getting work done to have his late model prepped for testing and racing next week. He'll be back to Tulsa later in the week to complete the event.
Looking at today, we should again be low to mid 60s for car count. Hot laps again at 4PM central time, with racing at five. Names tonight in the field include Spencer Bayston, Michael Pickens, Daison Pursley, Chance Crum, Tim McCreadie, Zach Daum, Alex Bowman, Kaylee Bryson, Damion Gardner, Buddy Kofoid, Jade Avedisian, and Jonathan Beason. After what we saw last night, I'd definitely put Bayston towards the top of win picks. Kofoid as well.
The other topic around the Chili Bowl, that will continue to be a theme all week, whether it gets talked about on the broadcasts or not, is the absence of Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. Matt Weaver had an interesting piece yesterday at racingamerica.com about all of it with quotes from Tanner Thorson, Keith Kunz, and Emmitt Hahn. We've heard from Larson why he isn't there, but we did get a bit of clarity about Bell's situation. He hasn't said anything publicly, but Keith Kunz alluded to Bell's NASCAR team in Joe Gibbs Racing not being thrilled with him running dirt races. CBell was a title contender in the Cup Series in 2022, and clearly JGR is trying to protect their situation. Weaver even mentioned the DJ VanderLey incident at Texas as reasoning for JGR clamping down. VanderLey was severly injured in the micro race that Bell promoted last year, and is a member of the Stewart Haas Racing engineering team. Bell had planned to compete in that event, but pulled out after DJ was hurt. I don't believe we've seen Bell on dirt since then, with his last race completed being a micro show at Millbridge last August. I'm sure we'll see both back in Tulsa in the future, but the purse will continue to be a talking point as well. Emmitt Hahn said they added nearly $35,000 to the event this year, with it now being $1500 to start, and some more cash available down through the field. It is pretty jarring though that Larson is racing for $10,000 to win each night down at Vado, and the micro race that Tanner Holmes won over the weekend in Kansas bagged him $7500. It does feel like it's probably time to boost things if it's possible. Teams will continue to show up and race for the Driller regardless though. If you aren't headed to the Chili Bowl today, you can again watch live on FloRacing.
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A quick update about the visa situation for sprint car drivers heading down under. We talked yesterday about Aaron Reutzel, Brad Sweet, and Sheldon Haudenschild having problems getting approved to travel, and since then, Saller Motorsport has announced they have cancelled Reutzel's schedule. I had heard there was hope that Reutzel's situation would get resolved, but it's clear now that won't happen, at least in time for him to make the trip. We'll have to stay tuned about what the resolution will be for Haudenschild and Sweet, but at this point, I'm not sure I'd hold my breath. From the information I've gotten, there doesn't seem to be a lot of hope. I don't have intimate knowledge of the details, but the problems seem to stem from the type of visas the drivers are trying to get, and whether or not they are actually tourists, or coming over to make money. The Saller Motorsports release about Reutzel mentioned this issue. It's definitely a shame for our sprint car friends down under.
Last night was round number seven of ten for the iRacing World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. Chase Raudman isn't at the Chili Bowl, but he was on the call last night for the racing at Cedar Lake. Timothy Smith entered the night with a two point lead over Alex Bergeron in the standings, with Tyler Schell 24 back in third. Those three drivers all started together on the first two rows, and it was Smith who held the advantage from the start. Bergeron tried to track him down late, even throwing a slider at him with five to go, but Smith was able to fend him off and secure the victory. It was Smith's first win of the season. Bergeron settled for second with Tanner Pettit third, Schell fourth, and Evan Seay fifth. Even with the win though, Smith wasn't able to pad the points lead much. With three rounds still to go, it's only five right now over Bergeron. The final three race run to the end includes stops at Knoxville, Weedsport, and Charlotte. You can watch these races each of the next three Monday nights at 9PM ET for free on DIRTVision and YouTube.
Three shows on the streaming schedule today. FloRacing has night two of the Chili Bowl plus Flo 24/7. There is also DIRTVision Now. To see the full daily streaming schedule with links to watch, visit dirtrackr.com/watchtonight.
Alright, that's it for the show today. Have a good Monday. Thanks everyone for tuning in. We'll be back here tomorrow for more DIRTRACKR Daily.