DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Torgerson crash a gut check for dirt racing community | Daily 1-12-2023
Coming up, thoughts today on the danger that still exists in motorsports. Let's go.
It's Thursday, January 12th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
Let's get the important stuff done right off the top today. Ashton Torgerson was involved last night at the Chili Bowl in probably the scariest incident we've all ever seen. Afterwards, he was transported to a local hospital, but the Chili Bowl did report that he was quote "alert and communicating with track officials." And then late last night, the Torgerson family sent out an update saying that Ashton was awake and alert at the hospital, has feeling in his hands and feet and had passed tests up to that point. They were going to continue with more tests and scans. That is all absolutely incredible news given the nature of the incident. It's a miracle that he is still alive, let alone passing tests at the hospital. That dude definitely had somebody watching over him last night.
What happened on Wednesday night at the Chili Bowl though, was a stark reminder about how absolutely insanely dangerous racing continues to be. We love watching common people do uncommon things, but even with all of the advancements that have taken place with safety, the danger is still there right under the surface. It's honestly why a lot of us like racing. It's fast. It's dangerous. And at some base level, we are all still those same not so evolved beings that sat in the coliseum and watched the gladiators fight. Sports like racing are obviously the modern day version of that. Under most circumstances, drivers crash, go for big flips, and somehow, emerge from the car fine, if not a little pissed off. But the chance always exists for something terrible to happen, and luckily last night the consequences were not worse. I'm not going to sit here and speculate about the cause, but I do know that Ashton's incident is a big gut check for every racer in that building, and hopefully racers all over. Be damn sure every time you climb into that seat that your safety gear is as right as you can make it. Double check everything. Have your crew double check everything. We like the idea of danger, but none of us actually want to see anyone hurt in any way.
In my Twitter mentions this morning, someone brought up whether or not the race should have continued, and under the circumstances, I don't have a problem with the race going on. I know the drivers met with officials, and I'm sure if the competitors would have had a serious problem with it, the night would have been stopped. I highly doubt Matt Ward was in that meeting telling drivers they were required to continue on. And last night's field included some serious veteran guys like Rico, like TMez, Kevin Thomas Jr., RTJ, Kody Swanson, Ronnie Gardner. If those guys were really against restarting the feature, I don't see them being quiet about it. Sporting events continuing after incidents like we saw last night need to be handled on a case by case basis, and what the competitors want to do is probably the most important thing.
And this brings me back to what we talked about yesterday, and what we've covered in the past when it comes to sketchy and dangerous moves out there. There were a handful of comments on my show yesterday from people who didn't like what I said about Damion Gardner. And you know what, that's fine, don't watch, unsubscribe. I've spent my whole life going to race tracks, working in motorsports, competing myself. I don't want to see crashes. Of any kind. I played on a softball team with Bryan Clauson. I've interviewed Greg Hodnett, we had Bobbi Johnson on Open Red right before Jason was killed. These are real people with friends and family. Not nameless and faceless drivers with a helmet on just for our entertainment. This sport is clearly dangerous enough without people doing really dumb things to make it more so. So if calling out bad behavior makes me soft, then I guess I'm Charmin. So be it. We want close racing, the aggression is entertaining as hell, and the racers know what they are signing up for. But there is a line. And when that line is crossed, the consequences are real.
Once the feature got rolling again last night, we were treated to another good show. Mitchel Moles was in control, but after falling back a bit after the restart, Rico Abreu was able to get the top rolling and move forward. He snuck by Moles on the white flag lap to steal the victory. Moles ended up second, with Brent Crews in third. So Rico and Moles are locked in to Saturday, joining Cannon McIntosh, Shane Golobic, Hank Davis, and Spencer Bayston. Brent Crews was also on the podium and he'll head to a Saturday B-Main with Blake Hahn, KTJ, RTJ, Taylor Reimer, and TMez. And kudos to Rico for his victory lane interview. If you haven't watched it, go find it on FloRacing.
The racing continues today inside the expo with the fourth of five prelim nights. Same deal, hot laps at four central, with racing at five. We should again be into the 70s for car count, and the names to keep an eye on today include Jacob Allen in his first Chili Bowl, Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Casey Shuman, CJ Leary, Ryan Bernal, defending champ Tanner Thorson, and Tanner Carrick. I'd probably have Thorson and Axsom near the top of win picks, but it should again be a tough battle for those lock in spots.
Down at Vado Speedway Park in New Mexico, we got the third of six nights for the Wild West Shootout on Wednesday. The event was quiet Monday and Tuesday, and goes quiet again tonight before restarting on Friday. Unfortunately for the field, Jonathan Davenport didn't forget how to win during those days off, and his guys didn't forget how to setup that 49 machine. JD started on the pole, and went the distance to make it three wins in three nights. Bobby Pierce tried to track him down late in lap traffic, getting close a few times, but Superman was just too strong. He did have to make some big moves to get by lappers down the stretch, you can't win all six if you don't win the first three. Pierce settled for second, with Brandon Sheppard third. Kyle Larson wasn't a factor for the win, ending up sixth. I still think that Sheppard or Pierce break through for one of these before the week is out, but Davenport might prove me wrong about the week long sweep and the $300,000 bonus money. Dereck Ramirez won again in the modified feature, while Lucas Rodin took down the x-mod win. Like I said, the Wild West Shootout will continue on Friday.
The streaming schedule has four more shows on it for today. FloRacing has night four from the Chili Bowl and Flo 24/7. The Winter Nationals from Cocopah continue on Speed Sport, and there is 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 Wednesday. Thanks everyone for tuning in. We'll be back here tomorrow for more DIRTRACKR Daily.