DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Can Schatz contend? How viable will High Limit be? Who will be Erb's new crew chief? It's Q an A day! | Daily 3-9-2023
It's Q&A time on the show today, plus we've got updates from the Outlaws, Silver Dollar Speedway, Terre Haute, the ASCS and more. Let's go!
It's Thursday, March 9th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
We'll start today off with the news and updates, and we'll get to the questions and answers segment after, so let's get into it...
We were worried about this one earlier in the week, but the World of Outlaws and Port Royal went ahead yesterday and cancelled this weekend's two day sprint car show. They are expecting possibly some winter weather and temps in the 30s and 40s, so no surprise here. The shows are cancelled outright, there will not be any makeup dates. Fans who had tickets will get a credit on their account, or they can request a refund from World Racing Group. Details on that will be available at worldofoutlaws.com. So no World of Outlaws this weekend, and no debut of the new sprint car tire. We'll have to wait just a little bit longer. The Outlaws and Central Pennsylvania will try again next weekend, with stops at Williams Grove and Lincoln slated for March 17th and 18th.
One other race lost to weather is the Spring Nationals stop on Friday at North Georgia. That was announced last night, but the series is still planning on racing Saturday at 411 Motor Speedway in Tennessee. That one is $15,000 to win.
I do have a little bit of streaming service news for you today. At a point where we've seen several tracks fall off the FloRacing schedule, especially in California, one key facility will be back with the streamer in 2023. The Silver Dollar Speedway announced yesterday their full slate of races will return to Flo this season, including their first event of the year, the Mini Gold Cup on March 17th and 18th. Silver Dollar isn't really a weekly track, showcasing more of a special event schedule through the season, and events this year that you can watch on Flo include several races highlighted by 360 sprint cars, the NARC 410s, and more. This move though shouldn't be altogether surprising, as the track is run by Brad Sweet, Kyle Larson, and Colby Copeland, and Larson already had a deep relationship with Flo, and the High Limit Series is tied in with them as well. You can see the full press release, and Silver Dollar's season schedule over at silverdollarspeedway.com.
With still about a week to go until their first race weekend of the season, the ASCS sprint car field continues to fill out. We already talked about Matt Covington and Brandon Anderson returning to the National Tour, and I've got a few other names for you as well. Last season's rookie of the year in Jason Martin is back for another go, as is Kyler Johnson. Martin closed out 2022 with five straight top tens, including a win in the finale at Creek County, and could be a sneaky guy to watch out for this season. Arkansas driver Brady Baker will chase rookie of the year with the ASCS, moving up from regular competition with the USCS. Joining him as a rooke will also be Texas driver Christopher Townsend, who's moving up from RaceSaver sprint cars. Townsend did make a handful of ASCS appearances in 2022, all at I-30 Speedway. Dylan Westbrook didn't run the full slate a year ago, but he's back for the full go, and is another driver who can win and rack up top tens. Landon Britt is also back for his second full time run. He had three top fives and nine top tens last season, including a second at I-30 in March, which was a race he led 17 laps in. So in total, that's eight full timers we know about, and I wouldn't be shocked to see that number continue to grow in the coming days. If you want to keep up with the ASCS, Bryan Hulbert does a nice job on Twitter @ASCSRacing and on Facebook @AmericanSprintCarSeries.
If you're in Indiana, or are a non-wing fan, there seems to be some movement and hope for the future of the Terre Haute Action Track. The facility has been in limbo since things went sideways between Scott Ronk, Bernie Stuebgen, and the fair board there. But in recent days there have been rumblings of an impending deal with a new promoter, and a new Facebook page has popped up. We'll see what kind of a schedule may get put together and how long things last. That place continues to just be completely snake-bitten by it's circumstances.
Alright, let's get into some questions and answers. These are all from YouTube.
First, Martin Racing asks "Do you think TSR has found a good balance with the Ford engine? To chase a championship this season." Won the Nationals last year, and the final two races of the season, but rest of 2022 was down. Worst average finish in several years at 7.5. Better the second Volusia weekend, but opened 14th, 20th at DCN.
History Dude says "Do you think the high limit series is viable for multiple years or is it more likely to be a one year thing to bring higher money mid week events?"
Jimmy Davenport wants to know if I have "Any news on who may be the new crew chief for Best motor sports and do you think Madden will stay on the WoO tour all season?" Erb told Kovac he has "Plenty of good help"
Tyler Williams asks "What is a form of dirt racing that maybe you weren’t as familiar with as sprint cars that you have grown to love over time? Late Models, Big Blocks, UMP Mods, USMTS, etc?"
Next question is from Mark. He says "Do you think that Kyle Larson 's ability to swap between types of racecars, helps him to be a great race car driver? More and more racecar drivers are swapping over to other types of motorsports, especially in the off season, to give themselves race miles and to help keep up with the fitness required these days. American sprint car drivers are going to Australia in the off season and Australian drivers are going over to the US in their off season."
Carter wants to know "What dirt track is really the worlds fastest half mile? It seems like every half mile claims to be the fastest. Surely there’s some form of stat to prove which one can really claim that title." Volusia track record 12.569 McMahan 2011 143.21 MPH
And finally, Goofball asks "How much would it cost to put my company sticker on your white board?"
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. We'll do this again soon.
Looks like we've got six shows on the streaming services today. Clay Per View has action from Murray Bridge, FloRacing has Woodford Glen and FloRacing 24/7, Speed Sport has practice from Port City and IMCA divisions from Heart O'Texas, there is also DIRTVision Now. Just a sidenote on the streaming schedule, for the shows down under, we try and put them up on the date before, since most start during the overnight hours. If you want to see the full daily streaming schedule, head over to dirtrackr.com/watchtonight.
Have a good Thursday out there, we'll see you guys tomorrow.