DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

Dirt racing news, results, discussion, analytics. Sprint cars, late models, modifieds, you name it. From national series, to top local shows. Brought to you five days a week. Email the show at info@dirtrackr.com.

Apparently Tyler Erb does not like the late model droop rule | Daily 5-5-2023

On the show today, drama at Mississippi Thunder, Kyle Larson bags his first sprint car win of 2023, and we'll wonder if Tyler Erb is ever going to learn. Let's go!

It's Friday, May 5th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.

It was a busy night last night, and there is no lack of things to talk about between Atomic and Mississippi Thunder. We had drama on the track, we had it off the track, and even on social media. And we'll start there and with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The droop rule in dirt late model racing continues to be a contentious issue, and some seem to handle it better than others. If you aren't aware, the droop rule was instituted to keep rear deck heights under control. Things are measured with the car jacked up and we've talked about it plenty here on the show. Some racers say the process lacks consistency, which makes sense on some level because it can be difficult at dirt tracks to find a level surface to make measurements. But if this problem were really as big as some want you to think, more guys would be failing on a nightly basis. But most have seemed to figure it out. And because nobody ever cheats in dirt racing, drivers and crews are always stunned when they are busted. Last night's most vocal victim was the guy who will never learn, Tyler Erb. He won the second heat, but was docked to fifth afterwards for failing the droop check and had to make the feature through the B-Main. At some point before the feature, he took to Twitter to voice his displeasure. If you are listening to this or watching with kids nearby, maybe turn the volume down, because there is choice language ahead. I'll fix the tweet for him here, because he wrote the word rhythm instead of rhyme, but he posted quote "Droop rhymes with poop. And Schwallie rhymes with suck my balls." If you don't know Schwallie, he's referring to Lucas series director Rick Schwallie. Certainly not the path I would have taken, or probably most rational adults, but hey, Terbo gonna Terbo. Just a little bit ago as I write this, Erb added to the conversation with another tweet, explaining that his car produced three different measurements during the check, he was supposedly told they were good, and then later informed they failed. Apparently words were said. But I think that goes without saying here. This second tweet feels like what he should have probably said last night if he found it necessary to say something publicly, but those World Racing Group directed anger management classes must be wearing off. He ended up sixth on the night after starting 17th. Out front, the early part of the feature was a back and forth between front row starters Hudson O'Neal and Jonathan Davenport, with JD eventually settling in to the lead. Past half way, O'Neal tracked down the 49 in traffic, and then held off Brandon Overton over the final few laps to score his third straight Lucas win. It was also the second time in three years that O'Neal won at Atomic. Overton and Marlar completed the podium. Kyle Larson went 14th to fourth, and JD faded to fifth. Points leader Ricky Thornton Jr. tangled with Mike Marlar on lap 12 and ended up 11th after having to drive back through the field. O'Neal has taken the top spot in the standings headed to Ponderosa tonight as a result. The standings will continue to shift through the weeked with the two national tours in conflict, and after Florence on Saturday night, we should have a better picture of that all important top 15.

Speaking of the Outlaws, there was no lack of drama with them either. Split field dual features last night at Mississippi Thunder and both early leaders would end up out of the mix. In race one, Jake Timm was on his way to the dominating win, but he tangled with the lap car of David Webster coming to the checkered and ended up in the turn three fence. That handed the win to Brandon Sheppard. So two straight victories for BShepp. In feature number two, we had a dogfight going on for the lead between Brent Larson, Cade Dillard, and Bobby Pierce but it didn't last long. On lap 15, Larson and Dillard tangled down the backstretch, which sent the B1 into the outside wall. Larson was upset after the race at Dillard, but it sure looked to me like Larson did it to himself. Dillard had the high side out of two and was basically to Larson's door when the B1 drifted up. You can actually even see Dillard pile on the brakes to avoid it. It was a bad deal for Larson, but it's tough to blame Dillard for it. The 97 machine got away from Pierce on the restart and drove on to the victory. Dillard just recently switched to a Longhorn and he's clearly off and running in it. Tonight at Mississippi Thunder they'll do it all over again, and then Saturday's action will be set by how everyone did through these first two nights. The big show pays $50,000 to the winner.

Back to Atomic last night, the All Stars were also on the property with Lucas. Really nice field of sprint cars and the feature came down to Kyle Larson vs. Tyler Courtney. Sunshine started from the pole and led the first 12 laps, but one tiny mistake cost him the win. He got held up just a bit by the lapper of Blake Hahn, and that was all Larson needed. He took control on lap 13 and drove away to his first sprint car win of 2023. Sunshine settled for second with Rico Abreu third. Zeb Wise would have left the night as the points leader, but a flat tire on the final lap ruined his top five run. He's back to fourth chasing Brent Marks, Sunshine, and Parker Price Miller going to Jacksonville next week. Looking towards today and tomorrow, a lot of these same guys will head to Eldora to race with the Outlaws for the Let's Race Two weekend. David Gravel, Marks, and Rico were Outlaw winners at Eldora a year ago, and Carson Macedo enters as the points leader by 12 over Brad Sweet. The Outlaws will be joined on the card by the USAC sprint cars. Justin Grant is atop the standings right now with CJ Leary and Emerson Axsom trailing. It should be a great two nights of racing for the two series.

Looking around the rest of the country, there is no lack of options this weekend. Besides the stuff we've already talked about, you've got the Spring Nationals and Comp Cams late models racing, the Super DIRTcar Series big block modifieds are at Orange County Fair Speedway on Sunday, and the NARC 410 sprint cars are headed for Silver Dollar. We'll see if Mat Williamson can stay rolling in SDS competition, as he's won five of the last seven series races going back to 2022. He hasn't won though at Orange County. There is also a ton of other local and regional racing on tap. Drop me a comment and let me know what your dirt racing plans are for the next three days.

The streaming schedule through the weekend is absolutely packed. If you need help finding something to watch, I've got you covered. Head over to dirtrackr.com/watchtonight to browse the daily offerings.

Hope you guys have a good weekend out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow.