DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Don't look now, Davenport lurking... Plus Ross Chastain in a big block tonight! | Daily 7-20-2023
Today on the show, why the Lucas competitors should be worried about Jonathan Davenport, what exactly can Ross Chastain do tonight in a big block, and a lot more. Let's go!
It's Thursday, July 20th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
I got my regular email yesterday from the sitemapping service I use, and it was notable because I learned that dirtrackr.com is approaching 10,000 individual pages. That's insane that this little project that started with a computer science class has grown to include that much dirt racing information. The bulk of those pages are inside the analytics section, which is the dirt racing stats engine I've been building out. If you haven't jumped in over there, we are currently tracking 12 different series and special events, with over 1,600 races worth of data and many thousands of drivers. A good amount of the info and stats and results are free to check out, but I do have a subscription service that allows you to go even deeper and access all of the same information I use to put these shows together. DIRTRACKR Plus is $4.99 a month, or $49.99 a year. If you buy the year, you basically get two months free. A lot of research is done for you, and it's great for setting race night lineups for fantasy, playing pools, or if you work for a series or are a media member. Don't click all over the internet to find what you can easily get in one place. And the beauty is, your subscription gets more valuable over time as I add more races and series and features. Just this year I added in the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets and High Limit stuff. If you want to check out DIRTRACKR Plus, click the link below in the video description, or the Plus button in the nav bar at dirtrackr.com.
The World of Outlaws show at BAPS Motor Speedway last night was hit with a rogue monsoon right before heat races were set to start, so they will try again tonight. They won't be continuing the program though, instead choosing to just re-rack the whole thing. So a full show is on tap with hot laps, qualifying, heat races, etc. This sets up three straight races nights, because after tonight, they'll go straight to Williams Grove with the Summer Nationals happening Friday and Saturday. If you are curious who was fast last night, Logan Schuchart went quick time, with James McFadden second. There will definitely be some guys happy to get another crack it, with names like Gio Scelzi, Spencer Bayston, Devon Borden, Danny Dietrich, and Freddie Rahmer all outside the top 20. I'd still keep my eye on Brent Marks tonight, and I like what we saw from Schuchart and McFadden. We'll see what adjustments some of those other guys can make for today.
And as an aside to all of this, after the stink he made on Tuesday, Kyle Larson was indeed in attendance last night at BAPS. We talked about all of that on yesterday's show, so it was pretty wild to see them roll in anyway. I'm glad we talked about it though, because I did learn a few things about what's at play from some industry friends, and even though I don't like a lot of it, I think it was important to point out. It sounds like there is a pretty good chance Larson is back tonight, and racing Friday and Saturday at Williams Grove with the Cup cars not far away at Pocono. If you can't get to BAPS tonight, you can watch it live over on DIRTVision.
In other racing from last night, the Super DIRTcar Series was at Land of Legends for a $7500 to win show. In the end, it was recently inducted hall of famer Tim Fuller going the distance for the victory. He led all 70 laps, keeping Matt Sheppard in his rearview all race long, to score his first series win in two years. Sheppard settled for second with Peter Britten in third. Sheppard was able to extend his championship lead to 63 points with Mat Williamson finishing down in ninth after starting 19th. The Super DIRTcar Series is back at the end of the month for a two night show at Autodrome Drummond.
And just in case you haven't gotten enough northeast modified racing this week, the Short Track Super Series is back at it again tonight. I'm sure a lot of the teams and drivers we saw last night will drive the 100 miles over to Utica-Rome tonight for the Riche Evans Remembered 61. 61 laps, $6100 to win, and round six of the north region. Just like with the Super DIRTcar Series, Sheppard is leading this championship right now as well over Mat Williamson. This one may draw a few more eyeballs tonight with NASCAR driver Ross Chastain set to team up with Sheppard in a second entry to make his debut in a modified. Chastain has been branching out this season, including some super late model stuff, so we'll see what he can get done tonight. He did run at Cherokee in a late model back in May, ending the night 9th in a B-Main. Drop a comment and let me know what your prediction is for how he'll do tonight. Other names to expect tonight include Alex Yankowski, Max McLaughlin, and Stewart Friesen. The Short Track Super Series can be watched live on FloRacing.
Before we move on, the winner of the High Limit tickets for Grandview Speedway thanks to TicketHoss is ManvilleMatt. Please shoot me an email so we can get everything squared away. I really appreciate everyone that played along, and hopefully we can do some more stuff like this soon.
Up at Huset's Speedway tonight, the Silver Dollar Nationals weekend gets rolling for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. This is the first time this event will be at Huset's following the closure of I-80 Speedway in Nebraska. Last night the track had the Tri-State Late Model Series, but tonight it's Lucas taking center stage with a $12,000 to win full program. Friday will feature two rounds of heat races which will setup Saturday's program that ends with $53,000 going to the winner. Huset's is not really known as a late model track, but we did see a good show with Lucas there last season. Three different leaders with Tim McCreadie coming out on top. The Huset's race in 2022 only drew 19 cars, and with this being sprint car country, I think the car count and grandstands will be something to pay attention to. Can this event draw a lot of teams and a lot of fans when it's been moved over 200 miles away. I hope so, because late models at Huset's should be a no-brainer. We've been watching this battle for those final four chase spots and right now we've got four drivers in a battle for the final two spots. Jonathan Davenport and Devin Moran have been on the move, while Tim McCreadie and Brandon Overton look vulnerable. I actually think what Davenport and that Cory Fostvedt-led crew have done in the last couple of months has been really impressive. Those guys have had their struggles this season for various reasons, but they've stayed the course and really got things going in a good direction. That Show-Me 100 weekend at Wheatland really was the turning point for them, and five of their six wins this year have come since May 25th. Now they've got themselves into that top four thanks to two straight wins, and could easily get to third very soon. Over their last ten races, Davenport's average finish is a series best 3.4. With the Outlaws off this weekend, it sounds like a bunch of those guys are headed to Huset's to race, including Bobby Pierce, Brandon Sheppard, Kyle Bronson and others. If you aren't headed for Huset's, watch it live on FloRacing.
Other shows to check out tonight include the Southern Nationals at Senoia. Hopefully they have a little better luck with the weather. And the USMTS has three nights coming up at Mason City Motor Speedway in Iowa. $3000 to win tonight, $5000 to win Friday, and $10,000 to win Saturday. Multi-time champion Rodney Sanders has been able to stretch away a bit in the points standings lately with Jason Hughes second and still looking for his first win of 2023.
That's it for today. Make sure to check out the streaming schedule, grab some merch at shop.dirtrackr.com, and subscribe to The Slider.
Hope you guys have a good Thursday out there, we'll see you right back here tomorrow.