DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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I don't envy Don Kreitz today | Daily 7-27-2023
Today on the show, a bunch of thoughts about how much talent there really is out there for high level dirt racing car owners to hire, plus Rico finally stops Larson, a surprise All Star winner and more. Let's go!
It's Thursday, July 27th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
Earlier this morning, the Kreitz Racing team shared to social media that they will not be racing this coming weekend as they work towards making the best decision possible for a new driver or drivers to fill the seat of the 69K after they parted with Lance Dewease over the past weekend. They shared in that post that they've had quote "about 75 inquiries" from drivers interested in taking the job. I don't feel like that number is all that surprising given that it's a top ride in Central PA, but I don't know how Don Kreitz goes about deciding who to choose of that group. We talked about this very topic two days ago on the Daily show. The initial prompt on Tuesday was we are starting a national touring team right now, who do you hire? And your constraints on drivers are who's actually available right now in real life, not just a dream team scenario where you can go get David Gravel or Buddy Kofoid. At this moment, those guys are signed to teams. My argument was that the talent pool is actually pretty small, and I brought up names like Hunter Schuerenberg, Parker Price Miller, Chase Randall, Ryan Timms, and a few regional guys like Trey Starks or Shane Golobic as potential names to look at. The responses I got were all over the board, and it was clear that some didn't pay attention to what I was actually asking for, but hey, you'll have that on the internet. Yesterday, multi-time Lernerville track champion AJ Flick weighed in on that Daily show topic, saying he strongly disagreed with my assessment and that he thinks there are quote "tons" of talented sprint car drivers, and that what is lacking is money and experience. That might be true to a point, but I think he and a lot of race fans have a very skewed or biased view of how much actual talent and ability is really out there. I'll point to a few interesting thought experiments for you away from motorsports. Early in 2023, there was a survey released saying that 32% of Americans believe they could land a commercial airliner in an emergency situation. And, just a few days ago, the Action Network released the results of a survey they conducted where 62% of average golfers believe they could record a lower score on a single hole during an 18 hole round against a PGA Tour pro. Both of these are pretty outlandish, but I think they are good examples of how highly people think of themselves and how adept they are at things, even if it doesn't match reality. If you want some funny stuff to watch today, go search YouTube for Brian Scalabrine playing basketball against normal people, some solid high schoolers, even some ex-college players. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, was not a superstar, but just absolutely destroys his competition. It's a graphic example of how wide the gaps are in talent and ability between the top and normal people. I'm not doubting or saying there aren't some hidden talented race car drivers out there, and guys who have been overlooked for various reasons, whether it's sprint car racing or late model racing or wherever. But I do think there are guys who have inflated views of themselves, and I think a lot of race fans have unrealistic views of certain drivers and what they are really capable of. Just because a guy runs a super late model or 410 sprint car somewhere doesn't mean they can compete on the biggest stages. I've seen lots of names thrown around in the last 48 hours after my show, and I could get the receipts out and start showing you who has actually shown flashes and could be a hopeful, and who has literally no chance, but then feelings would get hurt and I don't believe this community is ready for those types of real discussions. I think when it comes to some of these rides, a lot of the same guys get the chances because they are safe. You know they can qualify, make features, not tear up too much stuff, maybe they bring some cash, so they get the calls. It's a big risk to take on an unproven guy, and these car owners very often don't have the patience to wait for a guy to really find his footing, knowing that it may never actually come. Looking around the country, I think a lot of racers believe if they had a million dollars in sponsorship and Mark Richards, or Philip Dietz, or Kevin Rumley, or Ricky Warner in their corners, they'd win. But I think the group of drivers who would actually succeed in those situations is realistically pretty small. I know one thing today, I don't envy Don Kreitz trying to sort through 75 voice messages and text messages and resumes and stats to try and make a decision to replace Lance Dewease.
One other related note here, Macri Motorsports will field Lance Dewease this weekend at Port Royal in a 39M sprint car. Ryan Hand will continue to crew chief it with Joe Mooney out on the road with Justin Sanders. Dewease went 16th to 10th last night in the High Limit show at Grandview.
And if you haven't read it yet, I'd suggest jumping on to Jacob Allen's Facebook page and reading what he wrote yesterday about why he's taking a break from racing right now. Kudos to him for being open and honest about what he's going through, and why he's decided on this move.
Speaking of that High Limit show last night, Kyle Larson's win streak was broken by Rico Abreu. Larson started on the pole, and after a couple of issues that led to multiple starts, Larson eventually settled in out front with Justin Peck, Rico, and Brent Marks in tow. Rico just about threw it away on the opening lap, catching not one, but two infield tires into turn one and nearly tipping the 24 over. He survived it though, and later after a caution for a slowing Justin Peck, threw a big slider on the restart to take the lead. Larson tried to run him down late, but Rico ran a smart race and moved around to slow Larson's progress. It was Rico's first ever High Limit score, and breaks his streak of two straight second place finishes. Larson ended up second with Brent Marks third. Peck ended up 18th after getting trapped in the work area trying to change a flat right rear. He had speed again and just couldn't get the finish. They did end up with 27 cars, and Grandview looked packed. The High Limit season continues next Tuesday night at Kokomo.
With the All Stars at Benton, we ended up with a legit surprise winner. Derek Hagar went to victory lane in just his first 410 start of the season, topping Corey Day and Zeb Wise. Hagar hadn't made an All Star appearance since 2021, and he's a guy we usually see in 360 competition. He's made 21 ASCS National Tour starts over the last few years, and if you pay attention over there, you know he's a guy that can win any night out. He's won five times, and has 17 top tens in those 21 starts. Hagar got around Zeb to lead lap 11, and survived the rubber towards the end to score the win. With Anthony Macri getting caught up in an incident and finishing 19th, the All Star championship battle tightened again. Headed to Lake Ozark tonight, the Clauson Marshall team has just an eight point lead on the Rudeen 26. This thing is wide open right now.
At Terre Haute, Justin Grant bagged his third win of Indiana Sprint Week, leading the final 21 laps, and topping Kevin Thomas Jr. and CJ Leary. The cushion looked a little gnarly, and we had issues for Jake Swanson, and Brady Bacon about had a big one too. There was also a scary incident right at the checkered when Robert Ballou's car took off towards the infield wall and hit right near a group of photographers that had gathered to shoot the finish. Thankfully nobody was injured. Sprint Week continues tonight at Lincoln Park.
Up in Canada, Mat Williamson bounced back from a tough ending on Tuesday at Granby to score the win at RPM. He led flag-to-flag and beat Stewart Friesen and Erick Rudolph. Points leader Matt Sheppard went 24th to seventh on the night. The next Short Track Super Series event is August 1st at Action Track USA.
Elsewhere tonight, don't forget about the Southern Nationals late models. Champoinship leader Jimmy Owens will try and extend his advantage at Tri-County Racetrack in North Carolina. You can watch it live on Flo.
That's it for the show today, make sure to hit up the streaming schedule at dirtrackr.com/watchtonight.
Hope you guys have a good Thursday out there, we'll see you right back here tomorrow.