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.
Dear Eldora dirt... The WORLD (100) needs you at your best | Daily 9-7-2023
Coming up, the World 100 starts today, and while the event will be special regardless, I think Eldora needs a bounceback. We'll talk about that, plus what to watch this weekend at Port Royal and Gold Cup, and a strange streaming situation from Wednesday. Let's go!
It's Thursday, September 7th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
The World 100 is here, and Eldora will be the center of the dirt late model universe this weekend. If you are headed to the World, don't forget to visit our friends at the Whistle Stop Bar and Grill. The Whistle Stop is located south of the race track, just six miles down highway 118, in Ansonia. When you leave Eldora and turn south, it's a straight shot there, as the Whistle Stop sits on 118, which is Main Street in Ansonia. The Whistle Stop have been huge supporters of dirt racing with partnerships with Sheldon and Jac Haudenschild, Rico Abreu, Chris Windom, Cap Henry, the Dirt Nerds, Eldora Speedway and obviously DIRTRACKR! They offer indoor and outdoor dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner or you can order online at whistlebarandgrill.com and take it back with you. Grab some new friends in the campground or grandstands and make the trip right down the road to The Whistle Stop, Ohio's favorite train depot. If you stop in, make sure to tell them DIRTRACKR sent you.
Today is the first of three race days for the World 100 weekend. As is usual, tonight and Friday are split field, dual $12,000 to win programs. So two tonight, and two more tomorrow. The prelim action will help set heat races for Saturday's $56,000 to win and $5300 to start main event. At last check, there are 99 entries, and it wouldn't surprise me to see triple digits by the time everyone gets signed in for tonight. One late addition to the event is big block modified star Matt Sheppard. He'll be at Eldora in a car for regular NASCAR team Niece Motorsports. Sheppard attempted the Lucas race with them a few weeks ago at Georgetown. We talked earlier this week about race favorites, and Jonathan Davenport has to top that list. We'll see if Ricky Thornton Jr., Bobby Pierce, Chris Madden, Brandon Overton, or someone else can jump up and challenge Superman. If you need help this week making fantasy or pool picks around Eldora, don't forget that the analytics section at dirtrackr.com has an area devoted to Eldora's special late model events. 28 races over the last several seasons are in the database, and there is a ton of stats and analysis to help you. There are also individual pages for each of the 218 drivers that have appeared in those 28 races. A lot of information is free, but you can unlock everything I've built there for just $4.99 a month with a subscription to DIRTRACKR Plus.
I think outside of this being the World and the competition we will see battling it out this weekend, there is a fairly major underlying storyline at Eldora the next few days. It's no secret that the track conditions at the Dream back in June were less than ideal, with the surface taking rubber during the big show. And there are plenty out there who've shared their disdain for how things have played out at Eldora in recent seasons. Some competitors were critical back around the Dream, including Brandon Sheppard, and this past weekend's Baltes Classic wasn't exactly confidence inspiring. Nick Hoffman shared to his Instagram a few days ago that quote "track conditions were the worst I have ever seen at Eldora without any rain" unquote. That's not something you just brush off. You won't usually hear me speak out against track conditions, as it's a pretty inexact science that can go sideways at times, plus things are equal for everyone and somebody has to win. And that won't change here. I'm not going to blast Eldora for what's happened in the recent past. I also think that in 99% of cases, the track prep people want the same as the competitors and fans in the stands, which is easily overlooked when people are mad and complaining. Regardless of what the track does though, as Michael Rigsby talked about this week on FloRacing's World preview show, the World 100 is a massive event, they're going to have a huge car count, the grandstands and campgrounds will be full, and the party will be on. But I do think on some level Eldora and it's crew need a bounce back event, and for the surface to take a back seat to everything else going on. If come Friday and Saturday, you aren't hearing a word about the track itself, that will be a big win. I've heard rumblings that Tony Stewart will be around a lot this week and more visible than he's been at some other races, so we'll see if that has an affect on things. The sport needs Eldora at it's best over the next few days, with guys throwing big sliders, banging the boards, killing right rear quarters, and bringing the crowd to it's feet.
While all the late model folks are watching the World this weekend, the sprint car crowd will be split between Port Royal and Silver Dollar. The Tuscarora 50 starts tonight at Port with a $10,000 to win show. There is another $10k to win race on tap for Friday, then Saturday is the big $56,000 to win main event. The Tusky has been dominated in recent seasons by locals, with Anthony Macri the defending winner, and Logan Wagner and Lance Dewease the two victors before that. An All Star driver hasn't won it since Aaron Reutzel in 2019. There has been plenty of unrest though for a lot of these names, and all three of the previously named PA drivers are in different cars this weekend. Dewease in the Macri Motorsports 39M, Wagner now in the Kreitz 69K, and Macri in the Indy Race Parts 71. So there are plenty of big question marks headed into this event. We've also got the ongoing All Star title fight between Zeb Wise and Tyler Courtney. Hopefully we get to see some good racing at the Speed Palace.
Out in California, Gold Cup 69 got rolling last night with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour 360 event. Shane Golobic your winner over Andy Forsberg and Tanner Carrick. Kyle Larson was sixth, and some big names missed the feature, including Rico Abreu. Corey Day was back in Willie Kahne's 4 car that we spotlighted earlier this week, but they were out of the feature early with some sort of mechanical issue. Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend, the 410 World of Outlaws portion begins tonight. Thursday and Friday will see split field prelim action, with half the cars competing tonight, and the other half tomorrow. Kyle Larson is racing tonight, but it is my understanding he's done after that to focus on NASCAR at Kansas. Shark Racing has won the last two Gold Cups, with Jacob Allen scoring last year, and Logan Schuchart winning in 2021. The Outlaws locked out the top seven positions a year ago, so we'll see what the locals can do this season. I think Golobic and Day are probably the top two local guys with a shot at good runs.
Elsewhere, the USAC National Sprint Cars are headed south for races at Devil's Bowl in Texas, and Texarkana 67 in Arkansas. Justin Grant continues to try and chip away at Brady Bacon's championship lead, and JG was won three straight coming into the weekend. Emerson Axsom and Kyle Cummins have work to do to try and get into this championship fight.
And finally, out in Iowa, the IMCA Super Nationals continue through Saturday with a ton more racing still to come. If you missed it last night, we had an odd situation pop up with the Super Nationals being streamed for the night live on FloRacing. Usually IMCA action is on imca.tv, which is part of the Speed Sport TV universe, but we had some rare streaming service cooperation on Wednesday. Flo subscribers got a look at the Super Nationals, and the event got some promotion in a place it wouldn't normally. I'd be curious to know if it turns into more pay per view buys for IMCA the next few nights. The Super Nationals is not cheap, at $104.99 for the week, and $34.99 a night. The best free place to keep up with the Super Nationals, is IMCA's Facebook page.
That's it for the show this week. If you've made it this far into the episode, thank you for watching to the end. Stay tuned tomorrow around the DIRTRACKR channels, as I've got a fresh round of hats I'll be dropping in the DIRTRACKR store at shop.dirtrackr.com. I'll probably do a coupon code with the merch drop as well.
Hope you guys enjoy the dirt racing weekend, we'll see you back here on Sunday.