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A surprise Outlaw team decision? Plus the tough way High Limit's west coast trip ends... | Daily 11-29-2023

The High Limit west coast swing becomes clear with a few announcements, the champ is back at the Chili Bowl, and a World of Outlaws driver announcement that apparently surprised some folks. Let's go!

It's Wednesday, November 29th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.

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Since the news broke yesterday before my Tuesday show was even public, I'm sure you've seen it by now that Sheldon Haudenschild and the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall team will remain full time Outlaw members for 2024. Sheldon joins David Gravel, Brock Zearfoss, and Gio Scelzi as all committed for next season. If you are a regular here, this one shouldn't surprise you, as we have never really talked about the 17 being a candidate to flip to High Limit. There were rumors towards the end of the 2023 year that Sheldon could be on the hot seat, but regardless of his struggles this past season, he remains a fan favorite and one of the most exciting drivers in the sport. That clearly means something for the 17 team and sponsor NOS Energy Drink. This decision though seems to have caught some people by surprise, given social media comments I saw yesterday after the announcement. But regardless of what you've seen online from one of the team's owners, this one feels like it was never really in doubt. Despite having another option now for a sprint car national tour, there are a few things to remember here. First, the World of Outlaws still offer a very compelling package, and have continued to make it better. There is this idea out there that World Racing Group has only upped the ante this year, and because of High Limit. But that is just completely false. In reality, WRG has sweetened the Outlaw platinum deal regularly over the last several years, and had done so before High Limit was even conceptualized. So that narrative falls flat. Standardized purses, bonus money, and larger point funds are all examples. So that's point one. Point two is the 17 team's sponsorship. The Outlaws title sponsor is NOS, and it's clear that Lauren Albano, who runs the NOS program, wants to have a NOS sponsored car on the tour. I'm not speaking here with direct knowledge of their agreement, but it would not shock me if there was a provision in the contract between NOS and the 17 team that they had to run with the Outlaws to keep the sponsorship deal. With as many places as NOS shows up on events, series, and cars, it would be pretty strange if the top sprint car series sponsored by the brand did not also have a sponsored car. I think as we go forward with both series in play, teams will make whatever decisions that are best for them, based on their situations. For some that will mean High Limit, and others the Outlaws. I don't believe you will see one side destroy the other, and that there will just be a long-running stalemate between the two. It's also become pretty clear to me, especially lately, that the opinions of some vocal fans are not necessarily shared by the teams and drivers. The competitors may complain about the way things are, but at the end of the day, the Outlaws still provide a very stable place to race. You can voice complaints and want things to be better, while also understanding that where you are is still a very good option, if not the best option. And the same will be true of High Limit as they get established. As for the SJM team going forward, Sheldon and crew chief Kyle Ripper will be looking to bounce back. They felt like they had a legitimate shot at the title in 2022, and expectations were high for this past season. But they clearly got off somewhere, maybe because of the new tire, and struggled to find their way through it. They had three wins, which was their lowest total since 2019, and their worst average finish since 2018. In the release from the series, Sheldon pointed to some package changes they'll get back to for 2024, and hopefully they can get going in the right direction. When things are right, this team is capable of double digit wins and big scores. I do wonder about their ability to be consistent enough though to win a title. Drop me a comment and let me know what your thoughts are to this point on the confirmed drivers for both series, and Sheldon's chances for next year.

Moving on...

A pivotal stretch on the High Limit sprint car schedule for 2024 is coming more into focus thanks to several announcements late last night. That west coast swing will feature several events that were previously World of Outlaws sanctioned, and a date change for the Gold Cup and Silver Dollar Speedway is coming. Once we knew that a High Limit west coast trip was being planned, it created an interesting scenario for teams and travel, and now we know how it will play out. The confirmed dates at this moment are Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Oregon on Monday, August 26th. Douglas County was previously a paved track, and it has recently hosted the NARC 410 sprint cars. High Limit will then head north to Grays Harbor Raceway on Wednesday, August 28th, and then to Skagit Speedway August 29th through the 31st. Those Grays Harbor and Skagit dates were previously long running Outlaw shows, and I would assume this means the Outlaws won't be in Washington state in 2024. What this sets up now, is a brutal travel week in between Skagit and Port Royal. The Tuscarora 50 had already been confirmed for September 5th through the 7th, so teams will leave Skagit after that Saturday night race, and have effectively four days to go the 2750 miles all the way across the country to Port. The Outlaws did something similar, going from Placerville to Eldora, but they did have 500 less miles to drive, and an extra day to do it. I would say this will probably be the ugliest single week on the High Limit slate next year for the teams. So unlike the Outlaws starting north and going south, High Limit appears to be doing the opposite. They'll start in California, work north through Oregon and Washington, and then head back east. That means a shift for the Gold Cup from September, back into August. In 2023, it was September 7th through the 9th, and now we are probably looking at August 22nd through the 24th, unless there are other California dates in the mix. Which I could see being possible, especially with Brad Sweet previously promoting races at Placerville. Once High Limit leaves Skagit, all signs are pointing to then the Outlaws following with races in September. We know they'll be at Huset's for Labor Day, then they will head west after that. Bakersfield, Tulare, and possibly Perris could be in the mix there. The rumors point to big money being paid out for that Tulare weekend. I also wouldn't be surprised if there was an Oregon track on the schedule as well. We should hopefully know very soon what all of this looks like. Brian Carter told Speed Sport's Mike Kerchner yesterday they are printing schedules for PRI, and I've heard the High Limit schedule could be public by the end of this week. Stay tuned.

We talked yesterday on the show about the first round of Chili Bowl entries being public, and yesterday we got a few more added to the list. We went from 107 in the first update, to now 113. I normally going forward won't mention every single addition to the list, but this one is notable because the reigning event champion will be back. As expected, Logan Seavey will return to the seat of the Swindell SpeedLab 39 to try and defend his golden driller score from 2023. With Tyler Courtney being announced as driving the Abacus Racing midget at the event, which was the car that Seavey drove to the 2023 USAC National Midget championship, it made sense here that Seavey had already made a commitment to Swindell to return. And honestly, why wouldn't he after winning in Tulsa this year. It's interesting to know now how things played out, because Seavey told USAC's Richie Murray that he wasn't even that interested in going midget racing this past season after the struggles he'd been through in recent years. But then he wins the Chili Bowl, gets the Abacus deal, and ends up winning two of three USAC national titles. It was a career year for Seavey and really brought his name back to the top of open wheel racing. And going into January in Tulsa, there is no reason to think he won't be a serious contender again. You can keep up with Chili Bowl entries all winter long at chilibowl.com, and make sure to follow the Chili Bowl on social media.

If you want to check out some other dirt racing content this week, Dirt Tracks and Rib Racks has Harley Burns, Hoogie's Garage has Steve Ballenger, Racing Roundup has Mike Wagner, and there are new episodes of The Dirt Reporters from Dirt on Dirt, and Dirt Track Confessions. To see all of the dirt racing podcasts and their recent episodes, head over to dirtrackr.com/podcasts.

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