DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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A Central PA dirt track is rumored to be trading this position for technology | Daily 1-2-2024
A staple Central PA race track is possibly eliminating the flag man for 2024, and as you can imagine the reactions are very reasonable. We'll dive into that today and much more. Let's go!
It's Tuesday, January 2nd, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.
Already this morning we've had some dirt racing, with Western Australia Speedweek continuing at the Perth Motorplex. Callum Williamson picked up the sprint car victory over Brad Sweet and Dayne Kingshott. Williamson clearly not interested in backing down from his US foes, as he mixed it up with Sweet and Rico Abreu just a few nights ago as well. Brock Zearfoss, Rico, and Cory Eliason all finished fourth through sixth. And just 24 hours ago, it was Rico picking up the win at Bunbury over Luke Oldfield and ELiason, with Callum Williamson ending up fourth in that one. Coming up later this week, things get busy at Toowoomba with Sheldon Haudenschild, Carson Macedo, Aaron Reutzel, and Chase Randall coming in to challenge the locals for three straight nights. Western Australia Speedweek continues over the weekend as well, back at Bunbury.
The main topic I wanted to dive into today is a situation that appears to be developing around one specific race track in Central Pennsylvania. There hasn't been anything official released, but a lot of signs and chatter point towards Lincoln Speedway eliminating the flagger position for the 2024 season. What's supposedly being implemented is the removal of the flagger from the stand, and instead a screen system and lights being controlled by officials in the tower. I've seen a tweet about it from local driver Brett Rose and a Facebook post about it from car owner Ron Rutherford. Responses from people like Jeremy Elliott and Mike Hess to those posts make me feel like there is some credence to the chatter, regardless of there not being any public acknowledgement from the track. In his tweet, Rose called it quote "lunacy" and Rutherford questioned how safe it could be, and referred to it as quote "ridiculous." As you might expect, comments and replies to the posts are a bit all over the place, which is not uncommon when it comes to things changing in a fundamental way. Also when it includes technology. People are wondering what happens when the technology fails, or the screen is covered in dirt. But I would imagine that won't be that different to when a flagman throws an inadvertent yellow, or his radio battery dies, or drivers just flat don't look at him anyway. Back before Raceceivers and serious radio communication, the flagger was effectively the race director. But that hasn't been the case for a very long time. In motorsports all across the world, technology has moved control of the race from the flagstand, to centralized places, like the tower or a control center. NASCAR officiates pit road via cameras and a computer system that spots violations, removing dozens of officials from the danger zone. And that nerve center for pit road officiating isn't even at the race track anymore. Sports cars use onboard screens for flagging, showing greens and cautions right in the driver's face. And Formula 1 uses a screen system all around their race tracks for current conditions. So why wouldn't this work in dirt racing? Well you know what, it appears it is working in dirt racing. If you want an example, look no further than Perth Motorplex in Australia, which at the moment is hosting some of the best sprint car drivers in the world. Guess what, no flagger in the stand. They've got a screen at the flag stand that shows the current condition that is controlled by the tower. They have an interface with a button for each flag, and when they need to black flag someone, they can also put up the car number. So far, according to an official at the speedway, the only complaints about the system have come from people sitting in the stands. Talking to a few friends here on the officiating side, they are all for more centralized race control, and beyond things like screens, there are onboard systems available from companies like Raceceiver. I've heard even the Outlaws have tested such a setup. I know change and progress can be difficult, but I don't think this is nearly as big a deal as some are pushing it to be. Flagging with a human isn't perfect, and neither will doing it with technology. But it removes a human from a danger zone and puts control of flagging squarely in the hands of the race director. Something happens, and he hits a button and is immediately in the drivers' ears about it. It doesn't get much simpler than that. I have reached out to someone at Lincoln about the situation, if I hear back, I'll keep you updated.
In some race track news, the future is looking at least a little bit brighter for the Orange County Fair Speedway in New York. It initially looked like maybe the facility was set to close following last year, but at least some semblance of a schedule is in the works. Thanks to a social post in recent days, we know the track plans on holding some special events in 2024, hosting stock cars, and ending the season with the Eastern States 200 October 25th through the 27th. It sounds like there are still a lot of details to work out, including what the full slate of races will look like, but at least for now, losing another race track has been averted in this case. If you want to keep up with the Orange County Fair Speedway, it looks like the best place to do that right now is the track's Facebook page.
Over with XR, it wasn't that long ago we were talking about their $100,000 to win modified race at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway they are set to host in 2024. They'll have nearly 300 cars for that event. They group owned by Barry Braun will also host a $100k to win stock car show at 300 Raceway in August. That event has also sold out of entries at 300 cars. And they've also tacked on a $100k to win 604 late model race at Golden Isles in December. That one sold out of 250 entries in just 20 hours. If you want details on all of these events, go find them on Facebook as it looks like the XR website is currently down at the moment, as is the website for the XR Super Series late model tour.
Before we close out today, hat tip to the 2024 sprint car hall of fame class. Announced a few weeks back, the group includes drivers Tracy Hines, Paul McMahan, and Jon Stanbrough, plus Gary Turrill and Ricky Warner. All very deserving of the honor. As for the yearly awards, I did get to vote for the winged 410 portion, and my voting was right in line with most of the winners. I had David Gravel as driver of the year, with Brad Sweet winning it. I also voted for Sharp Advantage as manufacturer of the year, Rico Abreu Racing as team of the year, Corey Day as wild card, and Kevin Rudeen as outstanding contribution. Those were all winners. I did vote for Bryce Lucius for rookie of the year, but that was just because I couldn't vote for Chase Randall. Not sure how he got left off there. Same with media member. I voted for TJ Buffenbarger because Jeremy Elliott wasn't on the ballot. I would like to see some clarity on the prereqs for that specific award. I don't necessarily have a problem with PR people or streaming services winning it, I just think there are some others out there doing good work that should be recognized. I also voted for Tod Quiring as promoter of the year, with Eldora and Jerry Gappens getting the nod. I don't know who the full list of voters is, but since I got invited to participate, I figured the transparency at least from me could be interesting for you guys.
Alright, that's it for the show today. If you don't already, make sure to follow DIRTRACKR across the social media platforms. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Threads.
Hope you guys have a great Tuesday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!