Daily | Conversations

The first cars hit the Bristol dirt in the last few days, and we've got details and first impressions. We also have a ton of event news, results from another Nick Hoffman win last night, and then we dive into the opening Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series stretch by the numbers.

Chris Windom gets to go NASCAR Cup racing at Bristol in a few weeks and we have the details today. We also introduce more new stats and analytics for dirt racing available at dirtrackr.com/analytics and talk about a few drivers who are able to get value finishes when they don't start well.

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series announced their revised spring schedule today and we've got details. Plus we are talking Zeb Wise's new ride, news from Thunderbowl Raceway and Angell Park Speedway, and there are some fun new additions to the analytics section of DIRTRACKR.com.

When we watch or attend races, the voice calling the action is important to the experience, and over the years we develop relationships with those booming announcers. Hearing those voices is comforting, familiar and we come to expect a particular sound from our favorite series or race track. So, when things change, especially unexpectedly, it can be a jarring experience that conjurs negative feelings. For Tony LaPorta, my guest this time on the show, those negative feelings turned into a lot of adverse reactions on social media while he was trying to navigate his opening weekend as the new voice of USAC on FloRacing. LaPorta moves over to USAC from calling the action for series like the Road to Indy and IMSA, but his desire to announce for USAC has been years in the making. He joins me to chat about his journey to the mic, which includes delivering pizzas and sleeping on couches, dealing with online haters, speed dating with the USAC competitors, and a lot more.

We get you up to speed today on Xtreme DIRTcar Series wins for Ross Bailes and Chris Madden, talk about other weekend winners, and we have news from the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, Cole Bodine, Jeremy Elliott, and more.

On this Friday we are getting you prepared for the weekend racing for the Xtreme DIRTcar Series, and we have news from Brian Carber, Chase Randall, and IMCA. We then share some thoughts on David Gravel being overlooked for the World of Outlaws championship this season.

If you listen to my daily show, you've heard me talk a bunch about the streaming platforms in the past, and this week there is a new player entering the space. Jeremy Elliott, who owns sprintcarunlimited.com is partnering with past conversations guest Mike Mallett and Dirt Track Digest to create SprintCarUnlimited.TV. Jeremy joins the show this time to talk about his new streaming venture, starting sprintcarunlimited.com, and plenty of sprint car topics including who we should be watching in Pennsylvania, what the All Star championship outlook looks like, why David Gravel seems to be getting left out and more.

The World of Outlaws cancelled their spring West Coast Swing yesterday, and we have details, including what's next. There is also a new dirt racing streaming provider coming from Jeremy Elliott, and then we take a look at just how wild USAC Midget racing is by the numbers.

It's been a rough start to 2021 for Brandon Sheppard and the Rocket house car, and we dive into the numbers today. We've also got event news from the World of Outlaws and Lincoln Speedway, MAVTV is partnering with POWRi, and more.

The reaction yesterday to the announcement by the World of Outlaws that their Bristol events will be invite-only was swift and negative. We share some thoughts today on the move, plus we have streaming news from FloRacing and Lincoln Speedway, and event news from the USAC CRA Sprint Cars.

Ashley Stremme grew up on the dirt tracks of Central Pennsylvania watching her dad race sprint cars, and has turned her passion for motorsports into a media career and a thriving dirt modified chassis company with husband David. Besides appearing regularly as a co-host on MRN's Winged Nation, Ashley has made TV appearances as a pit reporter for CBS Sports Network, with plans for doing more media in the future. She joins the show this time to chat about growing up in such a rich area for dirt racing, getting her first chances on Winged Nation, growing Lethal Chassis, her thoughts about the upcoming sprint car season and much more. Through the early part of the conversation, you might hear noises and equipment in the background, but that was because Ashley joined me from the grandstands at Volusia Speedway Park where they were doing track prep for DIRTcar Nationals. It should clear up near the six minute mark.

We are back on this Monday after an extended weekend to talk everything dirt racing that happened between Volusia, Bubba and more. Devin Moran and Brandon Overton were World of Outlaws winners, Max McLaughlin won with the Super DIRTcar Series and then got punched in the face, and Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr. split the USAC weekend.

This is our final show of the week, and in it we are talking Kyle Strickler's wild Volusia win from last night with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. We also have details on his status with the national tour. We've also got details on Stewart Friesen's second big block modified win, the USAC Sprint Cars opening tonight at Bubba Raceway Park, and more.

Today we look back at last night's late model and big block modified action at Volusia, including wins for Bobby Pierce and Stewart Friesen. We also have World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event news, and new podcast episodes and today's streaming schedule.

The Florida swing to start 2021 continued last night with late models and UMP modifieds at Volusia and USAC National Midgets at Bubba Raceway Park. We've got all the details on what went down, plus news from the Louie Vermeil Classic in California.

Being a crew chief on a race team is a difficult job. Not only is it on them to make setup calls and work with the driver, they are also responsible for building cars, managing team members, and getting the team from track to track. One guy who's been successful as a crew chief at an early age is Drew Warner. In his early 20's, Warner bursted on to the national scene in 2018 as the head wrench for Rico Abreu, with the duo teaming up to win the Ironman 55 at Pevely and the Gold Cup with the World of Outlaws. These days, Warner is the crew chief for California's DJ Netto and his number 88N Netto Ag team, and he joins the show this week to chat about being a young crew chief, working with different drivers, being responsible for cars and setups, and a lot more.

It was a busy weekend of racing, and we are back on this Monday to talk about all of it, including the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars at Volusia, USAC Midgets at Bubba Raceway Park, and UMP modifieds at DIRTcar Nationals. We've also got some news items and today's dirt racing streaming schedule.

On this Friday we wrap up the All Star portion of DIRTcar Nationals from last night where Carson Macedo grabbed the win. We then go deep on weekend and season previews for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and USAC National Midgets.

Today we are talking Logan Schuchart's All Star win last night at Volusia, including what this could mean for the World of Outlaws season. We've also got details on a wild night for Kyle Strickler, more information from James McFadden, and 2022 schedule news.

Last night was the Florida stretch finale for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. We recap that, plus talk about the All Stars at East Bay, the opening night of DIRTcar Nationals, DIRTVision adds OTT apps, and more.

Ricky Thornton Jr. earned his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season last night at Bubba Raceway Park. We recap the action, plus the All Stars were rained out, the DIRTcar Nationals kick off tonight, Chase Elliott is making his first USAC midget start, James McFadden is a full time Outlaw, and more.

The USAC season kicks off this weekend with the midgets at Bubba Raceway Park in Florida for the first weekend of the Winter Dirt Games. To get you prepared for the weekend and the full USAC season, my guest on this episode of the show is USAC's series PR guy Richie Murray. We talked 2020, the schedule for the three national series this season, who to watch, and a lot more.

The 2021 season is in full swing now, and we are back on this Monday to recap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series wins for Brandon Overton and Tyler Erb. We also share some thoughts on Erb's Friday night disqualification. We are also recapping the All Star Circuit of Champions weekend, including details on the TRD sprint car engine debuting. There is also USAC news from Keith Kunz and Hayden Reinbold, and more.

The wild Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series week at East Bay Raceway Park continued last night with two caution filled features. We break it down, plus we go full preview mode for the All Stars, and have news from Daryn Pittman.

The Chili Bowl is a bucket list event for many drivers and fans, with the annual midget race in Tulsa, Oklahoma drawing hundreds of cars and thousands of fans every year. The list of past winners is a who's who of motorsports, and the entry list each year features the best of not only dirt racers, but accomplished racers in general. Each year though, there are great stories throughout the building, and on this episode of the show, we are going to bring you one from the 2021 edition. My guest this week is Zack Morgan, who has been around motorsports for a long time, but isn't a name you've probably heard. He got an opportunity this year to run a midget with Tommy Casson and Flea Ruzic for the first time ever and we documented his week. Zack has a unique set of challenges with his life, which I'll let him talk about, but for him, just getting a chance in a racecar is a victory in and of itself. This is sort of a two part episode, in which I talked to Zack before and after the event to tell his full story of the week. The opening half is pre event, and the closing half is post event. In a world that has been dark and difficult in recent times, Zack's story and attitude is uplifting and will show you the power of the racing community and the human spirit.

Updates today from last night's Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and Short Track Super Series rainouts, plus a bunch of USAC driver news. Then we jump into the age old question of whether winged sprint car racing is better than non-wing racing, and vice versa. We dive into this topic by the numbers.

Today on the show we've got details on Tyler Erb's night two win at East Bay Raceway Park with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. We're also talking about the Summer Nationals schedule, Logan Seavey's new USAC midget ride, and more.

It was a wild Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series show last night at East Bay Raceway Park. We are here today with all the details. We've also got news from Jason Sides and Rico Abreu, Noah Gass, Max Adams, Tanner Thorson, and Brady Bacon. Plus, Alex Bergeron is your iRacing World of Outlaws champion.

The Northeast modified season is getting ready to kick off this week with the Short Track Super Series in Florida. The Super DIRTcar Series will be underway soon as well, with the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia on the horizon. Mike Mallett of Dirt Track Digest dot com joins the show to preview the upcoming Florida swing, and we talked a bunch about what to watch for and expect this season with the two series and all the great northeast tracks. We also talked modifieds at Bristol, Dirt Track Digest's foray into streaming, and the expansion of northeast modified racing.

Another dirt track start for Kyle Larson led to another dominating win over the weekend. We've got details on that, plus a strong weekend for Buddy Kofoid at the Wild West Shootout, a win for Tony Stewart, and news from Brent Marks, Paul McMahan, DIRTVision, Carson Garrett, and more.

On this Friday we get you ready for this weekend's Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series opener and the Wild Wing Shootout, including who to watch and how to watch. We've also got news from Cannon McIntosh, POWRi, and last night's Winternationals results.

Rico Abreu is teaming with Paul Silva, and we've got the details today. There is also news from Kyle Larson, Jason McDougal, and Shane Cockrum, plus we have more info on Tim Shaffer's new ride with Heffner Racing.

It was announced yesterday that Jac Haudenschild will run his final sprint car season with Rico Abreu Racing in 2021. We have details on that today, plus Tim Shaffer racing in Florida with Mike Heffner, the Xtreme DIRTcar Series has made schedule changes, Drake Troutman grabbed the modified win at East Bay, and much more.

The Chili Bowl is in the books, and here to break it down with us is Clinton Boyles, who saw the event from both behind the steering wheel and in the announcer's booth for FloRacing. Besides competing all week with his RAMS Racing team, Clinton spent time in the booth on the FloRacing broadcast providing commentary, and was in the booth for all of the Tulsa Shootout as well. We talk how his Chili Bowl went, what it was like to be in the building this year, staying cool on track, how Larson got the win on Saturday, and a lot more.

Today we've got details on a new rookie with the World of Outlaws Late Models, DIRTVision is adding Huset's Speedway for 2021, we recap round nine of the iRacing World of Outlaws World Championship, and more

We dive into what went down on Chili Bowl Saturday including Kyle Larson's win, Christopher Bell's crash, Jason McDougal's alphabet run, and more. We also recap the World of Outlaws Late Models weekend, and get you up to speed on last night's Wild West Shootout finale.

Today we are talking Christopher Bell's dominant performance at the Chili Bowl and looking towards the weekend. We've got results from last night's World of Outlaws Late Model Series opener at Volusia, and news from Parker Price Miller, Bill Rose, and Shane Clanton.

We've got details today on Rico Abreu's dominant night three at the Chili Bowl, and results for Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman, and Brett Moffitt. We get you up to speed on last night's Wild West Shootout action, preview tonight's World of Outlaws Late Model Series opener, and we've got news from USAC.

Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell both grabbed wins on Tuesday at the Chili Bowl, while Thomas Meseraull grabbed a Saturday feature lock in. We get you up to speed on everything from night two, plus preview tonight's Wild West Shootout action, go over news from DIRTVision and USAC, and more.

On this Tuesday we are talking night one of the Chili Bowl, including who had good nights, and who didn't. We also look at last night's pool picks, and talk some predictions for tonight. And then we get into some news items from Logan Wagner and the USMTS modified series, and we recap last night's iRacing action.

After a season that wasn't up to his standards, open wheel racer and USAC competitor Kevin Thomas Jr. is ready to put it behind him and get after it in 2021. He's got a busy season of racing planned, including the completed Tulsa Shootout, and the Chili Bowl this week. He joins the show this time to talk about his solid runs at the Tulsa Shootout, his expectations for the impending Chili Bowl Nationals, what changes are coming for this season with his USAC team, and much more.

It was a strong start to the season for both Jonathan Davenport and Ricky Thornton Jr. at the Wild West Shootout. Details on the weekend, plus we go deep into Chili Bowl pool picks and predictions for tonight and the week, with action starting tonight. We've also got news from MAVTV.

On this Friday we are previewing the Wild West Shootout from Arizona Speedway, and we've got details on Bristol dirt tickets and track prep. We also have event and driver news to cover from the Xtreme DIRTcar Series, Pat Cannon, Justin Sanders, Brandon Winner, and Trey Burke.

On this bonus episode of the show we jump in with FloRacing and Dirt on Dirt's Dustin Jarrett to preview this weekend's Wild West Shootout out in Arizona, and take a look at what to expect this season with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and World of Outlaws Late Model Series. We talk about Brandon Sheppard, Tim McCreadie, Jonathan Davenport, Jimmy Owens, Brandon Overton, and many more drivers. We also talk FloRacing content and what to expect from their late model night in America series coming this year.

We've got USAC Midget driver news today from Sam Johnson and Austin Barnhill, Chili Bowl ride announcements for Chase Johnson, Anton Hernandez, and Anthony Macri, and then we go full experiment mode and take you through the 2021 Chili Bowl pick sheet.

On the show today we have news from Jake Swanson and Dave Darland, and then we get into Chili Bowl stats from the last eight years at the event. Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Rico Abreu top many of the stat categories, and we'll discuss their chances and more. We've also got a rundown on new dirt racing podcast episodes and today's streaming schedule.

As we get closer to the event, we've got a first look at Chili Bowl prelim night lineups today, plus news from Brent Larson, Paul Nienhiser, and Sean Becker. We are also recapping last night's iRacing World of Outlaws Sprint Car World Championship race at Cedar Lake Speedway.

The Krikke family's history in sprint car racing in Australia started in the late 70s and early 80s after Peter Krikke bought a car from sprint car hall of famer Bob Trostle. Many years later, Peter's son Ryan runs the team, and he's my guest this time on the show. We dive into what the team has gone through during this pandemic affected season, the history of the team, which includes some familiar names, Ryan's team as a crew member on the road with the World of Outlaws, and much more.

On the show today we recap a busy weekend of racing and news items, including what went down at the Tulsa Shootout, Bobby Pierce has a new crew member in Cody Mallory, Lucas Wolfe is joining the All Stars, Brock Zearfoss grabbed a win down under, and more.

With less than two weeks left before the opener, we've got 11 confirmed full time World of Outlaws Late Model Series competitors, with the series officially adding Ross Bailes, Ryan Gustin, Tony Jackson Jr., and Ryan Scott. We also take a look at day two of the Tulsa Shootout, the IRA Sprint Cars have their 2021 schedule, and more.