National Tours in 2017

[plunks7]

Say what now?! Read his posts, then read mine. 0 similarities what so ever unless he's a bloomer fan. But back to the topic. Do we have any young guns that will be joining either series? I know for awhile there were a couple under 18 years of age(Pierce, Red(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)). Any newbies coming up from crates to race with the big dogs?And being from Iowa, what's going to happen to Ryan Gustin? Heard he lost his ride from Gressel.

USMTS is what I have heard. Tyler Bruenning Might try for ROTY with WOO as already posted.

[plunks7]

Updated the original post with chassis for each driver as well as added/removed several drivers as a result of PRI Announcements.

Have you heard if Jake Oneal will be running or Don Oneals son running either series? Just asking.

[HoosierDirtFan]

Per Dirt On Dirt
After talking with Brandon Sheppard Peoria, Illinois driver Bob Gardner planning an assault on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. Bob plans on entering the first 14 events and evaluating the rest of he year after that.

[W2Racing09]

Have you heard if Jake Oneal will be running or Don Oneals son running either series? Just asking.

I have heard/read rumors online about Hudson O'Neal, but given his relative inexperience in an SLM I would be surprised if his father wants him out running a big series yet. Personally I think he would do just as well as several of the drivers on either series. I've heard nothing about Jake O'Neal but he would be an excellent addition to either series as well.

Thanks,
Jeff.

[W2Racing09]

Per Dirt On Dirt
After talking with Brandon Sheppard Peoria, Illinois driver Bob Gardner planning an assault on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. Bob plans on entering the first 14 events and evaluating the rest of he year after that.

I have marked Gardner as running the LOLMDS despite his plans to reevaluate after 14 events. I think without saying it many driver reevaluate after so many shows, if they had an awful start they might just drop off mid season after initially planning to run the whole thing (Chase Junghans last year, Darrell Lanigan in 2015, etc)

Thanks,
Jeff.

[plunks7]

I have heard/read rumors online about Hudson O'Neal, but given his relative inexperience in an SLM I would be surprised if his father wants him out running a big series yet. Personally I think he would do just as well as several of the drivers on either series. I've heard nothing about Jake O'Neal but he would be an excellent addition to either series as well.

Thanks,
Jeff.

Thank you for your quick reply back Jeff.

[bleedblue55]

I have marked Gardner as running the LOLMDS despite his plans to reevaluate after 14 events. I think without saying it many driver reevaluate after so many shows, if they had an awful start they might just drop off mid season after initially planning to run the whole thing (Chase Junghans last year, Darrell Lanigan in 2015, etc)

Thanks,
Jeff.

With all due respect to Chase Junghans, he was dealing with a whole lot more than racing results last year.

[Snake X3]

Not sure if anyone else has seen/heard this yet, but during DoD's 3rd PRI video it was mentioned that Chris Madden is considering a WoO run.

WoO is doing a great job rebranding itself as a young guns series, but if Madden does follow the tour that is a big upgrade to the experienced talent on the tour too. Add to that having Rick Eschelman handling the announcing again, they've gotten my interest back. Should be a great season.

[Pennsboro23]

Not sure if anyone else has seen/heard this yet, but during DoD's 3rd PRI video it was mentioned that Chris Madden is considering a WoO run.

WoO is doing a great job rebranding itself as a young guns series, but if Madden does follow the tour that is a big upgrade to the experienced talent on the tour too. Add to that having Rick Eschelman handling the announcing again, they've gotten my interest back. Should be a great season.

I agree, while the talent pool might not be as good as Lucas. I think the WoO series could be a lot more interesting next year. I love the diverse group of drivers, also a lot of them are up and coming young drivers who have a chance at winning some races with Richards leaving the tour. I can see 5-6 drivers winning 3-4 races on tour next year. (Clanton, Sheppard, Moyer Jr, Moran, Shirley, Eckert, and Madded/Overton if they run). Also wouldn't be surprised to see Eric Wells win a few races.

[Snake X3]

I agree, while the talent pool might not be as good as Lucas. I think the WoO series could be a lot more interesting next year. I love the diverse group of drivers, also a lot of them are up and coming young drivers who have a chance at winning some races with Richards leaving the tour. I can see 5-6 drivers winning 3-4 races on tour next year. (Clanton, Sheppard, Moyer Jr, Moran, Shirley, Eckert, and Madded/Overton if they run). Also wouldn't be surprised to see Eric Wells win a few races.

That's is what I am really hoping for. As a whole no one can complain about the competition level in the sport, but unless a few of the Lucas teams step up their compete level, WoO may have the more interesting point battle with or without Madden. Actually with the departure of JD and B-Shep, I think Lucas could use Madden more than WoO. Having Madden on a national tour will be good for the sport no matter which tour he choses.

[W2Racing09]

That's is what I am really hoping for. As a whole no one can complain about the competition level in the sport, but unless a few of the Lucas teams step up their compete level, WoO may have the more interesting point battle with or without Madden. Actually with the departure of JD and B-Shep, I think Lucas could use Madden more than WoO. Having Madden on a national tour will be good for the sport no matter which tour he choses.

I definitely don't think that LOLMDS needs Madden more than WoO. Without Madden the WoO has no real top shelf drivers.

Obviously DoD isn't the gospel on driver rankings, but I think most people would have a pretty close list.

The final top 10 list of 2016 looked like this:
1. Richards
2. Bloomquist
3. Pierce
4. Erb
5. Madden
6. McCreadie
T. McDowell
8. Clanton
9. Davenport
T. Sheppard

Not counting Madden it currently looks like this:

Top 5: WoO: 0, LOLMDS: 3
Top 10: WoO: 2, LOLMDS: 4

With Madden it would look like this:

Top 5: WoO: 1, LOLMDS: 3
Top 10: WoO: 3, LOLMDS: 4

I think Madden would be a great replacement for Richards on the WoO and it would definitely add some top level talent to the WoO which at this point is needed (I think many of the young drivers on the WoO will develop into top level talent over the next few years but I'm not expecting Tyler Erb, Moyer Jr, etc. to win several Crown Jewels in 2017 like Madden and Richards are capable of doing)

Thanks,
Jeff.

[Snake X3]

I definitely don't think that LOLMDS needs Madden more than WoO. Without Madden the WoO has no real top shelf drivers.

LOL...even when we agree, we disagree. I hear what you're saying. My point was that WoO has a very competitive series without Madden. I think Clanton wins the title but IMO B-Shep in the Rocket House car as well as Shirley could make it interesting. But the bigger point is WoO seems to be unofficially branding itself as a Young Guns tour. You add Madden to the mix and there will be less wins for the younger drivers, which...at least from my perspective, I'd be interested in seeing.

On the other hand, Lucas loses JD and B-Shep. They got Richards back. They still could really use another driver of Madden's caliber to fill that void. The series would be great even without him, but I wouldn't mind seeing him go toe to toe with the best and take JDs spot as the rep from the Southern region of the country.

[W2Racing09]

LOL...even when we agree, we disagree. I hear what you're saying. My point was that WoO has a very competitive series without Madden. I think Clanton wins the title but IMO B-Shep in the Rocket House car as well as Shirley could make it interesting. But the bigger point is WoO seems to be unofficially branding itself as a Young Guns tour. You add Madden to the mix and there will be less wins for the younger drivers, which...at least from my perspective, I'd be interested in seeing.

On the other hand, Lucas loses JD and B-Shep. They got Richards back. They still could really use another driver of Madden's caliber to fill that void. The series would be great even without him, but I wouldn't mind seeing him go toe to toe with the best and take JDs spot as the rep from the Southern region of the country.

I don't think branding themselves as the young guns tour was the goal, I think they are just working with the hand that they have currently.

The current WoO roster as it is would definitely be entertaining. But I don't think they have a draw type of drivers. Fans go to see guys like Owens, Richards, Bloomquist, Pierce, Davenport, Madden, etc. I think Tyler Erb and Eric Wells are awesome drivers, but they don't have the same level of drawing power. In order to continue booking big races I think the WoO will definitely need to bring a big name or two to the tour. They should be courting Pierce as well, I think the WoO would have the edge on LOLMDS if they had Pierce and Madden but as it stands they lost their biggest name and added some depth (Sheppard is a nice pickup, but he probably becomes the second best WoO driver currently behind Clanton) in exchange. In 5 years if we look back I bet we will look at the 2017 WoO roster and think it was one of the strongest ever, but I don't think it is going to sell more tickets in 2017 unfortunately. I'll be there whenever they are nearby for sure, I would just like to see a lot of other fans there too.

Thanks,
Jeff.

[plunks7]

My friends and I will be going to more WOO shows this year because Josh is not racing with them. We all agree Clanton is not a shoe in to Win the WOO title by a long shot. Equal playing field now.

[Snake X3]

I don't think branding themselves as the young guns tour was the goal, I think they are just working with the hand that they have currently.

The current WoO roster as it is would definitely be entertaining. But I don't think they have a draw type of drivers.

I have to agree with you on both items. I wasn't even thinking about the draw factor. Sure, I would be more likely to go see a WoO race if the younger guys has a real chance to win each week, but I know I don't think the way most fans do.

I also agree that Bobby Pierce would be the best addition to the series even if it ended up with him stinking up the show. I'd love to see a series with Pierce, Sheppard, Moran, Overton, Erb, The New Deal and Moyer Jr running for points each week. But again, that's just me.

[zach51]

I'm just not sure what is in it for Pierce to run a national tour other than just to shut up the haters. He can run 2-3 nights a week for 5,000 within a short drive from the house, and still hit all the big races he wants. Can't see him passing some 5k to win cherry picking (call it what you want) to go run against the Lucas Oil guys on the other side of the country and run 5th-8th some nights. I dunno, just my opinion. Same thing with Madden really, but he's more series ready I think.

[W2Racing09]

I'm just not sure what is in it for Pierce to run a national tour other than just to shut up the haters. He can run 2-3 nights a week for 5,000 within a short drive from the house, and still hit all the big races he wants. Can't see him passing some 5k to win cherry picking (call it what you want) to go run against the Lucas Oil guys on the other side of the country and run 5th-8th some nights. I dunno, just my opinion. Same thing with Madden really, but he's more series ready I think.

More money, provisional to some of the biggest races, access to more and higher profile sponsors, and probably most importantly for someone trying to make it to the next level of racing (NASCAR) is the exposure. I think it would be decidedly harder to land a big time financial backer, or be noticed by a NASCAR team if on the average Saturday night you are running for $3k at some little track in the Midwest. At least the LOLMDS and WoO shows get National Exposure for every race through DoD, and lots of other racing news outlets, etc. Another thing to gain would be business for the family company, there is a reason why all of the House Cars run a National tour. People in PA don't even see any Pierce chassis at all that often, let alone one winning all the time. If he wants to sell more chassis outside of the Midwest they will eventually need to start racing often in other areas as well. Just my .02 on the matter.

Thanks,
Jeff.

[zach51]

If he was worried about exposure to Nascar he would have not skipped the World Finals to sit at home. Sorry.

[W2Racing09]

If he was worried about exposure to Nascar he would have not skipped the World Finals to sit at home. Sorry.

"Sorry."?

I was responding to your post which I thought was the purpose of this board. No need to act so dismissive, especially since you addressed just one of my points.

So you are of the opinion that Bobby Pierce is not trying to make his way into NASCAR? I agree Charlotte probably would help in that pursuit, but its not like going to the World Finals is a requirement if you are trying to get exposure. Some races provide more bang for your buck (Eldora, DTWC, and other Crown Jewels) in terms of the earnings from the race and the exposure you receive. Especially since most of NASCAR (and its owners, and drivers) is out of town the weekend of the World Finals (I believe they were in Martinsville). Points racing makes it more profitable to drive all the way across the country to a $12k to win race (since you have a pretty good shot at picking up an additional $60-$100k at the end of the season for your troubles -- especially if you are Bobby Pierce).

Thanks,
Jeff.

[zach51]

I think we are on the same page. You claim there is value for him running a national series in regards to Nascar aspirations, maybe so. He should have raced at Charlotte. You act like nobody knows who he his. Everybody in Nascar that would be looking for somebody like him knows who he is. The problem is, Nascar is turning into Indycar, if you don't bring a sponsor with you, you ain't gonna have a ride. I doubt Champion is going to do 30 million per year to sponsor a car full time. Any truck race he has ran other than Eldora, he has stunk. And obviously he can wheel any type of car, that is not even a discussion anymore. He can drive. We all know that.

To answer your questions: Is Bobby trying to get to nascar? Probably, who isn't? But is that his top priority? Nah I don't think so.

Is the World Finals a requirement? No, but if you are trying to swing your D*ck in front of Nascar people, yes it probably is.

I'd argue that if he was full time on a tour, he would not be as well exposed as he already is. Darrell Lanigan was hot stuff until he moved to Lucas and got railroaded. Speaking of Lanigan, he also didn't work out on asphalt.