Shawano DK comments....

[Krooser]

Dusty and cold... did I mention it was dusty? And cold?

In other news AJ Diemel had the field covered. Brett Swedberg was leading but feeling some heat from Diemel as the pair picked their way through lapped traffic when contact with the turn 2 wall ended the night for the #3 Rocket XR1.

Diemel was never challenged from there on as he dominated the field.

Did I mention it was Dusty?

[03fan]

I'm guessing you're a glass half empty type of person.

[heinen81]

Hard to call a series "Dirt Kings" when only 5 show up to 141 Speedway, when Lucas Oil came right to their doorstep. Congrats to the 5 that did, but the whole "I didn't want to buy tires" excuse doesn't hold up when you have a big a$$ hauler and the newest chassis, shock packages and spend $2,000 to print up t-shirts, hats and hoodies. I personally thought it was embarrassing on behalf of late model racing in Wisconsin.

[Mindwalker]

Interesting 😏

[Clayton_Wetter]

I'm guessing you're a glass half empty type of person.

Okay then. Was his glass half empty of dust or half full of dust????

[Zonks32x]

Hard to call a series "Dirt Kings" when only 5 show up to 141 Speedway, when Lucas Oil came right to their doorstep. Congrats to the 5 that did, but the whole "I didn't want to buy tires" excuse doesn't hold up when you have a big a$$ hauler and the newest chassis, shock packages and spend $2,000 to print up t-shirts, hats and hoodies. I personally thought it was embarrassing on behalf of late model racing in Wisconsin.

That sentiment was being thrown around by many a fan in the stands Friday night. I left that part out of my re-cap.

5 showed up??
I only counted 3 Dirt King Regulars at 141...Anvelink, Swedeberg, and Turk Letizia.

The other 3 WI drivers are not DK regulars.

Jimmy Mars does not follow the DK series. He attended one DK event last year (Plymouth) and won.

Mitch McGrath did run the DK events last year, but he is running for mlra ROY this season.

Paul Parker is not a DK regular either. He heads down to Sycamore on Saturdays, including this past weekend, where I believe he won the feature.

I don't have the answer, but I also hear "tires" brought up as the reason from DK drivers why they pass up on WoO and Lucas shows.

DK is only in their 2nd year, so it's gonna take some time. Their race at Plymouth last year was the best DLM race in WI in 2017. It was better than the Woo race at Oshkosh & Shawano, the Lucas race at Luxemburg and the USA Nationals.

Granted, that's because Mars, Shirley, Feger, Anvelink, Tyler Erb, Moyer Sr., and Larson put on a hell of a show.

[gjohnston]

heinen is probably disappointed that Mark Rose was a no show.

What is the motivation to slam a 2nd year series that has filled a needed void in the state? We have three parts of the state that have late models and this has created an avenue for two of them to compete regularly against one another plus some have made appearances from the west. This Friday they are heading towards the central part of the state which could pull in some of those western WI guys. It’s a good deal all around.

As for the tire excuse, that’s been kicked around long before this series was a figment of anyone’s imagination. Some just won’t expand their horizons and run anywhere besides their “home” track. Others don’t have open motors. Speaking specifically about the Shawano guys, very few have them. Anvelink ran 141 with his Wissota motor after hurting his a week ago. I’m 98% certain Berna has one, of course Swedberg does, and the only other possibility would be Jeff Curtin who is unable to drive due to some medical stuff and has Justin Reed in his car. Outside of that? Maybe Krooser knows who else has one but that’s it. I can’t speak about the SE WI guys because I can only speculate who has an open motor.

Circling back to the DK stuff....I have never personally met the guy who set the thing up but I will say that this young series has been a big plus for the division in the state. This brings up a question for heinen....what have YOU done to promote the sport? Or is there some weird axe you have to grind with those who are associated with it?

[Zonks32x]

Jason Shultz is the gentleman who runs the DK series.

I met him last year at Plymouth, and while I'm just one guy whose opinion doesn't matter...I was highly impressed.

Jason and his staff visited every driver/team and thanked them for coming out to race and they took time to speak with fans in the pits, answer ?'s, and gain input.

The series sponsor list continues to grow, and as Gjohnston mentioned, the DK series is trying to visit/bring DLM racing to tracks & fans that don't normally get a chance to experience it.

I think the "disappointment" some fans have is that they hope to see their "local" drivers go up against the big dogs.

That's easy to ask for, but the race bills don't show up in their mailbox.

I don't think the DK series/drivers were concerned about the Lucas race, and the driver's list at 141 last week showed that. As a second year deal, they were focused, as they should be, on their season opener (delayed 3x by Mother Nature).

They're doing something right, b/c Essex went out of his way to mention the DK series during his pre-race interview with Nick Anvelink at 141. (Posted on FB)

Glad they got it in.

[heinen81]

No no, not a blast at the Dirt King series itself... I have been to a few of their shows and they have been very good. I am not knocking the drivers talent either, aside from the fact they never step up when the opprotunity presents itself to compete against the best. I mean why not do it for the fans and sponsors who could gain some return on their investment by the added media exposure and increased attendance? I just dont get why you would pass up the opprotunity and a few locals supporting that race is pathetic, and I dont know how someone could argue that. A wissota motor at 141 would clearly not be ideal, but making the show was possible. Look at Plymouth last week for the sprint All Star show... 47 cars and most local, or a WOO event at Beaver Dam, the local small teams still pour in. To the Dirt Kings teams defense, I feel like while they wouldnt have had a realistic chance to pull off a win, they could have made some noise. Theres some talent there, and you can learn a lot running with those national guys.

[widlmfan]

Heinen wasn't at the show at 141 infact only new of the 5 eastern Wisconsin drivers that showed up from my Facebook post, though he is a sprint car guy so that might be where the negativity is coming from. Yeah the tires can be apart of the problem, this is the only show that they could run those tires at so guys that aren't loaded are reluctant to buy them, especially if they feel they wouldn't make the feature. But the bigger problem is majority of the guys in this area don't have all the mandated safety stuff enforced by the Lucas Series. Most have some parts of it but not all. Around here it is stuff that is recommended at the local tracks and the DK Series but not made mandatory, like it is in DIRTcar.

[fryefan]

Hard to call a series "Dirt Kings" when only 5 show up to 141 Speedway, when Lucas Oil came right to their doorstep. Congrats to the 5 that did, but the whole "I didn't want to buy tires" excuse doesn't hold up when you have a big a$$ hauler and the newest chassis, shock packages and spend $2,000 to print up t-shirts, hats and hoodies. I personally thought it was embarrassing on behalf of late model racing in Wisconsin.

You could offer to pay their tire bill for the night. I imagine they would show up then.

[fryefan]

Heinen wasn't at the show at 141 infact only new of the 5 eastern Wisconsin drivers that showed up from my Facebook post, though he is a sprint car guy so that might be where the negativity is coming from. Yeah the tires can be apart of the problem, this is the only show that they could run those tires at so guys that aren't loaded are reluctant to buy them, especially if they feel they wouldn't make the feature. But the bigger problem is majority of the guys in this area don't have all the mandated safety stuff enforced by the Lucas Series. Most have some parts of it but not all. Around here it is stuff that is recommended at the local tracks and the DK Series but not made mandatory, like it is in DIRTcar.

That is true in other parts of the country as well. Thanks for pointing that out.

[heinen81]

Heinen wasn't at the show at 141 infact only new of the 5 eastern Wisconsin drivers that showed up from my Facebook post, though he is a sprint car guy so that might be where the negativity is coming from. Yeah the tires can be apart of the problem, this is the only show that they could run those tires at so guys that aren't loaded are reluctant to buy them, especially if they feel they wouldn't make the feature. But the bigger problem is majority of the guys in this area don't have all the mandated safety stuff enforced by the Lucas Series. Most have some parts of it but not all. Around here it is stuff that is recommended at the local tracks and the DK Series but not made mandatory, like it is in DIRTcar.

No no negativity, just disapointed. Probably more of a late model fan than sprints even though thats where I have spent the last few years. Probably equal I guess. And like I mentioned, I have been to Dirt King shows, and they were good. I am just simply stating the local driver turn out for this show... that people paid $35 for, was sad. I knew the fire supression and door plate rules would be brought up at some point, but thats another argument. Those things should be mandatory no matter what dlm seies. Those cars are harder to exit quickly than ever. I take it back, its great for Wisconsin DLM racing that when the national series come to town, all the local teams stay home. Forget my initial post.

[Zonks32x]

No no, not a blast at the Dirt King series itself... I have been to a few of their shows and they have been very good. I am not knocking the drivers talent either, aside from the fact they never step up when the opprotunity to presents itself to compete against the best. I mean why not do it for the fans and sponsors who could gain some return on their investment by the added media exposure and increased attendance? I just dont get why you would pass up the opprotunity and a few locals supporting that race is pathetic, and I dont know how someone could argue that. A wissota motor at 141 would clearly not be ideal, but making the show was possible. Look at Plymouth last week for the All Star show... 47 cars and most local, or a WOO event at Beaver Dam, the local small teams still pour in.

The sprintcar deal is completely different. Those races are co-sanctioned All Stars-IRA and WoO-IRA. The "local" guys receive points/payout incentives for showing up and the tire rules are no different than what they normally run. And...they're running "home" tracks for the IRA regulars.

141 only runs late models a couple times each year, and a majority of DLM racing in Wisconsin is run on the bricks (hard tires). Even the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake has a restricted tire rule. The Lucas race is one of the few "open" tire DLM events in Wisconsin. Right, wrong, or indifferent, that's why the number of WI drivers that showed up last Friday was 6.

I think you'll see more drivers give it a shot as the DK deal continues to grow and the overall health of DLM racing in WI continues to get better.

[heinen81]

The sprintcar deal is completely different. Those races are co-sanctioned All Stars-IRA and WoO-IRA. The "local" guys receive points/payout incentives for showing up and the tire rules are no different than what they normally run. And...they're running "home" tracks for the IRA regulars.

141 only runs late models a couple times each year, and a majority of DLM racing in Wisconsin is run on the bricks (hard tires). Even the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake has a restricted tire rule. The Lucas race is one of the few "open" tire DLM events in Wisconsin. Right, wrong, or indifferent, that's why the number of WI drivers that showed up last Friday was 6.

I think you'll see more drivers give it a shot as the DK deal continues to grow and the overall health of DLM racing in WI continues to get better.

True with the IRA and All Star co-shows, but thats one area where I think they got it right. Make the tire and safety rules on the same level as the national touring series. Unfortunately, that would mean burning through more tires and needing more from the motors. Maybe it makes more sense after seeing these posts, it just struck me as odd.