The Vapor Trail: Vol. 2 Dirt Cup, Huset’s or Maverick Mayhem?

The “Vapor Trail” is your weekly 410 sprint car notebook. It will be a journey through the past week of sprint car racing around the United States.

The Trailhead: Huset’s, Dirt Cup or Maverick Mayhem?

It’s a big week in the world of winged 410 sprint car racing. On Wednesday, the Huset’s High Bank Hustle kicks off four straight days of racing for the World of Outlaws and plenty of locals/invaders at the revamped South Dakota dirt track. Wednesday’s prelim will lead into a $100,000 payday on Thursday night. The field will then reset on Friday for another prelim before racing for $250,000 on Saturday night for the High Bank Nationals.

On Thursday, the Super Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway kicks off with preliminary action and $5,000 to win. Prelims continue on Friday before the $62,000 to win main event on Saturday. With five different drivers winning the five fastest days in motorsports events last week, this year’s Dirt Cup is wide open.

Also on Thursday, the Winged Maverick Series kicks off their inaugural “Maverick Mayhem” in conjunction with the IRA Sprints. Thursday at Lincoln Park will start four consecutive days of winged 410 sprint car action in Indiana. All the races will pay $6,000 to win and $500 to start.

So, with all of the possibilities, where will some of these drivers and teams end up racing this weekend? The AFCS returns to normal action in Ohio, and those running for points will likely stick around. Cale Thomas, Zeth Sabo, Cap Henry, Tyler Street, Trey Jacobs, DJ Foos and Sean Rayhall are all in contention for the AFCS Championship, so I would expect their Friday and Saturday plans to consist of Attica and Fremont. That does leave the door open for some Thursday and Sunday action in Indiana, but these guys are coming off a grueling Ohio Speedweek and this upcoming weekend is probably not one for a quick trip away from home.

Kalib Henry has spent most of his time in Ohio competing with the AFCS, but after missing a race and falling back in the points, he and the Running Boxer Farm 101 team could easily be in attendance for four straight days in Indiana. Henry is coming off of a rough Ohio Speedweek, where he suffered a minor injury and a few wrecked race cars.

As of 6/15, 51 cars are registered for the High Bank Nationals. I expect that list to grow to about 60. Anthony Macri and Kerry Madsen are the two obvious ones missing. Justin Peck is another interesting one missing from the entry list. While I do expect him to be there, that team has struggled this season, and a reset near his home in Indiana might be just what he and that team needs. Peck is a driver who can never be counted out, but momentum does not seem to be on his side at this point in the season. The opposite can be said about Parker Price-Miller. PPM is still looking for his first win of the season, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been lightning fast as of late. Again, I think PPM would be leaning toward Huset’s, but $6,000 to win, $500 to start for four straight nights in his home state probably sounds pretty appealing.

Three more “High Rollers” are not currently on the list. Brenham Crouch spent his weekend racing in the Midwest at Jacksonville and Wilmot. I expect him to be racing with the Winged Maverick series and not with the Outlaws at Huset’s. Brent Marks is certainly the biggest name that is not on the entry list. Marks struggled at Knoxville over the weekend, missing the A-Main on Friday and barely sneaking in on Saturday. He and his team are back on the road after a few years of running their own schedule, and taking a weekend off before a huge stretch of travel wouldn’t shock me. Still, it’s hard to believe that Marks would pass up the opportunity at a $350,000 payday. He always shows up when the big money is on the line. Chris Windom and the Vermeer 55 team were notable for skipping out on Knoxville over the weekend. Again, I think this team is a good candidate to show up for the Maverick races.

*UPDATE*

After speaking with a few people, I am fairly confident that Brent Marks, Justin Peck and Parker Price-Miller will NOT be at Huset’s. That does not mean they are taking the weekend off.

Aside from those four names, I expect a few Huset’s / regional regulars to be in attendance. Scott Winters, Andy Pake, Jade Hastings, Tim Estenson and Luke Nellis are the ones that come to mind. Other “wildcards” are Ayrton Gennetten, Sye Lynch, Jace Park, Emerson Axsom and Jake Bubak. Each of these drivers could show up at Huset’s or in Indiana. Bubak probably wouldn’t be in Indiana, and is more likely a candidate for Huset’s.

Check out the confirmed/unconfirmed entries for Dirt Cup below, as well as *potential* entries for the Maverick Mayhem week.

Water Break: The Biggest Surprise Without a Win?

While going through season-long stats, five drivers who are still searching for victory lane stuck out to me.

1. Justin Peck (34 races) – Peck was a name who many thought could sneak in and take one of the five available High Limit charters before the season started. He has not had a bad season, but by his standards, it has been a down year.
2. Spencer Bayston (33 races) – Another driver who was a name being mentioned as one of the five top High Limit drivers. Bayston has been consistent enough to poke his nose around the top five in High Limit points, but is still looking for that breakout win in 2024.
3. Logan Schuchart (31 races) – Schuchart has been getting a lot of attention lately for the wrong reasons. He was battling with Corey Day at Knoxville for the win on Saturday, but that was the first time we have seen him in contention this season.
4. Zeb Wise (30 races) – Wise is my biggest surprise on this list. I expected him to build off of his 2023 momentum and be in contention for wins with High Limit. That just hasn’t happened and he has only been in the top five twice this season. I do think that a weekend at Skagit could be good for Wise and Rudeen team.
5. Brian Brown (22 races) – Brown has branched away from Knoxville a little bit in 2024. His results have not been bad, but it’s still surprising seeing the 21 team still looking for that first win of the season.

Halfway: Regional Observations

A big shoutout to the 12 drivers/teams who completed all of Ohio Speedweek. Australian driver, Jordyn Charge, would have make that list 13, but engine troubles ended his stint in the United States one night early. From reading comments, Charge and his team left a good impression on many drivers and fans during his two weeks of racing. It was fun to watch him adjust to racing here and you could clearly see improvement as the week went on. He was consistently battling for A-Main transfers and even picked up a top 10. Charge is an up and coming driver in Australia, and one I will have my eye on if he ever gets another opportunity to race in the states.

As if nine straight days of racing wasn’t enough, PA Posse racer Dylan Norris stopped at Tri-City Raceway Park on his way home from Ohio Speedweek to make it 10. Norris led most of the feature before getting passed by eventual winner Jeremy Weaver and then spinning out. He was able to rebound for a top 10 finish.

Last week, I mentioned the PA Posse youth and one of those names was Cameron Smith, who picked up his first 410 win of his career at Williams Grove last Friday. I said it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw Smith pick up a few more wins this season. Well, that didn’t take long, as Smith worked his way through the field at Lincoln on Saturday and picked up win number two. He was able to hold off Troy Wagaman Jr in the late stages of the race. It was an impressive drive for the young driver, who is gaining all types of momentum heading into the second half of the season.

I had the opportunity to watch all five NARC 410 races during the fastest five days of motorsports last week. The first thing that stuck out to me was how competitive the field was this year, and that was further proven to be true after five different drivers won in five nights. Cole Macedo, Justyn Cox, Tanner Holmes, Robbie Price and Dominic Scelzi all picked up wins in the PNW. It was really cool to see Holmes grab a win, as well as the resurgence of Robbie Price. Price has been really consistent this year, with nine top 10 finishes in 12 starts.

Are we there yet? Huset’s Sleepers

Going into the big week at Huset’s, we know who the favorites are on paper. David Gravel, who won the $250,000 last year, is at the top of the list. Buddy Kofoid likely would have won last year if he did not lose an engine. Kyle Larson, who might only be in attendance on Wednesday and Thursday, is always fast at Huset’s. But, who are some of the names that could sneak into the A-Main on Saturday and grab a good finish?

Kaleb Johnson has just 10 410 starts this season, but 7 of those have resulted in top 10 finishes. He was competitive against the Outlaws at River Cities and Ogilvie, and always seems to be running up front during Huset’s weekly action. Is Johnson going to shock the world and win the High Bank Nationals? Probably not…but don’t be surprised if we see him high up on the points leaderboard at some point this week.

Kerry Madsen was about to get himself into a heated battle with Ryan Timms last night before he jumped the cushion and got upside down. Madsen is one of the fastest cars at Huset’s this season, but he still searching for his first win at the track. Don’t sleep on the veteran racer who has more laps at Huset’s than the majority of the drivers in the field.

Scott Bogucki ran really well with the Outlaws at Knoxville over the weekend and then capped it off with a podium finish at Huset’s on Sunday. Bogucki lost the lead late to Austin McCarl last weekend, and has shown great speed early in the season. The results might not show it, but Bogucki is definitely a name to watch this week.

Photo Finish: USAC Eastern Storm

Getting away from the winged 410 action to cap this one off. The USAC Eastern Storm races in Pennsylvania/New Jersey last week were some of the best races I’ve seen all year. Briggs Danner deserves every bit of the attention he has gotten. Logan Seavey, Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Mitchel Moles and Kevin Thomas Jr were all impressive all week long. If it were up to me, I’d be scheduling some more USAC National races in and around Pennsylvania, because that was awesome.