T.J.’s Takeways on Macri and Day Joining CMR to Fill in for Courtney

burlington IA_DSC0658_8257 — Anthony Macri. (Mark Funderburk photo)

By T.J. Buffenbarger

(July 17, 2023) — This is the kind of takeaways column I never enjoy writing, but when one of the top names in a series such as the All Star Circuit of Champions is injured and replaced by a driver who had a very high profile split with their race team over the weekend, the situation warrants some commentary. Here are my takeaways on the Tyler Courtney’s injury, choosing Anthony Macri and Corey Day to fill in for Courtney, and what it may look like for the All Stars going forward.

When complicated situations such as the fallout from Macri parting ways with his family-owned race team and Clauson Marshall Racing losing a top tier driver like Courtney to injury line up at the same time. Somehow, Macri being available as a free agent couldn’t happen at a better time for a team looking to capture its third consecutive All Star Circuit of Champions title. Macri should benefit from the situation in a top flight car to show speed away from his family owned entry. Macri has already shown his skills have greatly improved outside of Central Pennsylvania, and this is chance to do the same thing with another race team.

For Corey Day this same applies for the handful of starts he will make for CMR with the High Limit Series. With all of his wins coming this season in California, Oregon, and Washington, fans Midwest and nationally will get a larger sample size of a driver that is highly regarded in the spot as one of the best drivers under the age of 20 in the sport at the moment. In particular, dates at Kokomo and Huset’s in August have my attention

Now CMR has two of the brightest up and coming stars in winged sprint car racing lined up for an extended period of time the question becomes how quickly both drivers can gel with the team. There will be some pressure involved for both young men as the CMR entry has proven to be a front running car in all three series.

Courtney’s injury is another blow to what has turned out to be a tough year for the All Star Circuit of Champions with driver retention.

Over the past several weeks Scotty Thiel, Hunter Schuerenberg, and Parker-Price Miller have parted ways with race teams along with losing Justin Peck, Bill Balog, and Kyle Reinhardt from last year as series regulars during the off season. Some of this has taken a bit of the sizzle away from the All Stars drivers point standings, but the car owner standings just became interesting with CMR now trying to maintain their lead while acclimating with a different driver.

The lack of support for the entire All Star tour is perplexing. The series made some scheduling changes based on team feedback during the off season, pay decent tow money to their teams that is the top three among traveling sprint car series and a sizeable point fund that pays $80,000 to win. All of this is accomplished while having gaps in the schedule to compete in the sprint car majors along with sanctioning some high paying events themselves such as the Tuscarora 50 at Port Royal Speedway that pays $55,000 to win.

Some of this could be chalked up to the ebb and flow of the sport while others may have chose to go the same route Brent Marks has done over the past several seasons picking and choosing big races and opting not to drive into bad weather at times, which when following any point championship is something every team must do.

Even with all the off-track changes this year the All Stars have managed to put one of the most entertaining products in all of sprint car racing on the track. Features have the same entertainment level I associate with the series with a mix of future stars of the sport along with veteran drivers that can make a living driving a sprint car without as much travel as the World of Outlaws tour.

The most important thing in all of this is wishing Tyler Courtney the best with his recovery from his back injuries. Up to the time he was hurt Courtney had amassed eight feature victories this season and was well on his way to a third consecutive All Star title with a comfortable lead in the drivers point standings.

Courtney is a staple in the Clauson operation. His backstory of moving up from sweeping the floor to becoming a USAC Sprint Car Champion, multiple time All Star champion, and Kings Royal winner is the stuff kids dream of when they desire becoming race car drivers. Since leaving his family sprint car operation Courtney has been engrained in the Clauson family’s racing endeavors.

When Courtney gingerly exited his car we all speculated that he might be injured, but it never crossed my mind that he would be out for extended period of time. We all know racers often push these time frames to get back in a car as soon as possible, but hopefully Courtney can take the time to heal properly so he can return to competition at 100%.