Buckle in tight for 45 minutes of elbows up, hammer down dirt track racing action.
Released last week and available on YouTube is an exciting new documentary: For the Love of Dirt – a behind-the-scenes look at high-intensity World of Outlaws sprint car racing in the US.
It follows the Stenhouse Jr/Marshall Team 17 sprint car operation and young driver Sheldon Haudenschild through preparations for the biggest event of the year, the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa.
The footage and editing are superb and a few of the faces are familiar to Kiwi speedway fans – Jac Haudenschild (Sheldon’s father) raced here and the likes of Rico Abreu, Tyler Courtney and Kyle Larson make an appearance.
But most poignantly for Kiwi fans, Team 17 was initially created by NASCAR star Ricky Stenhouse Jr with Bryan Clauson as the driver. Clauson, who lost his life in a 2016 racing accident, was hugely popular at Kiwi tracks and this documentary is dedicated to him.
Some motor sport documentaries look into the surgical precision and glamour of Formula 1 or Endurance racing. This one offers the contrast of the clay splattered, rough and tumble world of 950-horsepower dirt racing machines and the dedicated teams that take them over the road to compete at 90 events a year on the World of Outlaws schedule.