🎙️ The Bullring — Championships, Big Races and the Road to the Snowball Derby

This week on The Bullring, Jim Tretow catches up with three guests at very different points in their racing seasons, from a NASCAR rookie campaign to a championship fight and one of the biggest weekends of the year at Five Flags Speedway.

🏁 Cole Butcher talks about his first full season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with ThorSport Racing and the learning curve that has come with moving from Super Late Models to the national stage. The 2025 ASA Stars National Tour champion also discusses working alongside teammates including Ty Majeski, staying connected to short track racing, and the major Late Model events still on his schedule — including Winchester, the All American 400 and the Snowball Derby.

🔥 Penn Sauter joins the show in the middle of an ASA Midwest Tour championship battle. At just 16 years old, Sauter enters the final two races of the season atop the standings and talks about the testing, qualifying speed and improved long-run performance that have put his team in that position. He also discusses working alongside his family, racing the same car throughout the season and balancing the Midwest Tour title fight with his Kulwicki Driver Development Program campaign.

🏆 Tim Bryant previews a major championship weekend at Five Flags Speedway as both the Blizzard Series and Alan Turner Pro Late Model Series wrap up their 2026 seasons. Bryant explains how Saturday night’s races factor into the road to December’s Snowball Derby and Snowflake 125, including the importance of series points and the provisionals that could ultimately help drivers race their way into two of short track racing’s biggest events.

It’s another episode centered on the races, championships and opportunities that make the closing stretch of the short track season so important.