High Limit Racing will expand in 2024, create second national sprint car series
Hight Limit Racing will expand to 50 races in 2024, create a Midweek Money Series and welcome the 2023 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Brad Sweet fulltime. The series will offer more than $5 million in prize money with $250,000 going to the champion from a $1 million points' fund.
FloSports, a streaming sports platform out of Austin, Texas, has taken a minority equity stake in the series in a multi-year agreement.
The new series will allow for off-weekends to avoid conflicts with some of the sports' Crown Jewel events.
"Brad and I literally grew up in this sport and our passion for sprint car racing runs deep," said High Limit co-owner Kyle Larson in a press release. "The 2023 High Limit season went well, but we saw room for growth and more opportunities that were out there to make this division of racing stronger. Not only are we going to continue to run tight, highly-entertaining races for the fans, but we’re going to do it while raising purses and making the sport more financially viable for drivers and teams."
Larson won three races in 2023 on his way to becoming the inaugural champion of the 11-race season that held all of their races midweek.
Two weeks ago, High Limit announced they had purchased Tony Stewart’s All-Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC), fueling speculation that the two series could merge.
Last week after earning his fifth consecutive Outlaws title, Sweet said it was like a “walk-off homer”, suggesting his move from that series to the one he recently purchased was imminent.
A full schedule has not yet been announced but the renamed series, (known as the High Limit Sprint Car Series in 2023), will kick off at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida in February. That track is owned by the parent company of the Outlaws.
"We’re working on a diverse and efficient schedule that will maximize the travel time for our teams," Sweet said. "With increased purses and the availability for teams to also compete in the sport’s Crown Jewels that may not be High Limit-sanctioned, High Limit drivers and teams have the highest revenue opportunity in sprint car history, barring The Million in 2023. We’re proud of that and see it as a launching pad for the future of sprint car racing.
"The support of Kasey (Kahne), NAPA and everyone at Kasey Kahne Racing means a lot to me. We’ve accomplished a lot together and now we’ll go on a new adventure and try to add a High Limit championship to our resume. They’re taking this jump with me and that shows how strong and committed this team is."
Some of highlights of the schedule include two races held in conjunction with NASCAR events, at Texas Motor Speedway in April and one at Lakeside Speedway, less than 10 mile from Kansas Speedway in May. High Limit will return to the Dirt Track at Texas Motor Speedway in October for their finale.
High Limit will include some of the marquee ASCoC events including the Bob Weikert Memorial and Tuscarora 50 events at Port Royal (Penn.) Speedway. An official announcement was not made about the disposition of the ASCoC, however, which hosted 45 events primarily in the Midwest.
Eldora Speedway will host High Limit Racing twice with a two-day midweek event in July and the 4-Crown Nationals in September.
High Limit Racing will take over from the Outlaws two marquee West Coast races in 2024, the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California and the Skagit Nationals at Skagit Speedway in Burlington, Washington. Larson and Sweet are part owners of Silver Dollar.
Head-to-head national competition with the Outlaws has been tried before. In 1989, the United Sprint Association ran a 50-race schedule with Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell battling for that championship. The series did not host another full season.
The National Sprint Tour acquired another Outlaws legend Danny Lasoski for a 38-race national series in 2006. It also folded after one season. The National Sprint League held 28 races in 2015 and 26 in 2016 with Lasoski as champion both seasons, but the races were held primarily in the Midwest.
But those two previous attempts at a national series came in a different era before the prevalence of streaming platforms like FloSports and it remains to be seen if the third time is the charm.
More Dirt Track Racing
Bobby Pierce wins Outlaws Late Model title in first try
Brad Sweet seals fifth Outlaws Sprints title with a win
A Tale of Two Drivers: Brad Sweet, David Gravel
High Limit Sprint Car Series acquires ASCoC
Devil’s Bowl rages against the dying of its lights
Jade Avedisian makes history as first female national midget champ
Rico Abreu wins Lincoln Park but Kyle Larson takes the title
ASCoC champion Zeb Wise gets first WoO Sprints victory
Rico Abreu’s late season charge continues with Bridgeport win
Kyle Larson dominates 62nd Knoxville Nationals
