Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet go 'all in' after buying sprint car series from Tony Stewart
After a successful first season consisting of 11-midweek races, High Limit Sprint Car Series goes national and rebrands to High Limit Racing for the 2024 season.
This change comes on the heels of the acquisition of the All-Star Circuit of Champions, previously owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer and current NHRA drag racer Tony Stewart. The series is expected to grow to more than 50 events in its sophomore season.
This expansion was made possible by a multi-year media agreement with FloSports, which now holds a minority equity stake in the venture. FloSports has already been the series' OTT streamer for live races while also producing original content for the series.
In an attempt to grow the series, High Limit will expand to weekend dates as well as the midweek dates on which they built their brand. The points fund for the 2024 season clocks in at $1 million with $250,000 going to the championship-winning driver and team. To put that in perspective the points fund for the World of Outlaws during the 2023 season grew to its largest in league history at just over $1.6 Million.
To protect the hype of the midweek programs, High Limit will have an inter-series promotion called “Midweek Money Series” with a separate points fund of $100,000.
High Limit Racing is attempting to become an equitable competitor to the World of Outlaws series, which just capped its 45th season at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sweet secured his fifth consecutive championship there.
The first of many shots fired at the established league is the exit of Kasey Kahne Racing and Sweet. While in Victory Lane last Saturday night, Sweet described his race win as a “walk-off homer”. At that point it became clear to many in the industry that he would be leaving the series securely with five rings. In 2024, the Outlaws will have to market the start of their season without a defending champion to parade.
“It’s just really neat to cap it off with a win like this, and it’s basically like a walk-off homer,” Sweet said in a press release from the World of Outlaws. “It just feels really good, and we're going to celebrate. … I’m just super happy. It’s just such a relief. These seasons are so long and so grueling and so hard. It’s just unbelievable that we’ve been able to accomplish what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
One of the biggest differences between High Limit Racing and World of Outlaws is that High Limit will not implement any restrictions on drivers if they want to run in other events and series. This creates an opportunity for drivers who choose to run a true “outlaw schedule” to still chase points in a series.
“We’re working on a diverse and efficient schedule that will maximize the travel time for our teams,” Sweet said in the press release provided by FloRacing. “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 series will expand its footprint and race from coast to coast. A large part of this comes from Larson and Sweet securing a West Coast swing through the acquisition of the Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., and the Skagit Nationals at Skagit Speedway in Burlington, Wash. These races were both World of Outlaws marquee events.
Many of ASCoC’s prior crown jewels have been announced as part of the early schedule, including the Bob Weikert Memorial and Tuscarora 50 events -- both at Port Royal (Penn.) Speedway -- and the Dean Knittel Memorial at Portsmouth (Ohio) Speedway.
FloRacing is awarded a duo of “home races” in Texas as High Limit will visit the dirt track at Texas Motor Speedway twice, once as a companion event to the NASCAR weekend in April, and again in October to close out the series.
NASCAR’s weekend at Kansas Speedway will also have a companion race with High Limit returning to Lakeside Speedway, less than 10 miles away, in May.
This last season saw more seat-switching and program changes than sprint car fans have become used to over the course of the last few years.
Sprint Car drivers have a heavier decision than usual this off-season as they decide which, if any, series to compete in fulltime in 2024. The Outlaws have traditionally had a “Platinum Membership” program that limits the number of races outside the series that their marquee teams can enter.
Brace yourself for the Silliest of Silly Seasons.