Maverick Brison won the Junior 1 division championship this year for the Columbus Speedway Go-Kart Racing. The season concludes today at Tony Stewart Speedway with a full racing program.
The Columbus Speedway Go-Kart Racing, which sanctions events at Tony Stewart Speedway, will conclude its 2023 racing season today with a full racing program. There will be a drivers meeting starting at 10 a.m. with practice, heat races, consy events and feature races to follow. Tony Stewart Speedway is located at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds.
High Limit Racing expands in 2024
High Limit Racing, founded and owned by NASCAR champion Kyle Larson and five-time World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet, is expanding in 2024. The formerly-named High Limit Sprint Car Series is adding events and increasing driver payouts while broadening its partnership with FloSports. The midweek race series will evolve into a 50-plus race night schedule across the country and increase driver payouts to more than $5 million.
To support the series, High Limit Racing entered a multi-year media agreement with FloSports, which has taken a minority equity stake in the new venture and will continue to stream live race events while also producing original content on FloRacing, its Motorsports vertical.
“Brad and I literally grew up in this sport and our passion for sprint car racing runs deep,” said Larson. “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. On top of that, the partnership with FloSports will bring more eyeballs to our events and grow the sport overall. I can’t think of a much better situation for all involved.”
The new season of the High Limit Racing will reward drivers with bigger payouts and unprecedented flexibility with no restrictions on the amount of non-High Limit races they can compete in. The series also will set dedicated “off-weekends” to allow teams to continue to participate in sprint car racing’s crown jewel events.
High Limit Racing will award a point fund of $1 million, with the champion team and driver winning $250,000. Similar to its 2023 season, High Limit Racing will have a Midweek Money Series within the national tour awarding a separate $100,000 total point fund.
Sweet will compete in every event and pursue his first High Limit Racing championship with the Kasey Kahne Racing NAPA No. 49 team. Larson, crowned the midweek series champion earlier this month, will continue to compete in select events while also pursuing a NASCAR Cup Series championship and an Indianapolis 500 victory in 2024.
“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,” Sweet continued. “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.”
FloSports will support the partnership with original content developed and distributed across FloRacing. The content mix will include both short-form social programming and more in-depth spotlights on the drivers and the key storylines developing throughout the season. Over the course of an 11-race season, High Limit content generated more than 8.5 million views this year, with FloRacing motorsports coverage earning more than 142 million views across all branded platforms.
“FloRacing is the go-to destination for motorsports fans delivering premium event coverage and original content to viewers across the globe. The expansion of High Limit Racing and our investment in it reinforces our commitment to the growth of motorsports and delivering it authentically to audiences everywhere,” said Mark Floreani, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FloSports.
To subscribe to FloRacing and gain access to all High Limit Racing events, archived races and content, including the High Limit Room podcast with Larson and Sweet, visit flosports.link/highlimitracing
The High Limit Racing national tour will kick off 2024 at East Bay Raceway Park in Florida in February and celebrate its inaugural season championship at The Dirt Track at Texas Motor Speedway in October.
Former All-Star Circuit of Champions events including, but not limited to, the Bob Weikert Memorial and Tuscarora 50 events at Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania, the Dean Knittel Memorial at Portsmouth Raceway in Ohio and the annual Rayce Rudeen Foundation race will also be on the schedule in 2024.
The prestigious Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, owned by Tony Stewart, will host High Limit Racing twice with a two-day midweek event in July and a return appearance in September for the 4-Crown Nationals. Eagle Raceway in Nebraska will return with the biggest Midweek Money Series purse at the Eagle Nationals.
High Limit Racing will also have two events in conjunction with NASCAR, one at Texas Motor Speedway in April, and another at Lakeside Speedway, roughly eight miles from Kansas Speedway, in May.
The series will make its West Coast debut in 2024, with events including the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in California and the Skagit Nationals at Skagit Speedway in Washington.
The full 2024 High Limit Racing season schedule and information on the “High Rollers” team roster is forthcoming. Official sponsors for High Limit Racing will also be announced at a later date. Follow High Limit on X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on all upcoming announcements.
Larson captures High Limit Championship
It came down to the closing laps of the final race, but Kyle Larson held on to edge Rico Abreu by a mere seven points to clinch the inaugural High Limit Sprint Car Series championship.
Entering last month’s season finale at Lincoln Park Speedway, Larson led Abreu by 15-points with a top-six finish good enough to secure the title. With Larson’s No. 57 starting P7 and Abreu’s No. 24 on the pole, there were moments when the champion was in doubt.
Larson, of Elk Grove, California, ultimately finished third with Abreu, of St. Helena, California, winning his fourth event of the 11-race season after leading from flag-to-flag in a 40-lapper that saw plenty of hectic moments in lap traffic.
For Larson, the 2023 High Limit title is only his second-career Sprint Car championship — first being a 2010 King of the West title — due to his pick-and-choose dirt schedule with NASCAR obligations.
Driving the Paul Silva owned Finley Farms, Hendrick Cars, JVI Group, Folkens Brothers Trucking, FloRacing, DURST No. 57, Larson collected 1,025 points. He won on three occasions, coming consecutively at Ohio’s Wayne County Speedway, Illinois’ Tri-City Speedway and Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway. His worst finish in the 11-race series was P8 at Lernerville Speedway, when he was tripped up on the cushion while leading.
A $30,000 check, the inaugural trophy by Tim Grant, a slick ring from Southern Recognition and a set of grills from Hasty Bake Charcoal Grills went to Larson and Silva for their efforts.
Rico Abreu — who maybe would own the bragging rights if not for a flat tire while leading the Lakeside Speedway opener — ended the year with an extra $20,000 as the championship runner-up.
In the driver points, Cory Eliason (third), Justin Peck (fourth), Tyler Courtney (fifth), Chase Randall (sixth), Ryan Timms (seventh) and Dusty Zomer (eightth) also supported the series throughout.
This week in racing history
From 30 years ago in 1993, Twin Cities Raceway Park honored its track champions in their respective divisions. The winners were Scott Graham (late models), Nelson Gingery (street stocks), Don Walp (bombers) and J.D. Largent (modifieds).
From 30 years ago, the track champions at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt were Kevin Briscoe (sprints) and Kevin Claycomb (late models).
From 1993, the Lawrenceburg Speedway track champions were Greg Staab (sprints) and Danny Eichler (late models).
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to [email protected]
