Late last night, word of three new High Limit dates were released and there already might be a major conflict brewing. News that High Limit would be making a stop at the Douglas County Dirtrack in Oregon on August, 26 dropped and was followed by announcements from Grays Harbor Raceway and Skagit Speedway. The newly national sprint car series will visit Grays Harbor on 8/28 and then stop at Skagit for three nights of racing on 8/29-8/31.
For sprint car fans on the West Coast and Pacific Northwest, the news was great, as rumors of the High Limit trip out west are all coming to fruition. The Dirt Cup at Skagit is one of the premier sprint car events in the country and has historically put on some great racing. Justin Sanders was victorious at the 2023 Dirt Cup, and took home $82,000 with the added lap money.
While this is a good sign for the West Coast sprint car scene, the timing of these races might not be something the teams and drivers are looking forward to. When High Limit announced they would be sanctioning the Dirt Cup at Skagit and the Gold Cup at Chico, many were wondering if the dates would change. An announcement has not yet been made about the Gold Cup, but the series has a limited window on when they can schedule the historic event due to weather.
Last year, the Gold Cup took place during the original dates for the Tuscarora 50 at Port Royal. When High Limit announced they were purchasing the All Stars and going national, one of the first dates released on the pending schedule was the 2024 Tusky 50. That event is scheduled for September 5-7. Regardless of when the Gold Cup could be scheduled, this creates a massive travel controversy for any team chasing the High Limit points championship.
With the final day of the Dirt Cup at Skagit taking place on 8/31, that leaves just four days for teams to travel over 2,700 miles back east to Port Royal. While similar scenarios have happened in the past with the World of Outlaws, they usually had an extra travel day and less miles to make it feasible. Some have suggested that the dates for the Tuscarora 50 could change, but that is not going to happen, as the Tusky runs in conjunction with the County Fair.
Unless High Limit is planning multiple trips out west, this means the Gold Cup will almost certainly be pushed up to mid August. Even though we can’t predict the weather, temperatures at Chico in mid August are going to be very hot.
The full High Limit schedule is expected to be released in the next few days and we will finally be able to get some clarity on what it looks like. As we await more driver and team announcements, a massive travel week like this could be a dealbreaker for some teams. Stay tuned.
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