Digging Deeper: Who Else Could Go National?

Tyler Courtney’s official announcement brings the High Limit roster to 16. How many more teams are still considering going full-time with the new series? I don’t know the answer, but I do expect one or two more teams to join before the season begins. While nothing has been announced, the new rumor is that both Buddy Kofoid and James McFadden will be back with the Roth team in 2024. I fully expect one of those cars to rejoin the World of Outlaws, but the door is still open for the team to split like Shark Racing did with Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen. If I had to guess, I would say that both Kofoid and McFadden go Outlaw racing, bringing their full-time driver roster to 13.

I’ve spent a lot of time researching potential drivers and teams that could make a national schedule work, but it seems like we are coming toward the end of driver announcements. Depending on what is happening with the Crouch Motorsports no. 11 team, I do not think that a move to High Limit makes sense for any remaining teams. When you look at the remaining “available” drivers, the top ones would be a lateral move from Cory Eliason for Crouch Motorsports.

If I was a team considering a move to a national tour, I would absolutely be waiting for the Roth Motorsports announcement to make a decision. If Roth decides to split their cars up between the two series, I would be leaning toward a move to the Outlaws. This would guarantee a nice points fund bonus, even if you finish 7-10 in the points standings. For reference, an 8th place finish in the WoO points would net you about $100,000 on top of the tow money and race earnings.

Since Tanner Thorson was not on the radar for anyone trying to predict the rest, could we see any other major surprises? I don’t think so, but it’s not out of the question. Let’s quickly run through some things.

The Obvious

Tyler Courtney – It will be High Limit or the Outlaws. Most likely High Limit.
Update: Tyler Courtney will be running the full High Limit schedule in 2024.

Roth Motorsports – It was originally rumored that James McFadden would not be returning to Roth in 2024. However, now it sounds like both Buddy Kofoid and McFadden will return. It will be full-time Outlaws for at least one of them, if not both.

Justin Sanders – Most likely returning to his California ride and possibly teaming up with an open ride for all of the Crown Jewels and the High Limit midweek shows. A reunion with the Swindell Speedlab car makes a lot of sense if he does not have other plans lined up.

Crouch Motorsports 11 – I think this team was expecting to have a driver and plans announced already. Justin Sanders and Kerry Madsen are the only two who truly make sense for a national schedule. If it is going to be a pick and choose, then we could see a variety of different drivers in this car.

Ryan Timms – Would make a lot of sense for either series but his KKM Midget ride could be getting in the way.

Anthony Macri – I think we see him absolutely dominate Central Pennsylvania in 2024. He will be at all of the Crown Jewels and possibly the High Limit midweek shows, but with all of the money going around in Central PA, it makes a lot of sense for him to stay local.

Tim Shaffer – A pick and choose style schedule has always been the move for the D&R Racing 49x. I don’t see that changing, but I do think we will see Shaffer at Ohio and PA Speedweek at a minimum.

Tanner Holmes – Tanner indicated it would be a packed schedule for his family-owned team in 2024. He was looking for partners and crew help to potentially go to a national series. While that is still possible, it is currently looking like a pick and choose style schedule for Holmes.

Lane Racing no. 4 – This team is a prime candidate to run the Maverick Winged Sprint Series, the FAST Series, Ohio Speedweek and PA Speedweek. Since the All Stars are gone, I don’t think this team can make the move to a national series without some help. I expect to see a local guy close to Ohio or Indiana in the seat in 2024.

Hunter Schuerenberg – Zach Hampton recently said on DIRTRACKR that Schuerenberg does not have anything full-time lined up for 2024. I could see him running a few races for Swindell, Alex Bowman or Kevin Newton, but nothing full-time. He is definitely one of the best available drivers, but I don’t know if there is a seat open for him.

Sam Hafertepe Jr – Honestly, this is the one driver/team that I think a move to the Outlaws makes the most sense for. They already run a ton of races and the added points fund money would be a bonus. Hafertepe could easily battle with Bill Balog and Brock Zearfoss for the 7th or 8th spot in points.

Blake Hahn – I think Hahn does have the ability to run a national schedule, I just don’t know if that is what he wants to do. I would put him in the same boat as Hafertepe.

Marc Dailey Racing 28M/2MD – All signs are pointing to Conner Morrell being back in the 28M. With the All Stars gone, I think Morrell would do well running with Maverick/IRA/FAST. As for the 2MD, if Cap Henry is going to be returning, a High Limit midweek schedule could be in the cards.
Update: Conner Morrell will be running the full High Limit schedule in 2024. Cap Henry will be running the midweek series.

Devon Borden – Originally, I thought there was a chance this team could be the surprise team that commits to a national series. Now, with PA Speedweek upping the ante and Brent Marks hitting the road, the door in Central PA is wide open for Borden to succeed. He dominated at Port Royal in 2023, and should branch out some more in 2024.

Cole Macedo – I still can’t figure this one out. Nothing at all would surprise me. If that is full-time Outlaw/High Limit or if he returns to Ohio for some local action, it all makes sense.

Grove Racing 45 – After Tim Shaffer parted way with this team in 2023, Kyle Reinhardt took over. We haven’t heard a peep from this team during the offseason, but I dont expect them to be making any drastic moves to a national series. Again, putting Reinhardt in the car for a run in Central PA/Ohio would make a lot of sense.

Digging Deeper

On the most recent episode of The Gravel Show, David Gravel mentioned that he spoke to a young driver who won a few races in Ohio and who was going to make the jump to the All Stars in 2024. Now that the All Stars are gone, this driver was left with the Outlaws or High Limit. Gravel advised against a quick jump to a national series, instead suggesting an aggressive local schedule. I don’t know who that driver is, but if I had to guess, it was Darin Naida.

Darin Naida – The young driver won two races last season in 410 competition. He did some traveling, but primarily raced in Ohio and Michigan. Could he be the driver considering the move? It’s certainly possible, but Gravel’s wisdom may have convinced him to hold off another year.

Zeth Sabo – If that young driver that Gravel was talking about wasn’t Naida, then it could have been Sabo. He started out with the All Stars in 2023, before going back to his local schedule in Ohio. I expect to see something similar in 2024, as I don’t know what car we will see Sabo in next season.

Kraig Kinser – Kinser parked his no. 11K machine early last season and we saw him reappear in a few different rides. Most notably, the Premier Motorsports no. 70. While this car doesn’t typically run a national schedule, they are capable of running a lot of races. They probably do not have the resources for a national run, but I could see them with Maverick/FAST.

Riley Goodno – Goodno ran 80 410 races in 2024. That put him right up there with the top drivers and teams in the country. Most of those races were around Knoxville, but he did plenty of traveling on top of that. A World of Outlaws rookie campaign for Goodno would not surprise me.

Joel Myers Jr – He and Brenham Crouch are currently racing together in New Zealand. Myers took his own no. 46jr on the road toward the end of 2023 and had some success outside of California. Could this team have bigger aspirations for 2024? I won’t rule it out.

Shane Golobic – I am only adding Golobic to this list because he would be so much fun to watch with a national series. He and his Matt Wood Racing team are probably sticking to California, especially with all of the new money coming in on the West Coast.

Dominic Scelzi – Scelzi is a new name that recently started popping up. He has indicated that he was trying to put something together to travel outside of California more in 2024, but nothing is official. The Scelzi Motorsports social media page says that they have a “major announcement” for 2024.