Sprint Car 2024 Silly Season Kick Off

From a chaotic 2023 season, to a relatively quiet 2024 season, the sprint car world is gearing up for another edition of silly season. I will continue to provide updates as more news gets released. Rumors will be addressed, but never reported as fact. Master Gassers will never start rumors, our goal is to provide correct information to the best of our ability. Let’s dive in.

The newest announcements will be posted at the top. I’ll leave the outdated stuff at the bottom to see how the “rumors” end up playing out.

Max Guilford to a new Home in the States in 2025?

Rumors indicate that we would see an announcement this week about Max Guilford’s plans in the US in 2025. Guilford could be taking over a regional seat to tackle the full IRA schedule in 2025.

Daison Pursley Announced as the Buch Motorsports Driver for 2025

As I reported last week, Pursley emerged as the favorite to replace Justin Peck for 2025. That rumor became official today, as the team and Pursley announced the news. Buch Motorsports was rumored to be scaling back their operation after 2024, but those rumors have been deemed untrue.

Cale Thomas Moving On From Jay Kiser Racing

Cale Thomas announced that his time with Jay Kiser Racing has come to an end. The pairing was one of the best regional teams in the country in 2024, picking up 8 wins and some solid results against High Limit and the Outlaws. Thomas will be one of the best drivers available as we approach another silly season.

TKS Motorsports Looking at Huset’s Regular for 2025?

After a brief stint with Danny Sams III, some new rumors around the TKS Motorsports team point to them going a different direction and looking at a certain Huset’s regular to pilot the car in 2025. Nothing is official yet.

Dutcher 17GP to a National Series in 2025?

Could we see the Michael Dutcher Motorsports no. 17GP on a national tour next season? Justin Henderson, Cale Thomas and Scott Bogucki have all piloted the car this year, as the team appears to be building a notebook for 2025. The former wingless team could be preparing to ramp up their schedule next season.

Daison Pursley in line for a Winged 410 seat?

Daison Pursley’s strong showing at the 4 Crown Nationals was no surprise to anyone who has been following his progress all season. He’s one of the best young talents in sprint car racing and big sponsors such as NOS Energy Drink are noticing. If Pursley can bring some funding with him, could we see him join one of the teams that is rumored to be scaling back their schedule or seizing operations next year? RSR stated that they tried to get extra funding for keep Cory Eliason for 2025, but they couldn’t get a deal done. There is another seat that is currently racing with the High Limit series that is also rumored to be departing from the national scene. Could that be a landing spot for Pursley? That team in question has indicated that they are continuing with their program for the 2025 season. A new sponsorship for Pursley from NOS could definitely be a factor in this one.

Sams III to the TKS Motorsports Car for the rest of 2024?

Yesterday, I received a message saying that Danny Sams III could be the next driver to take over the TKS Motorsports seat after the team parted ways with Hunter Schuerenberg. Today, DIRTRAKR reported the same. While I don’t know if this deal could go beyond 2024 and help Sams toward his goal of joining one of the national touring series in 2025, I think it could be a beneficial move for him regardless. There were murmurs before this season that TKS could go out on the road with Chase Randall, but that didn’t happen and Randall decided to leave the team.

Reutzel to High Limit in 2025?

Aaron Reutzel may have enjoyed that High Limit win at Port Royal a little too much. He could be back out on a national tour with RSR next season. With this team parting ways with Eliason after this year, they could be even faster with all of their resources focused on one car. Sprint Car’s biggest villain might just be back in a big way.

Gio Scelzi to Return to Australia

Gio Scelzi is scheduled to join the Dan Golding Racing no. 71 in Australia for all 9 nights of WA Speedweek and the High Limit Racing shows at Perth Motorplex. It will Scelzi’s first trip back down under in five years.

Eliason and RSR to part ways after the Season

Jeremy Elliott from Sprintcarunlimited.com posted that Cory Eliason will be searching for a ride next season due to a lack of funding for a second car. RSR will be scaling back their sprint car team, making Eliason the first “free agent” for the 2025 season. Eliason catches a lot of shots online because he simply doesn’t win enough. But the reality is, if you put him in decent regional equipment anywhere in the country, he will win multiple features. I think he belongs on tour, but some more wins and podiums would really help his case.

Timms back in a Heffner Racing ride. We might see more of this team with Timms or someone else next season.

Ryan Timms will be back in the Curt Michael / Heffner Racing 27H for the 4Crown at Eldora. Timms and the Heffner team struggled during their first time out at Port Royal, but I think this pairing could work well together with some more laps. Don’t be surprised if we see more of this team next season.

Corey Day’s Sprint Car schedule will be similar to Kyle Larson’s.

In a video posted by Jason Meyers Racing, Corey Day revealed that he wants to continue racing sprint cars next season but his schedule will look much different. It will be similar to the schedule that Kyle Larson runs now (25-30 races).

Chase Randall will be back in the Beaver Racing 12x. They intend to race the POWRi sanctioned Jesse Hockett Daniel McMillin Memorial this weekend at Lucas Oil Speedway. The combination raced together briefly in 2023 before Randall joined the TKS Motorsports team. Randall just got the Beaver team their best result of the season at Eagle in 360 action, where he finished 2nd to Kerry Madsen. 

According to DIRTRACKR, the Jason Meyers Racing Team has already signed a replacement for NASCAR bound Corey Day. It was tossed around that the JRM team would revert back to regional racing without Day, but that appears to be incorrect. Chase Randall was the name that continued to pop up as a viable replacement, but new reports indicate that it will not be Randall in the 14 in 2025. While the team has to be well-aware that they are not going to find another Corey Day, the talent pool is slim pickings in terms of drivers who are ready to take the next step. Justin Sanders, Emerson Axsom and Kalib Henry are a few names that definitely have the talent, but it remains to be seen who will be announced as the pilot of the JMR 14.

Dylan Cisney is out of a ride after a mediocre Tuscarora 50 week at Port Royal. Cisney has just one win in 36 starts this season. The move comes as a bit of a surprise to those who follow Central PA sprint car racing, as Cisney has been a fairly consistent contender with the Posse. Some signs are indicating that the no. 5 team may be closing up shop after the 2024 season, leaving Cisney searching for a new opportunity.

Sticking with the Central PA theme, more rumors coming out of the pit area are pointing to a possible change with Devon Borden and the Stehman Motorsports team. The pairing came into 2024 expecting to build off of the momentum they gained in 2023, but the results have been disappointing. Borden has just one win, but it’s hard to ignore the raw talent he has. I think the new wicker bill rules have really played a role in his struggles. If the team does decide to move in a different direction, the no. 23 will be one of the best regional rides looking for a driver.

Earlier this year, World of Outlaws announcer, Johnny Gibson posted that the 2025 WoO season could see as many as five rookie of the year contenders. Cole Macedo has already been announced with the TwoC Racing Team. Logan McCandless and Danny Sams III have both stated intentions of joining the series next year. That leaves two more potential rookies, and all signs are pointing to one of them being a current High Limit Racing driver. I expect that announcement to be one that “kicks off” silly season. As for the potential 5th driver/team, look for Austin McCarl to be one of the names that pops up. While nothing is certain, McCarl and the Country Builders team have ramped up their operation this year and might just find themselves in a position to leave the Knoxville porch in 2025.  Terry McCarl believes Austin is ready to make the jump and the team added Andy Potter to the crew this season. 

Joel Myers Jr is another name that keeps popping up as a potential driver looking to make the jump to the Outlaws or High Limit. Myers was really good in New Zealand to kick off the season and has picked up multiple wins with the IRA in the Hayward Motorsports 19. The Hayward team, who originally planned to run a limited schedule with Hunter Schuerenberg this year, has really benefited from hiring Myers. It could be that Myers brings some extra funding to the operation and that could play a role in him finding a top tier ride for 2025.

A few weeks ago, I had heard that it was very likely that James McFadden would be staying in Australia in 2025 and the Roth Motorsports team would be looking for a new driver to fill their second seat. I think with McFadden going on a huge run during the West Coast swing and moving that team into the top 5 charter positions may play a factor in next year’s plans. The big rumor was that Roth would be taking both of their cars Outlaw racing in 2025, but was that because they were struggling and not in a top 5 position? Do the High Limit charters even play a role in how some of these teams make their decisions? With some new rumors bouncing around, I don’t have any idea what the future holds for Roth or McFadden.

If you were hoping to see Daison Pursley get some more winged 410 starts this year, you might have to wait longer. High Limit announcer, Chase Raudman, announced via his YouTube channel that Parker Price-Miller would be teaming up with the Ikenberry 25 team to close out the remainder of the season. PPM has been enjoying a good year, but I always wondered if some of these teams would be hurting toward the end of the season. I think the combination will be competitive and give PPM a chance to pick up that first High Limit win before the end of the year.

Garet Williamson and the Fischer Motorsports team still have aspirations of joining the Outlaws in 2025, but nothing is set in stone. Williamson is running with the Outlaws in California for the first time in his career in hopes of gaining valuable experience and knowledge for the future. While 2025 is not out of the question, I don’t think we can definitely include Williamson in the WoO rookie conversation just yet.

The Non-National Drivers With the most Starts in 2024

One thing I tend to look at are the drivers/teams who run an “Outlaw” style schedule without being committed to either national series. It tells me that the team has funding and confidence to compete with the best and it’s a good indicator when looking for teams/drivers who could make the jump. 

Anthony Macri, Danny Dietrich, Devon Borden, Lucas Wolfe, TJ Stutts, Dylan Norris and Freddie Rahmer top the list. Those drivers all have one thing in common: PA POSSE. Pennsylvania races the most, pays the best and is still one of the most competitive sprint car hot beds in the country. These guys don’t need to leave the porch to race for decent purses and face solid competition. The national touring series’ come to them and if they feel the need to travel, they briefly leave the porch. Macri is always in the conversation, but he and his team definitely enjoy their current schedule and being non-committed to either series. 

So skipping over the Posse, that leaves us with Cole Macedo, Garet Williamson, Danny Sams III and Emerson Axsom. What do all those drivers have in common? They have all already been mentioned in this article. They are either joining the Outlaws, hoping to join the Outlaws or rumored to be a driver filling an empty national seat. 

So skipping over all of those names already mentioned, that leaves us with Cale Thomas, Skylar Gee, Riley Goodno, Cap Henry, Kerry Madsen and Aaron Reutzel. Cale Thomas makes a lot of sense as a driver who could do well on a national tour. Every time we see him outside of Ohio, he has respectable runs in less than ideal equipment. Thomas has found his stride with the Jay Kiser 23 in Ohio, but that team is a regional car that will not be doing a ton of traveling. We’ve seen Cap Henry run with the All Stars in the past, but he has struggled mightily outside of Ohio this season. 

Skylar Gee is an interesting name. It seems like he and his team have the funding to be on tour, but they remain a wild card every season. Gee has improved a good bit this year, winning a few races and qualifying for the Kings Royal. While I don’t think Gee will be a name filling another seat, the 99 team is always a potential team to look out for.

Kerry Madsen has raced 50 times in 410 action in a second Vermeer car. He hasn’t found victory lane in the 410, but he’s clearly been very fast and has led laps against High Limit. Madsen definitely has some gas left in the tank to run a national schedule, but does he truly want to do that and will someone give him another opportunity? 

Aaron Reutzel continues to express that he’s happy on the porch and traveling less. However, a part of me thinks he enjoys being the villain a little too much and his win with High Limit at Port Royal could provide some more motivation for him heading forward. While I don’t expect Reutzel to go out on tour again, I can’t rule it out either. With RSR scaling back and focusing on Reutzel, that national tour might just be happening after all.