High Limit Racing: 2024 Season Review

The 2024 inaugural High Limit Racing national season has officially come to an end. I don’t think it was a surprise to anyone that Brad Sweet won the title convincingly, but Tyler Courtney, Rico Abreu, Corey Day, James McFadden and Brent Marks kept him honest throughout the season. Overall, with High Limit scheduling a bunch of new sprint car tracks around the country, I think the series produced some great racing and great moments on a consistent basis.

As with anything new and exciting, the High Limit Racing series certainly benefited from the “new girlfriend” effect. They used Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet being involved with the ownership to attract viewers, and it worked. For going from a 10-12 race series to a 50-60 race series, I think the amount of hiccups they had were significantly less than I anticipated. As the season went on, it was clear that the series truly earned that attention and publicity they were receiving.

Despite the “newness” of the series, everyone involved did an incredible job of buying in and improving the product for the fans. High Limit did an unbelievable job of promoting their full-time drivers in various ways. From the fan-submitted questions during the dash draw, to side conversations with crew members, FloRacing and High Limit went the extra mile in terms of producing content and giving their drivers a platform. It made the drivers so much more relatable than just your typical “how is the car feeling” and “what changes do you need to make to be better” questions that we’ve heard hundreds of times in the past.

While this may seem like a little detail that isn’t very important to the grand scheme of the series, just remember how one little moment can stick out to a fan in the stands or watching at home that might entice them to buy a t-shirt or get tickets to a future race. I think we all remember what Jacob Allen’s favorite cereal is and why he is such a big fan of “Toucan Sam” after this season.

It was no secret that when High Limit acquired the All Stars, fans across the country were hoping for announcer Blake Anderson to be a part of the package. Anderson decided to change career paths, and High Limit was left to make a choice about a full-time announcer. They ended up choosing World of Outlaws infield reporter Chase Raudman, and it was a decision that I don’t think they regret.

Raudman had announcing experience, but nothing on a national touring scale. Pairing him with Tony LaPorta was probably one of the best moves High Limit made. At the beginning of the year, the chemistry was okay, and that is to be expected with anyone starting something new. As the season progressed, the two got better and better each night, to the point where breaks in the broadcast seemed to go by quicker. In my opinion, I don’t want a racing broadcast to be filled with unnecessary content, I want it to be to the point and to be flowing along nicely. However, there is a need for some filler during track prep or other downtime, and Chase and Tony executed that perfectly.

Tony did an excellent job of storytelling. He wouldn’t just gather the standard information about a driver or team, he would dig deeper and tell some funny things that happened on the road. While sometimes his nonsense would go a step too far, the effort and passion were always the same and always appreciated. 

Even other sprint car drivers Dominic Scelzi, Sam Hafertepe Jr and JJ Hickle have all agreed on their Podcast, The Drivers Project (great listen by the way), that if they had to make a choice between watching the two national series, they are picking High Limit. My significant other does not come from a racing background, and she made it clear throughout the season that she enjoyed the High Limit production much more. We watched both equally as much, but she can definitely tell you more about the High Rollers than the full-time Outlaws and I think Chase and Tony played a huge factor in that.

Chase went above and beyond what it means to be a series announcer. He became more of a student of the sport and even started his own YouTube channel producing sprint car related content. That YouTube channel  helps bring attention to High Limit, it promotes their full-time drivers, as well as other 410 sprint car drivers across the country. This was something that Chase couldn’t do at WRG and I think he has become a great asset to the sport.

Feeding off of the production and content, I just think that FloRacing and High Limit present their content in ways that trigger fan engagement. The “DIRT” documentary that they did prior to the season is coming out with a part 2 that follows along with drivers and their families throughout the season. The pre-race entry lists that they post for upcoming races lets fans know who is coming and could even make someone who was considering staying home end up traveling to the track. This is in no way a shot at WRG, but their content seems repetitive and less-likely to get the same engagement from fans.

One thing that really impressed me throughout the season was the lack of “hiccups” the series had. Sure, there was the Brad Sweet scales incident, the Riverside fence safety issue, the unfortunate track conditions at the Tuscarora 50 and probably a few other blunders, but the fact that I can’t think of that one glaring moment that could have defined their season tells me that they did a good job overall. They didn’t ignore these mistakes, they acknowledged them and made changes. 

Changes?

Changes are already happening in terms of the full-time drivers competing with High Limit. The series comes into the 2025 season with a lot of momentum but also a lot of unknowns. I think it’s safe to say that Brad Sweet, Rico Abreu, Tyler Courtney and Kasey Kahne are returning, but can we truly say that about anyone else? 

• Cory Eliason and RSR have parted ways. It has been said that the no. 8 car he was driving will no longer be on the road. Aaron Reutzel could replace Eliason on the High Limit roster, but nothing is official yet.
• Daison Pursley is replacing Justin Peck in the Buch Motorsports no. 13. They will continue to follow the full schedule.
• Spencer Bayston and CJB Motorsports have parted ways. It is rumored that Justin Peck is replacing Bayston in the no. 5. At this point, it is unclear if the CJB team plans to follow the High Limit schedule again or go back to racing with the Outlaws. NEW: Chase Raudman has now indicated that it might not be finalized that Justin Peck is joining the CJB team and that he is confident they will be staying with High Limit with a driver TBA.
• Corey Day is switching his focus to pavement racing, but a schedule has not been released yet. While all signs are pointing to Spencer Bayston replacing Day, I don’t think anything will be official until we know exactly what Day is doing. I could see a scenario where Day still races ¾ of the season with High Limit if his pavement schedule cooperates. But does that mean they will have two drivers, or does it mean they will have to have someone fill-in as needed?
• Brent Marks has indicated that he is unsure of his plans next season and that he is considering dropping off a national tour. He enjoyed a lot of success when he was racing his own schedule, but with a charter locked up and a $50,000 win to close out the season, Marks could still be on the fence about 2025.
• James McFadden is no longer racing in the states full-time. His Roth Motorsports crew chief, Brent Ventura is also departing from the national scene. That leaves a lot of unknowns with this team.
• Jacob Allen is about to become a father. While he has not indicated what his plans will be next season, I could see this weighing into his decision. Still, we know the Shark Racing guys are absolute dogs built for the road so we will have to wait and see.
• Parker Price-Miller was open about not knowing what his plans are next season. He scratched and clawed his way to the finish line this year, leaving a bunch of questions about 2025.
• Tanner Thorson proved a lot of people wrong when he completed the full schedule this year. But how did that season truly go for him and his team? Was it much harder than expected or was it smoother? Thorson is also a new father and his plans for next season are still unknown.
• Brenham Crouch also indicated that he was unsure of his plans next season. While he will definitely be driving the CMS no. 1, will it be full-time with High Limit?
• Chris Windom struggled for much of the season with the Vermeer team, but I still think we saw improvements from him. Will this team willingly go through another year of struggles as they continue to get better?
• Zeb Wise struggled for much of the season as well. This one was much more surprising and there have been some rumblings about him quitting the 26 ride. Trey Starks driving the Rudeen 26 at Trophy Cup makes things even more interesting. Not only do we not know the future of Zeb, we don’t know the future of Rudeen.

What’s Next?

High Limit needs to provide clarity to teams and drivers about their charter plans. Without having any type of value, teams will be unable to make a reliable decision about who they want to race with. Teams may know more behind the scenes, but nothing has really been made public since before the season started. They need to add a Rookie of the Year award next season that rivals what the World of Outlaws offer. Many drivers looking to make a jump to a national series could be eyeing that lucrative rookie award.

End of Year Stats

Race Count: 53

Avg Car Count: 38.6

Different Winners: 17

Champion: Brad Sweet

Charters: Kasey Kahne Racing 49, Rico Abreu Racing 24, Clauson Marshall Racing 7BC, Roth Motorsports 83, Murray-Marks Motorsports 19