The last couple of days have seen a flurry of news from the Brad Sweet and Kyle Larson-owned High Limit Sprint Car Series. The tour that ran eleven midweek shows(one rainout) with significant payouts featured top stars such as Larson and Rico Abreu running all of the races as well as numerous other big names dropping in from time to time. But as has been well documented recently, the new series has expanded significantly by acquiring the All Star Circuit of Champions and bringing on FloSports/FloRacing as an investing partner.
Brad Sweet
The key players with High Limit hosted an online press conference on Wednesday to address a number of issues and questions surrounding the circuit’s expansion. Sweet and Larson were joined on the teleconference by FloSports executive Phil Wendler.
“Excited for the future and excited with what we have going on with FloRacing,” Sweet declared in his opening remarks. “We’re excited to showcase some of the plans that Kyle and I have.”
Wendler described the perspective of Flo going into the arrangement and explained why the company was willing to make an investment in the relatively new racing series.
“This Is a big week for FloSports and FloRacing,” Wendler began. “So why invest and take an ownership position with High Limit? It really comes down to Kyle and Brad, two of the most decorated and talented drivers in North America. But really, the dynamic vision they had for High Limit Racing and how it’s designed to grow the sport and how it’s aligned with our mission. It’s fresh, it’s innovative, it’s infectious, it’s an approach we’ve seen fans and drivers really lean into. There’s no better way to build FloRacing as a No. 1 destination in motorsports. We want to have a top series, the top drivers, the top tracks across all segments that we invest in motorsports.”
The executive went on to add that Flo is completely committed to the new partnership.
“We want to be very comprehensive in how we invest in partnerships like this,” he insisted. “Elevating the production, we’ve hired a lot of new people here at FloSports on the production side. There’s more storytelling that we’ve got to do here on a daily basis. It gives us a greater opportunity to engage fans.”
It could be seen as a big risk to make such a bold move with a series that has only just completed its first full season of competition. That is especially true when it is considered that the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is so deeply entrenched in this form of motorsports.
Larson believes the new series was in the right position at the right time to make the move.
Kyle Larson
“Once we got going with our midweek series we had this season we instantly had a lot of eyes on us and we had a lot of momentum going. Then we were approached about acquiring the All Stars, that was pretty early on and it kind of slowly went from there,” the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champions explained. “Our brand had grown so quickly that the right opportunity for us was to move forward like we are.”
Sweet, who just won his fifth consecutive WoO Sprint Car championship this past weekend at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, will run the entire High Limit schedule with his Kasey Kahne Racing team in 2024. When asked, he described the feedback he has received from the World of Outlaws regarding the move.
“I felt like they were taking like it was a personal attack but I assured them it was more of a business decision on my part,” Sweet said. “I have no ill feelings toward them. They don’t love what we’re doing, it’s pretty obvious from some of the comments they’ve made. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to do what’s best for us.”
One of the topics that came up was the likelihood of High Limit running companion events with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on the 2024 schedule. Both entities are featured as headline shows for FloRacing.com.
“Obviously with Lucas Oil Late Models being on Flo, (LOLMDS Director)Rick Schwallie has been a decent mentor for us,” Sweet pointed out. “Some of the things we’ve talked about as far as part of the partnership, it’s an alliance where we’re together on our scheduling, is being aware of where each other are at and exploring doing more of these events together. I think you’ll see multiple events with the High Limit Sprint Car Series and the Lucas Oil Late Models on the same track on the same weekend.”
Kyle Larson in a Sprint Car
Not only will Larson compete in many of the High Limit races, but he plans to continue steering a Late Model whenever possible as well.
“I’m going to race as much as I can in whatever type of car I can,” Larson stated. “I think you guys have seen that with my schedule the past few years, I don’t miss too many events whether it be Late Model or Sprint Car when my schedule allows. That’s the plan, for me to race High Limit or Lucas Oil or Outlaw Sprint Car races or Outlaw Late Model races and USAC races. My brand is to race and to grow the sport that I love so much with me being there. I plan on still racing as much as I can also without burning myself out. The NASCAR stuff takes priority over everything so it’s hard for me to ever commit to races knowing that stuff might pop up.”
Kyle Larson in a Late Model
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series are both broadcast on the DirtVision.com streaming platform.
FloRacing was already providing live airings of the High Limit Sprint Car Series and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The move to invest in High Limit and help it expand into a national tour now gives Flo the same ability to market the fact that it has big time Late Model and big time Sprint Car racing not only to subscribers but to advertisers as well.
Sweet says he hopes to have the High Limit schedule by the time of the PRI Show in early December. That slate will offer approximately 8-10 midweek events as well as about 40 other races.
Please consider also reading:
Respond to this post on Twitter by following @RichardAllenIDR and @MichaelRMoats or by liking the InsideDirtRacing.com Facebook page.
Also, NASCAR and pavement racing fans can check out InsideCircleTrack.com
