EAGLE, Neb. — The second of six live televised events for Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing comes this Tuesday, April 21 as the series once again spotlights the intensity and drama of sprint car racing to the masses on FS1.
Dubbed the Speedway Motors Spring Jackpot, roughly 40 cars are expected to compete in what marks the second of 16 rounds in the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series.
It’s the first of two events for the series at Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway, which also hosts the famed $50,000-to-win FK Rod Ends Eagle Nationals on Tuesday, June 9.
Fresh off a trip to “The Diamond of Dirt Tracks” at Missouri’s Lucas Oil Speedway, veteran Kerry Madsen enters Eagle as the most recent series winner while young guns Sye Lynch and Tanner Holmes followed him with their first podiums of the season.
In the grand scheme of the championship chase, Tanner Thorson continues to lead Aaron Reutzel by 27 points.
WIDE VARIETY
When you come to “One Badass Racetrack,” as they call Eagle Raceway, you never know what you’re going to get – other than constant thrills.
After three Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing events at the Nebraska bullring, there have been eight different podium finishers with Kyle Larson being the only repeat runner — he’s not expected to race on Tuesday, however.
With a new winner almost guaranteed – unless Buddy Kofoid makes the last-minute decision to compete — the favorites would appear to be Rico Abreu, Giovanni Scelzi, Brad Sweet, and Aaron Reutzel. Those are the only four in the field to previously have finished on the podium with High Limit at Eagle.
INVADERS TO WATCH
Along with the usual suspects of 15 full-time High Rollers, there’s a handful of other notable drivers in what is nearly a 40-car field for Tuesday’s Speedway Motors Spring Jackpot.
• Brad Sweet, the 2024 High Limit champion, will unload the Silva Motorsports No. 94 for the first time this season as he also makes his maiden voyage to the Midwest this year.
“The Big Cat” ran five events on the west coast in the Kevin Kozlowski owned ‘W’ and took home two NARC 410 wins in California to go with two top fives in Arizona with High Limit.
• Corey Day, who currently sits fourth in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series points, is trading the Hendrick Motorsports No. 17 for the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14 as he climbs back into a sprint car.
“Payday,” who already has one High Limit win on the year at Las Vegas, provided plenty of thrills last year at Eagle when he went toe-to-toe with Kofoid before going for a big flip.
• Garet Williamson, the lone World of Outlaws regular who’s announced his intentions to race, will be aboard the Fischer Motorsports No. 23. The Columbia, Mo., native is currently seventh in Outlaw points with six top-10 finishes and a top-five run at Talladega (Ala.) to his credit this year. He’s made two previous tries at Eagle with High Limit, finishing a best of 12th last year.
• Logan Seavey’s downtime from USAC adventures continue as he’s back in the CB Industries owned Freeway Insurance, Spire Motorsports No. 87x.
This pairing turned plenty of heads in the last Roto-Rooter Midweek Series event, running as high as second at Vado Speedway Park last month. Believe it or not, the only time the Sutter, Calif., native has raced at Eagle in the past came in a late model when he ran 13th with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
• Ryan Timms was almost single handedly the show when he went top shelf and flew through the field at the close of Vado’s show last month. The reigning Knoxville Nationals champion ended up finishing third that night aboard the Liebig Motorsports No. 10. The Oklahoma City native is back with High Limit at Eagle where he still chases his first top-10 outing.
STREAKING
Following Tanner Thorson’s 11th-place run on Saturday at Lucas Oil Speedway, Giovanni Scelzi is the only driver to finish top-10 in all nine Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing events this season.
He’s on an 11-race top-10 streak which ranks as the seventh-longest in the young history of the series. The record he’s chasing is 17-straight top-10s set by Brad Sweet in early 2024.
However, amidst the streak, which has propelled the Spire Motorsports, Chili’s Grill & Bar No. 77 to fourth in points, “Hot Sauce” has yet to win and snap a year-long dry spell from victory lane. Tuesday’s trip to Eagle could be the place he needs to make that happen as he owns solid runs of third, eighth, and ninth in his previous trips to the Nebraska track.
WEEKEND WINNERS
A pair of High Rollers stole the headlines over the weekend by winning both of the two national events contested between Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing and the World of Outlaws.
On Saturday, 55-year-old Kerry Madsen took his Vermeer Motorsports No. 55 to High Limit victory lane for the first time in his hall of fame worthy career.
“The Mad Man” led all 30 laps at Lucas Oil Speedway to become the 25th winner in series history, and the second Australian on that list. He’ll be one of the good ones at Eagle on Tuesday, where he’s won in a 360 and owns multiple 410 top fives.
On Sunday, “Sunshine” Tyler Courtney earned his first 410 win since his traumatic injury last summer at Eldora Speedway. The Clauson-Marshall Racing driver beat Buddy Kofoid for the World of Outlaws win at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway. He’ll chase his first High Limit win of the year on Tuesday at Eagle, where he’s finished sixth and fifth in previous years.
