Larson 57
Kyle Larson, shown at Eldora Speedway. (Frank Smith photo)
Other Sprint Cars

Larson Opens Up About High Limit, All Star Plans

October 28, 2023

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kyle Larson has made a great career and good living from driving race cars at any level.

And he wants to ensure that grassroots racers and sprint car drivers can enjoy an even better career in the future.

That is why the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and fellow sprint car driver Brad Sweet acquired the All Star Circuit of Champions from fellow racer and three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.

Larson and Sweet have owned and operated the High Limit Sprint Car Series the past two years. On Oct. 23, they were successful in closing a deal with Stewart for the All Star Circuit of Champions to create an even bigger series in 2024.

Larson spoke about his plans to a small group of reporters Saturday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway after he made his qualification attempt for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 race. The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet qualified fifth fastest with a lap at 93.854 mph around the paperclip-shaped short track in Southern Virginia.

The Elk Grove, Calif., native is at the peak of his racing career, but he sees an even brighter future for sprint car drivers throughout the country. He is using his influence, expertise and racing wealth to help make that a reality.

“I want what is best for the sport,” Larson told a small group of reporters. “We want the best for the sport. We wouldn’t have gotten this series if we didn’t want what is best for the sport. It’s hard to predict the future and how that is going to look. I love dirt track racing.

“That’s my whole goal of this is to continue to grow it and get it to a place where it deserves to be and where the teams and drivers can make a good living. We’ll see how it all shakes out. I don’t think any of us know at this point. I do know I want the best for the sport just like we all do.”

The details, however, remain a work in progress. Larson is hoping to continue to pay big money for more races.

“Our goal is to definitely raise the purses,” Larson said. “Any time you buy something, you want to make it better or more lucrative for the teams involved. That is our goal. There is more risk on our end from a much larger schedule that we will hopefully have. But again, Brad Sweet and I and everybody involved in High Limit want the best for sprint car racing and our goal is to put it there.”

Larson spent a few days with Sweet earlier this week and said the plans change daily.

He doesn’t have a good answer about the schedule, but said it will “definitely be more than 11 races.”

“Whatever our full schedule ends up being, the priority of ours’ is we want to maintain the mid-week races,” Larson said. “The more mid-week races we have, the more I opportunity I have to race. And the viewership of the midweek stuff has been really good. That is a priority of ours. But it’s difficult to put a schedule together and have it logically make sense for everybody.

“I’ll be very involved in it, but we will have good people in place to take care of the majority of it.”

This year, Larson and Sweet’s High Limit Sprint Car Series featured 12 mid-week races. Their goal was to elevate sprint car racing for the competitors, the teams and the fans.

Meanwhile, Stewart was the fourth different owner since the All-Star Circuit of Champions was created in 1970. He wanted to increase purses for the teams while expanding across the country.

“When I purchased the All Stars in 2015, my intention was to unite what had become a divided class of regional 410 winged sprint car racing,” Stewart said on Oct. 23. “Over the last nine years, not only have we unified, but we also pushed the boundaries on our geographic footprint, purse structure and race format, while providing a series that has groomed young talent and provided a continued course for our seasoned veteran drivers.

“I am extremely proud of our accomplishments. We have developed great relationships with corporate partners, tracks, promoters, team owners and drivers, all of which have contributed to the success of the All Star Series. The time is right to pass the torch to Kyle and Brad. I have had many conversations with them both on their overall vision for 410 racing and I am confident that with their leadership, the sport will continue to thrive into the foreseeable future.  

“I am honored to have my name listed next to Bud Miller, Bert & Brigitte Emick and Guy Webb as one of four to have owned the All Stars since 1970. I certainly need to recognize and thank our employees. Our series directions Don Grabey, Eric Walls and Kevin Nouse, have all contributed immensely to the series and to the sport.

“The series director role is a thankless job and I appreciate their efforts. Blake Anderson and Ross Paulson are our longest tenured employees, having been with the All Stars since the inception of my ownership. Their enthusiasm and dedication to the All Stars and 410 racing are unparalleled.

“Kenny (Osborne), Erin (Noel), John (Menear), Tyler (Altmeyer), Steve (Topper), Gooch (Jeff Patterson) and Logan (Nouse) were the most recent part of the integral team that allowed us to remain humbly successful over the course of nearly a decade.  I look forward to our final banquet in December to celebrate with all our constituents.”

At the time of the announcement, Larson also paid homage to what Stewart has meant to the world of sprint car racing throughout the country.

“Sprint car racing is in a better place today because of the contributions Tony (Stewart) has made, including his ownership of the All Stars,” Larson said. “His commitment to giving back to the sport has been an inspiration to me, personally. Brad and I share his passion for making the business side of the sport better for teams, drivers and sponsors and we’re thankful for Tony’s trust in us to carry on what he started.” 

A larger schedule with more races and bigger purses for all is something that Larson envisions for the combined series.

“I would like to see where drivers can challenge for $3 million in a season instead of $500,000 for a season,” Larson said. “Both numbers are good money, but I think most racers would like to have a chance at $3 million.”

That is Larson’s dream, but a lot of work remains to make it a reality.