Column: High Limit Racing Set To Duel In Arizona’s Desert For The First Time This Weekend

Column By: BRIAN WALKER / HIGH LIMIT RACING – CASA GRANDE, AZ – After starting in Las Vegas and sweeping through California, Arizona is next on the docket for Kubota High Limit Racing’s 2025 campaign.

The Avanti Duel in the Desert brings the series to Central Arizona Raceway for the first time ever this weekend with a two-day show scheduled at the Casa Grande, AZ facility on Friday and Saturday, March 28-29.

In the ballpark of 30-ish sprint cars are expected with a wide cast of characters vying to become the fifth and potentially sixth different winner of the season with Kubota High Limit Racing. The likes of Corey Day, Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet, and Aaron Reutzel have opened the year with four different winners in the opening four races.

For the series and a large majority of the High Rollers, Central Arizona is a brand new track to tackle, so let’s look at what’s on the table as we go south of Phoenix this weekend:

NO MORE DROUGHT IN THE DESERT: Arizona has a decades-long deep relationship with winged sprint car racing, but it’s been a long six years since the last national touring series race in “The Valley of the Sun.” With Kubota High Limit Racing coming to Casa Grande’s Central Arizona Raceway this Friday and Saturday, that drought thankfully ends this weekend.

Race fans in “The Grand Canyon State” are no stranger to the stars and cars of winged sprint cars, having seen 54 World of Outlaws races over the years at five different venues. Phoenix’s Manzanita Speedway is the most well-known facility on the list but there were also events at Tucson’s USA Raceway, Queen Creek’s Arizona Speedway, Yuma’s Cocopah Speedway, and Chandler’s Firebird International Raceway.

This weekend, Casa Grande’s Central Arizona Raceway will etch their name into the record books as the track that brings Kubota High Limit Racing to AZ for the first time in series history.

PODIUM PERFECTION: The defending Kubota High Limit Racing champions continue to prove they’re still the team to beat in 2025. Through the opening four rounds, the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 driven by Brad Sweet, has found the podium in every single race. There was a third at Las Vegas, a second at Tulare, a win at Kern, and another third at Perris.

The early-season success from “The Big Cat” has built a 45-point advantage over Clauson-Marshall Racing and Tyler Courtney as the series begins to head back east. The Grass Valley, CA native will face another new track this weekend as he races at Central Arizona Raceway for the first time in his career. Fear not for the No. 49, for they debuted at Kern last week and promptly won in their first try.

Sweet is already a two-time winged 410 winner in Arizona, having won World of Outlaws races at USA Raceway in 2014 and 2019.

MIND THE GAP: To stay in the title fight with Sweet and KKR, one must stay within reach as the season progresses. In the opening four races, they’ve built a 45-point gap over Tyler Courtney’s No. 7BC, a 54-point lead over Brent Marks’ No. 19, a 66-point margin over Rico Abreu’s No. 24, and a 77-point advantage over Aaron Reutzel’s No. 87. As the No. 49 visits a new track, Central Arizona could provide an opportunity to pounce on “The Big Cat.”

For “Sunshine” Tyler Courtney, the only area you can pinpoint where the points are disappearing is Sweet’s unrivaled consistency on the podium. Behind Brad, Courtney is the only other driver to finish top-10 in all four of the opening races with results of 4th, 9th, 6th, 7th.

In Brent Marks’ case, escaping California with runs of 3rd at Kern and 4th at Perris felt like a win for the Pennsylvania native who has long not seen eye-to-eye with the unique style of “Golden State” dirt tracks. At only 54-points behind following what was thought to be a daunting swing, Marks can really hone in on being the consistent finisher he’s known to be.

The stem of Rico Abreu’s distance can be traced back to Kern last week when the No. 24 was innocently caught in an opening-lap crash after starting ninth. He ultimately limped it home for 29 laps and finished 18th, a move that the now-veteran points racer understands gained him 12 points in the season-long battle over just giving up and accepting a DNF.

Aaron Reutzel’s gap was there from the start, suffering a mechanical failure in the opening laps of Las Vegas’ opener – while Reutzel was taken to the hospital and Justin Sanders subbed for him, the Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87 was still competing for owner championship points. His win at Perris Auto Speedway last weekend proved he’s already bounced back and looks to be a threat all season long.

LEARNING LESSONS: Each of the four Rayce Rudeen Foundation Rookie of the Year contenders have shown their own flashes of speed and moments of brilliance in the young Kubota High Limit Racing season, but there have also been trials and tribulations of figuring out points racing with a national touring series for the first time, too.

Chase Randall, the 20-year-old native of Waco, Texas, has jumped out to the early lead for ROTY honors in his family-owned Albaugh No. 9R. A pair of Dash appearances in California, highlighted by a season-best effort of sixth at Tulare have been the most notable performances for the kid they call “The Quickest Chicken.”

Danny Sams III, the 23-year-old native of North Port, Florida, has been easing into the process as he encounters nothing but new tracks to start his first year on tour. The No. 24D – with mom and dad working on the car – has earned three top-15 results including a hard-charging run from 23rd-to-14th last week at Perris.

Sye Lynch, the 27-year-old native of Apollo, Pennsylvania, has fought some early-season demons on his adventure out west and it’s nowhere indicative of the speed in his No. 42. He made back-to-back Dash appearances at Tulare and Kern, but his night was over by the time they hit the backstretch on the opening lap of the A-Main each time. The luck has to turn around at some point, and it could be this weekend.

Daison Pursley, the 20-year-old native of Locust Grove, Oklahoma, is still understanding the little things about winged sprint car racing – being the truest rookie of all four with around 30 career starts with a wing. The Buch Motorsports No. 13 has rolled out of the box fast, but the smallest of margin errors racing in traffic led to three DNF’s through California. They look to get back on their feet as we head to Central Arizona.

FOLLOWING ALONG: Outside of the 14 full-time High Rollers, another six teams have followed Kubota High Limit Racing from the season-opener in Las Vegas, through the state of California, and now into Arizona – maintaining perfect attendance through the opening six shows in 2025.

Tanner Holmes, of Jacksonville, OR, and California-based Tarlton Racing have made the most noise together – most notably with top-five performances at Tulare and Kern before contending for the win at Perris. If not for blowing a right rear tire while running second at Perris, the Tarlton No. 21 would’ve went to Arizona sitting runner-up in the championship standings behind Sweet’s No. 49. Look for this new combination to remain a factor with the series this weekend in Arizona.

The highest in points of those six outsiders making the trip to Arizona, however, is Kaleb Montgomery of Templeton, California. The one-man band, who does almost everything on his No. 3 car by himself, has used finishes of 13th, 11th, 11th, and fifth to slot himself sixth in the championship standings – ahead of notables like Aaron Reutzel, Kasey Kahne, Justin Peck, Chase Randall, Tanner Thorson, and Spencer Bayston. In fact, he wasn’t even planning on heading east to Central Arizona or Vado until extra sponsorship made it happen.

Austin McCarl of Altoona, IA is right in the mix as well in his Country Builders No. 88. “The Big Unit” has gone QuickTime, won Heat Races, made Dash appearances, and earned career-best finishes on the podium thus far into 2025 with High Limit. He plans to follow the series another week as we fly through Arizona and then New Mexico on his route back to the Iowa shop.

The likes of Robbie Price’s No. 21, Joe Perry’s No. 28, and the JFM No. 73 – split by Brady Bacon and Ryan Bernal – have also been along for the whole ride and will head to Arizona this weekend.