RPW Exclusive: Predicting the 2026 High Limit Racing Season

Column By: SHAUN BLIGHT, JACOB DOVE + DYLAN TERRY / RPW – LAS VEGAS, NV – After RPW’s Shaun Blight, Jacob Dove and Dylan Terry made their World of Outlaws predictions back in February, the trio thought that was only fitting to try their hand at predicting the High Limit Racing season as well. The group is back to give their thoughts on the upcoming 2026 campaign, which gets underway Thursday night in Las Vegas. Thursday’s show kicks off a 3-night slate that serves as the season opening weekend for the 65-race schedule. There are plenty of storylines, question marks and predictions to make heading into the season, so without further ado, let’s get right into it!

Biggest Storyline:

DYLAN: Brad Sweet’s Departure, Who Takes the Reigns? After rumors had swirled throughout last summer, Brad Sweet finally announced his retirement from full-time driving duties during the offseason. This leads to the question of who will take the reigns and be the “poster boy” of High Limit Racing? It seems that the odds on favorite to take on this title would be the defending series champion, and fan-favorite Rico Abreu. Rico will be partnering up with Tony Stewart Racing for the 2026 campaign and is looking to replicate his performance from 2025. He returns his entire crew this season, also adding resources and funding from TSR. This seems to be a match made in heaven, but one knock on Rico is that he tends to have some periodic DNF’s, or nights where the team just struggles in general. Nights such as those can be detrimental to title chances, and the team will need to clean those up in 2026. Keep in mind that during last season, each of Rico’s immediate title contenders (Sweet, Tyler Courtney, and Aaron Reutzel) all missed some starts at one point or another due to injuries that they sustained at some point throughout the season. Sweet even had more Top 5’s (32) last year compared to Rico (26), and Sweet achieved that in one less feature start. Reutzel also had almost as many Top 5’s (23) last year in only 40 starts, which is 10 fewer starts than Rico had. If Reutzel hadn’t missed some time, who knows what could have happened. Courtney and Reutzel are both back to seemingly 100% to start the season, so I feel like this year’s championship battle may be much closer than people are initially thinking. It seemed like Tyler and Aaron were able to have more consistency than the #24 did last year at some points, even though Rico tallied more victories. Assuming that all drivers are able to complete the entirety of the schedule, I wouldn’t be shocked if Sunshine or A-Aron surpass Rico to win the championship this season and become the “poster boy” of High Limit.

JACOB: Rico Abreu and Tony Stewart Racing. Going into the 2026 High Limit Sprint Car Series season with new title sponsor Interstate Batteries, I predict that it will be the tightest points battle yet in High Limit’s third year of existence. With Brad Sweet scaling back from full time racing and the return of many top competitors in the country, High Limit will have an exciting year of racing around the country. The biggest storyline in my opinion going into this year is 2025 champion Rico Abreu out of St. Helena, California joined forces with longtime World of Outlaws team Tony Stewart Racing. Donny Schatz and many other successful drivers were apart of the TSR program, which now makes the switch to High Limit with a new driver in Abreu. Stewart sets his sights on adding a new accomplishment as a car owner, by chasing a High Limit championship for the first time since the team’s inception.

SHAUN: Expect the Unexpected. As Dylan touched on, the biggest story for me this year is who isn’t returning. Brad Sweet’s departure from full-time competition swings the door wide open for a variety of drivers to step up for those wins and points that will now be available to everyone else. Last year’s champion Rico Abreu was certainly aided by an injury to Aaron Reutzel and a season-ending injury to Tyler Courtney which allowed him to pull away for the championship. Not to discredit Rico’s accomplishment, because he will once again be a force to win it in 2026 regardless. Would I be surprised if Tyler Courtney, Aaron Reutzel or Brent Marks take the championship from Rico in 2026? No, and that’s why I’m so looking forward to the upcoming season. Further, the depth of the series is so intriguing. Tanner Thorson was a real force late in the season. Can he build on that and win even more races? What can Daison Pursley do racing for Kasey Kahne Racing?  Can Justin Peck and Rudeen Racing find more consistency and win more races? We will find out starting Thursday night!

Breakthrough Season:

DYLAN: Sye Lynch. Lynch has shown flashes of speed for a number of years now, and especially during his first full-time campaign with High Limit last year. He is a very good qualifier and has presented himself numerous opportunities to have a number of solid finishes or even take home a victory. Usually, the feature is what proves to be the achilles heel for Sye, as the #42 seems to fade in performance or face some kind of controversy whether it be a mechanical gremlin, or even sometimes getting caught up in an accident. I think this will change this season as Lynch returns for his sophomore campaign. Lynch will be returning to a number of tracks that were new to him last season and will have an entire notebook to go off of this time around. In the offseason, he also hired Heath Moyle as his crew chief, which made some waves across the industry. Moyle comes over after spending a number of seasons with fellow “High-Roller” Brent Marks. Moyle brings a wealth of knowledge and a resume filled with accomplishments over the years including a win at the Kings Royal, a Historical Big One title, and multiple National Open victories. Moyle also spent time working with Kasey Kahne Racing, CJB Motorsports and Kyle Larson Racing prior to his time with Marks. If Moyle can get Lynch’s car dialed in for the features and clean up some of the mechanical issues that the team struggled with at points last year, I could certainly see the #42 being a threat this season. Sye has always had speed early on in the evenings, so he just needs to figure out that last piece of the puzzle which is the feature. I feel like this combination could work fairly well and gel with one another very quickly. If this happens, that missing puzzle piece might just happen fall in to place. If that is indeed the case, I envision Sye parking it in victory lane at least once this season to score his first career national touring series victory. I also expect the #42 to improve on their 9th place points finish last year, and I predict the Mosites-Lynch team to at least finish in the Top 7 for the season long standings this year.

JACOB: Tanner Thorson.  A driver I think that will build off of his strong performance in 2025 and have a breakthrough season is Tanner Thorson. The #88 Rod Gross Motorsports team returns once again to compete with High Limit. Thorson has been getting stronger and more consistent behind the wheel of a winged sprint car. For the past couple of seasons Thorson has grinded-out the growing pains of being a full-time driver on a national tour. With 2 High Limit victories last year, I think Thorson will double that with even more wins in 2026.

SHAUN: Sye Lynch. I think Sye and the Mosites-Lynch Racing group are poised and ready for a big year in 2026. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong for them in 2025, and that bad luck simply can’t continue. We saw the team really make strides late in the year, especially at World Finals, and the addition of a full-time crew chief in Heath Moyles is going to take some of the pressure off of Sye and allow him to focus more on just driving the race car. It was the first time that Sye competed on a full-time national tour, and he and his team were tested early and often whether it was being involved in accidents not of their doing, part and engine failures, you name it. If Sye can continue those great qualifying efforts that we saw late in the year, particularly at World Finals in Charlotte, I expect some of those to translate into good finishes, and maybe even race wins. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Sye in Victory Lane more than once in 2026.

Bold Prediction:

DYLAN: Tanner Thorson has 3 or More Wins. Tanner Thorson burst onto the scene in 2025, as he earned his first 2 career High Limit victories. While he struggled early on in the season, from June until the end of the season, he was amongst the front runners on a nightly basis. He showed an immense amount of improvement during his sophomore season, and I think that this trend will continue into his third season on tour with High Limit. He has slowly been building this Rod Gross Motorsports team from the beginning, and now a baseline has been established. This will provide Thorson the opportunity to make slight tweaks in 2026 such as having a greater emphasis on improving their motor program this past offseason, as well as enabling the team to experiment more with other things that could make the #88 faster on a nightly basis. The team purchased a new hauler in the offseason as well, so the morale of the crew is likely to be enhanced, and the excitement for the team seems to be at an all-time high. It seems like everything is starting to finally come together for Thorson and the #88 team and they could make even more waves in 2026. In Thorson’s 99 career starts with High Limit, he has been the “Hard Charger” in 10 of those starts. Evidently, he has the speed during the feature when it counts, so if the team is puts an emphasis on qualifying a bit better, they should start closer to the front on a nightly basis. If this comes to fruition, I could certainly see Thorson taking numerous race wins in 2026.

JACOB: Brenham Crouch and CJB Motorsports get their first High Limit Win.  As far as a bold prediction that might happen this racing season, is Brenham Crouch out of Lubbock, Texas finally getting his first High Limit victory. Crouch enters his second season behind the wheel of the #5 machine for CJB Motorsports. The team’s second car driven by Donny Schatz just picked up their first win as a pairing at the Talladega Short Track with the World of Outlaws this past weekend, and it occurred very early on in their tenure. I’d have to imagine the confidence is high over at the CJB Motorsports shop, as they know both teams are competitive and capable of winning races.

SHAUN: High Limit has 3 First-Time Winners in 2026. Last year saw 3 first-time High Limit Racing winners in Tanner Thorson, Daison Pursley and Danny Sams III. I’m going out on a limb and predict that this statistic will repeat itself in 2026. I’ve got Sye Lynch, Brenham Crouch and Tanner Holmes getting High Limit wins this year. With Heath Moyle on the wrenches this year for Sye Lynch, Donny Schatz helping improve and grow the CJB Motorsports program, and Tanner Holmes running with Buch Motorsports out west at tracks he’s already had success at in his own family car, I can easily see history repeating itself with 3 more first time winners in 2026.

Rookie of the Year:

DYLAN: Tanner Holmes. Holmes joins Buch Motorsports for his first national tour campaign during the 2026 season, as he continues his development. Buch is known for having a number of well-established drivers in the past and has also helped some other “High-Rollers” such as Justin Peck and Daison Pursley put their names on the map throughout the early stages of their respective careers. I could see a similar type of scenario with Holmes in the #13 car for the foreseeable future. Holmes had some very solid performances last season on a part-time basis in the Tarlton #21 machine on the west coast, which is significant as the High Limit schedule features a good chunk of west coast races at facilities Holmes is familiar with. Holmes has speed no doubt, but the knock on him is he seems to put himself in some peculiar positions on the track sometimes. This causes him to make a mistake once in awhile or get caught up in a wreck. If he can clean this aspect up and learn to pick and choose his spots, I feel like he will have the speed and equipment capable of running inside the Top 12 on a nightly basis. Crew Chief Sean Strausbaugh is one of the smartest crew chiefs in the pit area and will be sure to have the #13 dialed in on most nights, so if Tanner gets comfortable quickly, I could see this pairing having success right out of the gates to start the season.

JACOB: Tanner Holmes.  With only two rookies this year on the High Limit tour, I predict that Tanner Holmes will finish ahead of Hank Davis in the points, earning him Rookie of the Year honors. While Davis and the Michael Dutcher owned team have stepped it up equipment-wise to have the opportunity to compete full time on a national tour, I am giving the upper hand to Holmes. The combination of Buch Motorsports along with Holmes’s recent experience, should give the team the edge to compete at racetracks the team are familiar with. The #13 team’s focus will be to make the car comfortable as possible for Holmes to drive in unfamiliar territory this season.

SHAUN: Tanner Holmes. At the risk of being too repetitive, I’ll just say I’m making this unanimous for all of the reasons Dylan and Jacob said. Tanner Holmes is my pick to win Rookie of the Year.

Driver Under the Most Pressure:

DYLAN: Gio Scelzi. Last year’s sprint car “silly season” took off after Scelzi announced his departure from KCP Racing during Kings Royal weekend last July. From there, Scelzi ended up piloting the Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC after Tyler Courtney was injured in a crash which ironically took place later on during that same weekend. Gio got back behind the wheel at the Knoxville Nationals and ran that car through the end of the season. While he did not score a win, he had a few runner up finishes and was able to demonstrate consistency in the process. In 25 starts with High Limit last year, “Hot Sauce” tallied 8 Top 5’s and 14 Top 10’s, which wasn’t bad considering the circumstances. This year, Scelzi is the inaugural driver for Spire Motorsports as they venture from NASCAR to the world of dirt racing. While this team is “new”, certain parts of the crew is not. Scelzi has been on the World of Outlaws tour for the past 3 seasons prior to last year, so he has an immense amount of experience, having raced at many facilities and surfaces throughout the country. Scelzi will also be accompanied by crew chief Eric Prutzman, who was the mastermind behind Brad Sweet’s run of six consecutive championships between the World of Outlaws and High Limit. Having obtained a new primary corporate sponsor of Chili’s, expectations will be at an all-time high for the team’s rookie season on the High Limit tour. I feel like Scelzi will be expected to be in the Top 5 on a nightly basis from the get-go, especially after Spire has made such a huge investment financially while also bringing in an established veteran like Prutzman on the wrenches. The team looked pretty lackluster when they made their debut last weekend at the Talladega Short Track against the World of Outlaws, so hopefully the team will be able to turn it around at Las Vegas and start the High Limit season off on the right foot.

JACOB: Justin Peck.  The driver I think that is probably under the most pressure is Justin Peck with Rudeen Racing. Peck was able to finish 4th in the point standings in 2025 after fellow competitors of Tyler Courtney, Aaron Reutzel, and Brad Sweet sustained injuries down the stretch. While it was still a solid performance by Peck, he would be the first to admit it was short of the expectations that he and the team had, only getting 3 victories. With equipment, resources, and new crew chief added to the team, Peck is determined to make 2026 the year of the #26.

SHAUN: Justin Peck. I’m with Jacob on this one. I think both the driver and the team have a lot to prove in 2026. They were better than they showed, but inconsistency and bad luck brought down what could have been a really great season. Peck was in the hunt to win some big races in 2025 like the Tuscarora 50 and 4 Crown Nationals, only to see the car fade late in the race. After a rough go at Volusia aside from an 8th place finish with the World of Outlaws, Peck and Rudeen once again dominated a few weeks ago out west in the 360 Sprint Car with ASCS just as they had done last year at Volusia. That should get them feeling good about themselves heading into the opening race Thursday night.

2026 Champion:

DYLAN: Tyler Courtney. It seems as if Courtney has already come back with a vengeance in 2026. He ripped off two victories with ASCS at Volusia near the end of January, which were his first two races back behind the wheel of the #7BC since his injury he sustained at Eldora Speedway last July. He obviously is motivated and is excited to be back in the saddle. After knocking off the rust running a few more World of Outlaws shows at Volusia, I think he will be firing on all cylinders by the time the green flag flies at Las Vegas. I think the biggest advantage that Courtney has compared to Rico and Reutzel is the fact that he is already a multi-time champion from his days in the All-Star Circuit of Champions. He knows how to race for points on a nightly basis and has excelled at it throughout the past three seasons. While the team tends to be towards the front of the pack on most evenings, it still seems that they earn a salvageable finish when they do tend to struggle. They also seem to never really have any extraordinary mechanical issues, which is something that both Rico and Reutzel have both endured at different points last season. If Courtney can stay healthy for the entirety of the season, I feel like he will be able to edge out both Rico and Reutzel for his first career High Limit Racing Championship. He may not have as many wins as those two drivers at season’s end, but throughout the course of the entire season, my money is on Courtney to take home the title solely based on the team’s ability to demonstrate consistency better than their competition.

JACOB: Rico Abreu.  The biggest question for this year’s High Limit season is if Rico Abreu can go back-to-back and add another championship to his trophy case. As Abreu seems to be the odds on favorite at the moment, I would have to agree. Abreu was able to win a title in his own equipment along with being tasked to obtain sponsorship himself. The weight of that task will be somewhat taken off of Abreu’s shoulders by joining Tony Stewart Racing, and will allow Rico to focus more on just driving. The relationship between Abreu and Stewart goes back over a decade. Stewart’s confidence in Abreu and crew chief Ricky Warner should help propel the #24 team to success throughout the season against tough competition.

SHAUN: Aaron Reutzel. How often doing a season preview do you get 3 people picking 3 different champions? That’s what makes this upcoming season so exciting for me. Aaron Reutzel is my championship pick for High Limit Racing in 2026 because his 2025 season proved just how dangerous he is even when everything goes wrong. Despite an injury-shortened year, Reutzel still finished with 7 wins, 23 Top 5’s, and 32 Top 10s in only 40 features, He would have been a threat for the title had he completed the full season, and I think a healthy and motivated Reutzel is something that the rest of the field is going to have to deal with on a nightly basis. He fully embraces the “villian” role, and isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers and drive aggressively when he needs to. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny his talent and drive to be the best.

Top 5 Points Predictions:

DYLAN: 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Rico Abreu, 3. Aaron Reutzel, 4. Brent Marks, 5. Daison Pursley.

JACOB: 1. Rico Abreu , 2. Aaron Reutzel, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Brent Marks, 5.Justin Peck.

SHAUN: 1. Aaron Reutzel, 2. Rico Abreu, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Justin Peck, 5. Brent Marks