DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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A franchise sale, the Carson Macedo scenario, and High Limit forcing tough decisions | Daily 11-13-2025
Brad Sweet, Kyle Larson, and their High Limit sprint car series releases more franchise information, payouts, and what the path and payouts would be for teams looking to get a franchise in the future. These numbers will certainly make a lot of sprint car teams ponder their futures. We'll dive in today, share the details, talk the Jason Meyers franchise sale, and more. Let's go!
It's Thursday, November 13th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.
This coming Saturday, November 15th, is the final 410 sprint car race of the season, and it's happening at BAPS Motor Speedway in Pennsylvania. If you aren't nearby, you can grab a streaming pass at sprintcarunlimited.tv. The Sprint Showdown is $10,000 to win, and the field should be very good. Names to watch include Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, Chase Dietz, Brent Marks and more local Posse favorites. You'll also see Tanner Holmes in the Buch 13, Spencer Bayston in the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall 17, Sye Lynch, and more. Hot lap time trials begin at 2:15PM eastern, with racing at 3. The undercard includes 358 modifieds, plus big car and small car enduros. And besides regular grandstand tickets, BAPS will have the infield open for viewing and parking. Find more event info and purchase tickets at bapsmotorspeedway.com. And if you can't be there, watch the action live at sprintcarunlimited.tv. That's sprintcarunlimited.tv for 410s at BAPS on Saturday.
Earlier this afternoon, High Limit released some important details about their franchise and non-franchise setup for 2026. The bulk of this stuff was not really new, but we see it formalized for the first time which team gets which payout for next year. We already knew the dollar amounts from the announcement back in March, and once the season ended, it wouldn't have been tough to do the math to line up who gets what. But they did give us this handy graphic that shows everything. They are calling this the High Roller Club, and based on the two year average finishes from 2024 and 2025, these are the franchise values for 2026. So what does this all mean? These amounts are effectively the point fund and tow money combined, and these amounts will be paid to teams at regular intervals through the season. In a more traditional setup, like High Limit had previously, and like the Outlaws have, teams get their tow money through the year, but the point fund cash is distributed at season's end. With the franchise deal, that is no more. As you see here, Rico Abreu's team gets $425,000, the KKR team that was driven by Brad Sweet is $350,000, Clauson Marshall gets $300,000 and so on. With High Limit, gone are the days of racing all season for a point fund. Now, these positions and payouts will shift each year, based on the previous two years' results. To give you an idea of how this compares to the Outlaws' payouts in 2025, here's what that looks like. These numbers for the Outlaws figure in the point fund, exclusivity bonus, and I figured just under $57,000 for each team in tow money. That $406 number at the top should be a pretty damn close approximation of what Big Game Motorsports and driver David Gravel earned this year, which is obviously in addition to their prize money, which sprintcarratings.com has at just a tick under $600,000. So a million dollar year for Gravel. Buddy Kofoid also across a million as well. One more note, the Outlaws also pay additional bonuses to the teams for things like social media promotion, video game sales, and the new trading card program. But, as you can see by the top ten comparison, things are the most different between the two series for positions two through nine. High Limit will pay significantly more for those spots than the Outlaws did this year. This isn't a direct, apples to apples comparison though, because these are the 2026 High Limit numbers, and we don't yet know what the Outlaw numbers for next year are. There are rumors of more being added to the point, but no clarity on it yet. I just did this to give you a better overall picture and context.
What I think is more interesting in High Limit's release today are the details on future franchise awards, and the money available to non-franchise teams. After the announcement back in March, we knew that up to an additional five franchises could be awarded for the 2028 season, based on performances from 2026 and 2027. This announcement now clarifies that path for new teams, or current teams that haven't yet earned a franchise. It says quote "To secure permanent membership, prospective teams must maintain perfect attendance for both seasons and either: (1) finish in the top three of the 2026 or 2027 point standings, or (2) place among the top eight in both seasons. If more than five teams qualify, tiebreakers will determine the final selections. Any remaining cards will be retained by Kubota High Limit Racing" unquote. So perfect attendance, and one top three point finish, or two top eight point finishes. Based on those requirements, it seems likely that less than five franchises will be awarded for 2028, and it's probably more likely it's something like two. That's a guess on my part just going on vibes. Those non-franchise teams will be racing for what the series is calling the Joker Fund, with that potentially worth up to $1.2 million. We don't have a complete breakdown on that fund yet, but it does say if you win the title in 2026 or 2027, that non-franchise team will earn $350,000. So not quite as good as winning the Outlaw title, or being the top High Limit franchise team, but still very good. I am hoping to get more details on the Joker Fund soon, so stay tuned there. For teams outside the franchise list that are either looking at coming back to High Limit, think Chase Randall, Sye Lynch, Danny Sams, OR teams looking to join as new signees, this is what they have to consider. Carson Macedo and the JJR 41 are getting thrown around a lot in rumors here as a possible flipper, so this is what's possible. Could they come to High Limit next year, win the the title, race again in 2027 and make $500 or $600,000 total over the two years, be the top team on average, and guarantee themselves a franchise for 2028. They would then be in position for the $600,000 payout for that 2028 season as the top High Limit team. There are a lot of what-ifs in there, but it is a possible scenario. Between the schedule and these payout numbers, this is the calculus facing sprint car teams going forward. Based on your potential, which side does it make more sense to race with.
Related here as well, is the future of the Jason Meyers franchise. As the list shows, that one is worth $240,000 in payouts next year. As we've been saying for a while, that franchise is headed for Spire Motorsports who will pair Gio Scelzi and Eric Prutzman for 2026. I have heard the franchise was indeed sold, and not leased. We don't know what the sale amount was, but based on these payout numbers, it certainly wasn't less than $240,000. If you were selling a business, you'd be looking at a sale price that was some multiple of yearly earnings. Even at a 1.5 multiple, that's $360,000. I'm not saying that's what Meyers got, but we can certainly speculate. I don't know when the Spire announcement will come, but it feels like anytime between now and at the PRI show. Getting a six figure payout though for a franchise this early in the process has to be a win for High Limit, Brad Sweet, Kyle Larson, and their FloRacing partners.
We'll close out the week here on the show and talk about the racing coming up over the next few days. The FloRacing Night in America Series closes out their 2025 schedule Friday and Saturday night at Senoia Raceway in Georgia. Bobby Pierce the current points lead by 48 over Jonathan Davenport, with Ricky Thornton Jr. third, 96 points behind. RTJ and fourth place Hudson O'Neal are still mathematically alive, but them overtaking both of the top two is unlikely. There is practice at the track tonight, and there should be a lot of good cars there. $20 grand to win Friday, and $30 grand to win on Saturday.
From there, some teams will drive a few hours up the road to Cherokee Speedway in South Carolina to race on Sunday. The Freddy Smith Memorial pays $15,000 to win.
Out in California, the USAC midgets being their final push to the end, with seven races over the next two weeks. That includes this weekend's Hangtown 100 at Placerville, then Plaza Park, Tulare, Merced, Kern, and Ventura for Turkey Night. Outside of USAC regulars, this weekend's entry list includes some big names, including Kyle Larson, Corey Day, Carson Macedo, Daison Pursley, Buddy Kofoid, Shane Golobic, and Santino Ferrucci. The championship is anything but decided, with the top five separated by 120 points. Cannon McIntosh, Justin Grant, Kevin Thomas Jr., Jacob Denney, and Gavin Miller are all still in contention.
Your final chance to see 410 sprint cars is Saturday at BAPS, as I mentioned off the top of the show. After Saturday, your only option until 2026 is Australia. Other sprint car options this week include the ASCS National Tour finale at Creek County. Sam Hafertepe Jr. is headed for that title over Matt Covington and Blake Hahn. You've also got 360s at Vado, and 360s at Riverside.
That's all for this week. Appreciate the support as always. Don't forget to hit the streaming schedule at dirtrackr.com/watchtonight for your daily viewing options.
Hope you guys have a great Thursday and a great weekend out there, we'll see you back here on Sunday!