Early in the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing season, Central Arizona Raceway was expanded into a three-day Casa Grande special that paired High Limit’s Cactus Classic with NHRA’s Arizona Nationals. The weekend featured additional marquee drivers: six-time national champion Brad Sweet teamed with Paul Silva in Kevin Kozlowski’s W car, and USAC Triple Crown champion Logan Seavey made his High Limit debut in Chad Boat’s CB Industries No. 87, a separate entry from Aaron Reutzel’s Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87.

Rico Abreu won the Cactus Classic opener at Central Arizona Raceway, taking the lead on the final restart at Lap 14 and pulling away to a 2.697-second victory over Tanner Thorson, with Daison Pursley third. The win — Abreu’s first for Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing and the 26th of his career — produced the fourth different winner in as many races this season.

After four of 64 races, Tanner Thorson leads the championship with 272 points and Rico Abreu is second with 263; Thorson’s runner-up finish extended his streak of top-five results. Earlier Las Vegas events produced wins for Kyle Larson, Corey Day and Aaron Reutzel; Reutzel (Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87) finished 10th, 2nd and 1st in the opening three races and briefly held the early points lead — two points ahead of Thorson and 16 ahead of Abreu, with Giovanni Scelzi and Tyler Courtney 24 points back. The Cactus Classic result shifted those early standings, underscoring how the expanded Arizona weekend and added entries have affected the early-season pecking order.

Central Arizona Raceway is expanding the Cactus Classic into a three-day Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing special running Thursday through Saturday, creating a doubleheader with the NHRA Arizona Nationals. The format pairs morning and afternoon drag racing at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler with evening sprint car programs in Casa Grande; the opening Cactus Classic will include crossover filming and appearances by visiting NHRA stars as organizers seek to emphasize fan engagement by stacking sprint car nights alongside the marquee NHRA weekend. Several NHRA names — including J.R. Todd, Ron Capps, Maddi Gordon and Matt Hagan — are slated to attend the opener.

On the NHRA side, the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge returns to the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park as part of the 41st annual FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs. The Saturday qualifying bonus event is in its fourth year and is run at 13 regular-season races; Josh Hart, the Top Fuel points leader, is seeking his first Mission #2Fast2Tasty victory in a rematch with Antron Brown, while rookie Maddi Gordon will make her Mission bonus-race debut against reigning world champion Doug Kalitta, who won the overall Mission title and five bonus races last year. Funny Car rematches include Chad Green versus Jordan Vandergriff, and past Phoenix winners J.R. Todd (2024) and Alexis DeJoria (2023) are scheduled to race each other. The Pro Stock entry list features Dallas Glenn, Greg Anderson, area native Matt Hartford and six-time world champion Erica Enders, who is paired with Greg Anderson, and the event is promoted as the “Duel in the Desert.” NHRA officials also said Arizona Nationals start times will shift earlier because of expected heat as NHRA marks its 75th anniversary season.

The High Limit series arrives with recent Las Vegas winners Kyle Larson, Corey Day and Aaron Reutzel; Reutzel’s 10th-2nd-1st sequence has put him atop the early-season High Limit standings in the No. 87 Ridge & Sons Racing entry, with Tanner Thorson two points behind and Rico Abreu, Giovanni Scelzi and Tyler Courtney following. The High Limit series lists fifteen full-time teams; ten of those teams have High Roller Club membership while five teams are jockeying for “Joker Fund” access with Kerry Madsen leading that chase. Notable driver moves include six-time champion Brad Sweet returning from retirement for a roughly 30–40 race part-time program with Paul Silva and Kevin Kozlowski after a February NARC 410 feature win, and Logan Seavey running roughly 15–20 winged events in Chad Boat’s CB Industries No. 87 in partnership with Spire Motorsports.

Kyle Larson won the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing season opener at the SugarBee Blackjack Bash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, edging Corey Day by 0.096 seconds to take the 25-lap feature. Larson drove the Silva No. 57 and prevailed in a dramatic photo finish.

Larson advanced from fourth with a two-for-one pass on Lap 11 and then executed a turn-one slide job on Lap 18 to take the lead from Giovanni Scelzi; Day followed Larson around Scelzi a lap later to set up the close finish. Scelzi, who started on the outside pole in the Spire No. 77, controlled the opening 17 laps and finished third, putting him in the de facto early championship lead. The race featured aggressive passing and tight competition through the closing laps.

The victory was Larson’s 10th career High Limit win, moving him to fourth on the series’ all-time list behind Rico Abreu (25), Brad Sweet (14) and Corey Day (11). It was Larson’s first win at the Las Vegas dirt facility and his second career season-opening triumph. Corey Day, driving the No. 14 for Meyers Racing, finished second; Brent Marks, Tanner Thorson, Ryan Timms, Rico Abreu, Kerry Madsen, James McFadden and Aaron Reutzel rounded out the top 10.

High Limit Racing returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week for the SugarBee Blackjack Bash, kicking off a 2026 season defined by an expanded coast-to-coast campaign, a new title sponsor and beefed-up broadcast coverage. After a five-month off-season the series rolled out its largest-ever slate — 64 races at 34 tracks across 22 states — and announced Interstate Batteries as the 2026 title sponsor. The season’s media plan includes six live telecasts on FS1 and three simulated broadcasts on the NASCAR Channel, part of an effort to use higher-profile broadcast windows to grow the series’ reach.

The tour reported 15 full-time drivers for 2026, naming Brenham Crouch, Tyler Courtney, Daison Pursley, Rico Abreu, Giovanni Scelzi, Aaron Reutzel and Kerry Madsen among the entrants.

Several notable roster moves accompanied the launch: Rico Abreu moved to Tony Stewart Racing, Tyler Courtney is returning from injury, and Brad Sweet’s retirement opened a Kasey Kahne Racing seat that Daison Pursley will fill. Giovanni Scelzi arrived with partnerships that bring Spire Motorsports and Chili’s into the series, and the tour also highlighted two new contenders for the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Rookie of the Year award as the season began in Las Vegas.

AMKUS Rescue Systems announced a partnership with Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing to outfit the team’s safety crews with high-performance rescue and extrication equipment to improve on-track safety and operational readiness at sprint car events nationwide. Speed Sport/HLR reported the collaboration in a piece titled “High Limit Partners With AMKUS Rescue Systems.”

AMKUS President Emilie Maheu said the partnership reflects a shared commitment to protecting lives in high-risk environments and described High Limit Racing as representing the future of sprint car racing. AMKUS Sales Manager Kodi Smith said he identified and developed the collaboration through his connections in the racing community, and Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing CEO Brad Sweet said the availability of AMKUS emergency-response tools will raise safety standards for drivers, venues and the series as the team expands its sprint car footprint.

Under the agreement, AMKUS will supply emergency-response and rescue equipment to High Limit Racing’s safety crews. AMKUS — which has more than 40 years of experience designing extrication tools — manufactures battery-powered and hydraulic rescue equipment in the United States from its base in Valparaiso, Indiana. High Limit Racing, founded by Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet, aims to grow the sprint car ecosystem nationwide, and both organizations presented the equipment partnership as a safety-first step to support that expansion.

Hank Davis, a 22-year-old from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, has signed a full-time 2026 Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing ride with Michael Dutcher Motorsports. His mission is clear: to vie for the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Rookie of the Year. Davis will pilot the No. 17GP entry fielded by Michael Dutcher Motorsports with backing from Lance Keller and Lifestyle Homes, and he will face a rookie battle that includes 21-year-old Tanner Holmes in the Buch Motorsports No. 13.

Davis arrives with a mix of national and regional results. He has 12 national 410 starts, including a career-best ninth-place finish at Lucas Oil Speedway driving the Beaver Racing No. 12X, and four wins in the No. 12X during 2025. He qualified for four straight Championship A-Mains at the Chili Bowl Nationals with Matt Seymour Racing, won a preliminary feature in Tulsa, and finished on the podium in the Chili Bowl’s 55-lap finale. Regionally, Davis notched an ASCS victory at Lakeside, a POWRi win at Callaway, and swept the Texarkana Short Track Nationals. In addition, he claimed the 2024 ASCS National Tour Rookie of the Year driving the Two‑C Racing No. 2C.

Michael Dutcher Motorsports and its No. 17GP entry join multiple teams competing for Joker Fund payouts and High Roller Club membership as part of the High Limit program. It is noted that Dutcher’s operation is the fifth team committed to those pursuits. The 2026 High Limit schedule is a 65-race tour that opens March 12-14 with the SugarBee Blackjack Bash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and closes Oct. 16-17 with the All-In Championship Weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Davis is scheduled to make first-time starts at 21 of the series’ 33 tracks.

Interstate Batteries signed a multiyear agreement with FloSports to become the title sponsor of the elite 410 winged sprint car series, which will be rebranded as Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing. Announced Feb. 11, 2026, the partnership launches at the season-opening SugarBee Blackjack Bash, March 12–14 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, and replaces Kubota Tractors as the series’ naming rights partner. Interstate executives framed the deal as a strategic way to boost brand visibility and connect with local dealers and customers. Company leaders noted its existing motorsports ties, including past driver sponsorships and a primary partnership with Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE for the March 15 NASCAR Cup race.

The agreement represents a commercial and media upgrade for the series and expands High Limit’s distribution for the 2026 season. Every High Limit event will air on FloRacing, six events will be simulcast on FS1, and the series will receive additional linear and streaming exposure via NASCAR’s FAST channel and FloRacing’s FAST/24/7 FAST channels. FloSports and Interstate also said select races and content will be available across broader streaming platforms, including YouTube, Prime Video, and Fubo, increasing the series’ reach beyond its core streaming home.

Organizers and stakeholders emphasized the timing and scale of the partnership. High Limit, created by Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet and launched in 2023, is preparing a 2026 slate of 66 nights at 33 U.S. tracks after producing a similar 2025 calendar and roughly 60 million video views last year. Series co-founders Larson and Sweet welcomed the new title-sponsor relationship, and FloSports described the move as a validation of the series’ momentum. Interstate said the sponsorship aligns with its dealer network footprint and will enable local engagement, hospitality, and grassroots activation.