After winning three races on his way to a Midweek Money Series championship in 2023, Kyle Larson quickly kickstarted his 2024 campaign with High Limit Racing in similar fashion - winning the season opener on Tuesday at Tampa, Florida's East Bay Raceway Park.
Originally scheduled for Monday and postponed to Tuesday afternoon due to rain, 56 High Limit Sprint Cars returned to complete the C-Main, FK Rod Ends Dash, B-Main, and 25-lap, $10,000-to-win, $1,000-to-start A-Main.
Earning the pole position via a win in the FK Rod Ends Dash, Kyle Larson led the field to the green flag with his brother-in-law and High Limit championship contender, Brad Sweet, alongside him in the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49.
Larson immediately launched the Paul Silva owned Finley Farms #57 into the race lead and set sail with lap traffic waiting for him. Fast forward to Lap 9 and fans saw Justin Peck, driving the Buch Motorsports, Coastal Race Parts #13, approach Larson and prepare a battle for the lead before a dramatic moment when he came together with Chris Windom and suffered front end damage to end his bid for the win.
The restart allowed Tanner Thorson, driving for Rod Gross Motorsports, to enter the picture and he wasted no time going after Larson, who he was previously teammates with during their USAC Midget days. An attempted slider off the restart and another run to the tail tank of the #57 in lap traffic gave Thorson a big sniff of the lead, but he just wasn't able to make a move on the former NASCAR champion.
Elk Grove, CA's Kyle Larson ultimately held on for the $10,000 victory - marking his fourth trip to Whiskey Myers Victory Lane, tied for most (with Rico Abreu) in the short history of High Limit Racing.
Cole Macedo of Lemoore, CA, ended up snagging the second-place spot in a photo finish at the checkered flag as he was able to squeeze his Kevin Newton owned Honest Abe Roofing #16T in between Thorson's right side and the outside wall
Thorson, hailing from Minden, NV ended up P3 to earn his first High Limit Racing podium, and he became the de facto championship leader as the highest finishing of 17 full-time High Rollers.
Brad Sweet slipped back to finish fourth, which was the all-important final lock-in to the "Battle at the Bay" Heat Races on Tuesday night. Sweet was followed by one of the Pennsylvania Posse's finest, Anthony Macri of Dillsburg, PA in the fifth spot.
Monday, April 12, 2024
East Bay Raceway Park (Tampa, FL)
Capitol Custom Trailers QuickTime - Brad Sweet (12.550)
TJ Forged Heat One Winner - Kyle Larson
DMI Heat Two Winner - Tanner Thorson
BR Motorsports Heat Three Winner - Cole Macedo
Winters Performance Heat Four Winner - Rico Abreu
FK Rod Ends Dash Winner - Kyle Larson
Jake's Golf Carts Fastest Lap Award - Kyle Larson (13.945)
Hard Charger - Brent Marks (+14, 22nd-to-8th)
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[1]; 2. 16T-Cole Macedo[4]; 3. 88-Tanner Thorson[3]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet[2]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri[8]; 6. 14-Corey Day[11]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu[5]; 8. 19-Brent Marks[22]; 9. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[7]; 10. 5-Spencer Bayston[13]; 11. 26-Zeb Wise[12]; 12. 83-Dominic Scelzi[20]; 13. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[16]; 14. 9P-Parker Price Miller[9]; 15. 5T-Ryan Timms[10]; 16. 48-Danny Dietrich[18]; 17. 1-Brenham Crouch[25]; 18. 49X-Tim Shaffer[21]; 19. 8-Cory Eliason[14]; 20. 9-Kasey Kahne[23]; 21. 1A-Jacob Allen[17]; 22. 88X-Austin McCarl[19]; 23. 55-Chris Windom[24]; 24. 28M-Conner Morrell[26]; 25. 16TH-Kevin Newton[15]; 26. 13-Justin Peck[6]