TULARE, CALIF. (August 13, 2025) – After a three-week hiatus for the Knoxville Nationals, Kubota High Limit Racing returns to the spotlight this week as a nine-race west coast swing begins in California.
Headlined by the $100,071-to-win Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway on August 21-23 and the $126,000-to-win Skagit Nationals at Skagit Speedway on August 28-30, the trip west first begins with a pair of exciting venues in the scorching Central Valley and the beautiful Northern California foothills.
Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway is first up this Friday, August 15, then it’s Placerville Speedway on Saturday, August 16. Tickets are available for both events by clicking here.
Let's look at what's on the table entering the west coast swing:
CHANGE IS IN THE AIR: Over the past month, a plethora of injuries, crew swaps, and business decisions have sent shockwaves through the Sprint Car Racing industry and that leaves Kubota High Limit Racing with plenty of new changes to track entering the west coast swing.
Even the best teams were not immune to the headlines with championship leader Kasey Kahne Racing making wholesale crew changes ahead of the Knoxville Nationals. Going forward, the KKR #9 car has been sidelined with that entire crew including Andrew Bowman, Tayte Williamson, and Kyler Kerkvliet moving to the #49 with Kasey Kahne himself handling the crew chief duties. The new-look NAPA Auto Parts crew came out of the gates swinging at Knoxville – locking-in to the front two rows of the Championship A-Main and running top-five late in the running before mechanical issues.
With Tyler Courtney out for the remainder of the 2025 season – he is expected to make a full recovery, thankfully – Clauson-Marshall Racing has tabbed Giovanni Scelzi to take the wheel of the NOS Energy Drink #7BC. The Fresno, California native will begin his High Limit tenure on familiar ground with the west coast swing taking him to his home state. The difference is only 12-points between KKR and CMR with another 24 races left on the calendar.
Another injured wheelman recovering is Aaron Reutzel, who is working hard in recovery to get back in the seat as soon as possible. At least for another weekend, the Ridge & Sons Racing #87 will keep Aromas, California native Justin Sanders in the seat as High Limit hits home state. The car is currently 25-points out of the championship lead and this could prove crucial in the grand scheme of things as Sanders visits two tracks he always excels at in Tulare and Placerville.
The most recent of all these changes is the parting of Spencer Bayston and Jason Meyer Racing, coming one day after they locked-in for the Knoxville Nationals. The JMR, Sander Engineering #14 currently sits 10th in the championship standings and holds a High Stakes Franchise – granted they finish the entire 2025 campaign. In the meantime, JMR’s original star Corey Day will drive the lone entry left when his schedule permits, but there are several events that the 19-year-old cannot attend due to NASCAR commitments. As for Spencer Bayston, the Lebanon, Indiana driver does have short-term plans made to compete with High Limit on the west coast – where he podiumed before at the Gold Cup Race of Champions.
KNOXVILLE MOMENTUM: It was another strong showing for the Kubota High Limit Racing contigent at “The Granddaddy of ‘Em All” with eight associated teams in Saturday’s Championship A-Main. Congratulations are in order for Oklahoma City’s Ryan Timms, the 18-year-old pilot scored a hugely popular first-career title after dominating all 50 laps. Timms and the Shane Liebig #10 are expected to compete with Kubota High Limit Racing next month at Port Royal’s Tuscarora 50 on September 4-6.
Behind Timms, Rico Abreu scored a career-best runner-up effort worth $85,000. It was a strong three weeks in Knoxville for the RAR #24 team with a weekly victory on July 26 followed by a sweep of the ASCS 360 Nationals on August 1-2. The St. Helena, California native takes that confidence from “The Sprint Car Capital of the World” to the west coast as he’s very much in contention for the High Limit championship at 29-markers out of the lead.
Fellow Californians Corey Day (6th) and Giovanni Scelzi (7th) also finished in the top-10 of the main event. Justin Peck and Rudeen Racing were running as high as 7th in the finale before slipping late in the running. Brad Sweet was also inside the top-five late before a mechanical issue took him out.
TOO-LARRY: With Kyle Larson committed to Richmond Raceway this weekend, Kubota High Limit Racing is guaranteed a new winner at Thunderbowl Raceway after “Yung Money” swept the first two shows in Tulare.
Earlier this year, Tanner Holmes and Caeden Steele split NARC wins at the Morrie Williams Memorial with Tim Kaeding taking the overall title. D.J. Netto is also a 360 winner at the track this year.
Of the full-time teams, five of their pilots return to the Thunderbowl as previous winners of the treacherous tracks. Trophy Cup champions Rico Abreu and Corey Day have enjoyed immense success at the facility, while Justin Peck and Justin Sanders have also taken 360 wins there, and Giovanni Scelzi is a World of Outlaws winner, too.
P-VILLE: After Tulare on Friday, teams will head to NorCal on Saturday for a one-night show at Placerville Speedway, an always-exciting bullring that hosts weekly Sprint Car Racing. A litany of contenders including Andy Forsberg, Shane Golobic, Dominic Gorden, Justin Sanders, Joel Myers Jr, Tony Gomes, Dylan Bloomfield, and Chance Grasty are already winners at the track in 2025.
James McFadden will be back to defend his 49er Gold Rush Classic victory from a year ago, but in a new ride with Tarlton Racing. Other notable winners at P-Ville including World of Outlaws victor Brad Sweet and those who topped NARC including Giovanni Scelzi, Justin Sanders, Rico Abreu, and Corey Day.
CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After 27/51 Races):
- Kasey Kahne Racing #49 (1,574 PTS... -)
- Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC (1,562 PTS... -12)
- Ridge & Sons Racing #87 (1,549 PTS... -25)
- Rico Abreu Racing #24 (1,545 PTS... -29)
- Murray-Marks Motorsports #19 (1,490 PTS... -84)
- Rudeen Racing #26 (1,377 PTS... -197)
- Rod Gross Motorsports #88 (1,349 PTS... -225)
- Buch Motorsports #13 (1,183 PTS... -391) [Rookie]
- Chase Randall Racing #9R (1,148 PTS... -426) [Rookie]
- Jason Meyers Racing #14 (1,137 PTS... -437)
- CJB Motorsports #5 (1,080 PTS... -494)
- Mosites Lynch Racing #42 (1,006 PTS... -568) [Rookie]
- Randerson Racing #24D (913 PTS... -661) [Rookie]
KUBOTA A-MAIN WINNERS (12 Drivers):
6 Wins – Rico Abreu (Rico Abreu/Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 24)
4 Wins – Aaron Reutzel (Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87)
3 Wins – Brad Sweet (Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49)
2 Wins – Corey Day (Jason Meyers Racing No. 14BC)
2 Wins – Brent Marks (Murray-Marks Motorsports No. 19)
2 Wins – Justin Peck (Rudeen Racing No. 26)
2 Wins – Kyle Larson (Silva Motorsports No. 57)
1 Win – Travis Arenz (Arenz Motorsports No. 25T)
1 Win – Buddy Kofoid (Roth Motorsports No. 83)
1 Win – Tyler Courtney (Clauson-Marshall Racing No. 7BC)
1 Win – Cole Macedo (Two-C Racing No. 2C)
1 Win – Carson Macedo (Jason Johnson Racing No. 41)
A-MAIN LAPS LED (21 Drivers):
127 Laps – Rico Abreu
108 Laps – Aaron Reutzel
84 Laps – Justin Peck
82 Laps – Brad Sweet
66 Laps – Tyler Courtney
54 Laps – Kyle Larson
45 Laps – Brent Marks
40 Laps – Buddy Kofoid
35 Laps – Cole Macedo
35 Laps – Carson Macedo
28 Laps – Corey Day
23 Laps – Daryn Pittman
21 Laps – Travis Arenz
14 Laps – Bill Balog
10 Laps – Kasey Kahne
12 Laps – Tanner Thorson
9 Laps – Christopher Bell
7 Laps – Ashton Torgerson
6 Laps – Austin McCarl
5 Laps – Lance Dewease
4 Laps – Kerry Madsen
CAPITOL CUSTOM TRAILERS QUICKTIME AWARDS (15 Drivers):
8 QuickTimes – Aaron Reutzel
4 QuickTimes – Daison Pursley
2 QuickTimes – Rico Abreu
1 QuickTime – Corey Day, Daryn Pittman, Austin McCarl, Kyle Larson, Cale Thomas, Jonathan Preston, Danny Dietrich, Logan Schuchart, Danny Sams III, Spencer Bayston, Brenham Crouch, Cole Macedo
HEAT RACE WINNERS (35 Drivers):
11 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet, Tyler Courtney
7 Heat Wins – Justin Peck
6 Heat Wins – Rico Abreu, Daison Pursley
5 Heat Wins – Sye Lynch
4 Heat Wins – Kasey Kahne, Tanner Thorson, Aaron Reutzel
3 Heat Wins – Tanner Holmes, Brent Marks
2 Heat Wins – Austin McCarl, Brenham Crouch, Chase Randall
1 Heat Win – Brian Brown, Robbie Price, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Kyle Larson, Kerry Madsen, Corey Day, Brady Bacon, Lucas Wolfe, Danny Dietrich, Ryan Smith, Brock Zearfoss, Danny Sams III, Bill Balog, Giovanni Scelzi, Anthony Macri, Kevin Thomas Jr, Ashton Torgerson, Cole Macedo, Carson Macedo, Spencer Bayston, James McFadden
FK ROD ENDS DASH WINS (17 Drivers):
4 Dash Wins – Brad Sweet
2 Dash Wins – Tyler Courtney, Justin Peck, Tanner Thorson
1 Dash Win – Daryn Pittman, Aaron Reutzel, Kasey Kahne, Brent Marks, Kyle Larson, Kerry Madsen, Rico Abreu, Christopher Bell, Bill Balog, Buddy Kofoid, Daison Pursley, Ashton Torgerson, Cole Macedo,
WINTERS PERFORMANCE B-MAIN WINS (20 Drivers):
3 B-Main Wins – Tanner Thorson
2 B-Main Wins – Kasey Kahne, Chase Randall
1 B-Main Win – Corey Day, Dominic Scelzi, Ryan Bernal, Aaron Reutzel, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Danny Sams III, Davie Franek, Justin Peck, Lucas Wolfe, Troy Wagaman Jr, Brad Lamberson, Max Guilford, Cole Macedo, Ashton Torgerson, Noah Gass, Brenham Crouch, Brent Marks
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER AWARDS (20 Drivers):
4 Hard Chargers – Tyler Courtney, Tanner Thorson
2 Hard Chargers – Rico Abreu
1 Hard Charger – Justin Peck, Corey Day, Danny Sams III, Spencer Bayston, Chase Randall, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson, Matt Farnham, Brock Zearfoss, Justin Whittall, Joel Myers Jr, Kevin Thomas Jr, Sye Lynch, Will Armitage, Brenham Crouch, Garet Williamson, Brad Sweet
JAKE’S GOLF CARTS FASTEST LAP AWARDS (18 Drivers):
5 Fastest Laps – Aaron Reutzel
3 Fastest Laps – Rico Abreu
2 Fastest Laps – Tyler Courtney, Justin Peck, Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet
1 Fastest Lap – Daryn Pittman, Kasey Kahne, Brent Marks, Tanner Thorson, Christopher Bell, Lance Dewease, Bill Balog, Buddy Kofoid, Ashton Torgerson, Cole Macedo, Corey Day, Carson Macedo
PODIUM FINISHES (22 Drivers):
12 Podiums – Brad Sweet
11 Podiums – Rico Abreu
8 Podiums – Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney
6 Podiums – Justin Peck, Kyle Larson
5 Podiums – Tanner Thorson
3 Podiums – Brent Marks, Anthony Macri
2 Podiums – Kasey Kahne, Corey Day, Lance Dewease
1 Podium – Austin McCarl, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Christopher Bell, Ryan Smith, Travis Arenz, Bill Balog, Buddy Kofoid, Cole Macedo, Carson Macedo, Sye Lynch
TOP-FIVE FINISHES (35 Drivers):
18 Top-Fives – Brad Sweet
14 Top-Fives – Tyler Courtney, Aaron Reutzel
13 Top-Fives – Rico Abreu
8 Top-Fives – Brent Marks
7 Top-Fives – Justin Peck, Kyle Larson, Tanner Thorson
5 Top-Fives – Corey Day, Anthony Macri
3 Top-Fives – Tanner Holmes
2 Top-Fives – Kasey Kahne, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Brady Bacon, Lance Dewease, Chase Randall
1 Top-Five – D.J. Netto, Austin McCarl, Kaleb Montgomery, Spencer Bayston, Scott Bogucki, Danny Varin, Christopher Bell, Ryan Smith, Logan Wagner, David Gravel, Travis Arenz, Bill Balog, Scotty Thiel, Buddy Kofoid, Daison Pursley, Cole Macedo, Carson Macedo, Sye Lynch, James McFadden
TOP-10 FINISHES (65 Drivers):
21 Top-10s – Tyler Courtney, Rico Abreu, Brent Marks
20 Top-10s – Aaron Reutzel
19 Top-10s – Brad Sweet
14 Top-10s – Justin Peck, Tanner Thorson
11 Top-10s – Daison Pursley
10 Top-10s – Kyle Larson
9 Top-10s – Kasey Kahne
7 Top-10s – Spencer Bayston, Corey Day
6 Top-10s – Chase Randall, Anthony Macri
4 Top-10s – Brenham Crouch, Tanner Holmes
3 Top-10s – Sye Lynch, Dominic Scelzi, D.J. Netto, Danny Dietrich
2 Top-10s – Austin McCarl, Brady Bacon, Brian Brown, Cory Eliason, Emerson Axsom, Joel Myers Jr, Lance Dewease, Logan Schuchart, Logan Wagner, Sam Hafertepe Jr
1 Top-10 – Ashton Torgerson, Ayrton Gennetten, Bill Balog, Brock Zearfoss, Buddy Kofoid, Carson Macedo, Chris Windom, Christopher Bell, Cole Macedo, Danny Sams III, Danny Varin, David Gravel, Garet Williamson, Giovanni Scelzi, James McFadden, Jonathan Preston, Jordan Poirier, Justin Whittall, Kaleb Montgomery, Kasey Jedrzejek, Kerry Madsen, Kevin Thomas Jr, Landon Crawley, Lucas Wolfe, Noah Gass, Robbie Price, Ryan Smith, Scott Bogucki, Scotty Thiel, Shane Golobic, Sheldon Haudenschild, Tim Kaeding, Travis Arenz, Zane DeVault
2025 Kubota High Limit Racing Schedule:
Race / Day, Date / Track / Location/ Winner / (Total Wins)
- Sat, March 15 / Las Vegas Motor Speedway / Las Vegas, NV / Corey Day (1)
- Wed, March 19 / Thunderbowl Raceway / Tulare, CA / Kyle Larson (1)
- Fri, March 21 / Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway / Bakersfield, CA / Brad Sweet (1)
- Sat, March 22 / Perris Auto Speedway / Perris, CA / Aaron Reutzel (1)
- Fri, March 28 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Aaron Reutzel (2)
- Sat, March 28 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Brad Sweet (2)
- Thur, May 1 / Texas Motor Speedway / Fort Worth, TX / Brent Marks (1)
- Sat, May 3 / Texas Motor Speedway / Fort Worth, TX / Rico Abreu (1)
- Fri, May 9 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS / Rico Abreu (2)
- Sat, May 10 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL / Corey Day (2)
- Mon, May 12 / Kokomo Speedway / Kokomo, IN / Rico Abreu (3)
- Fri, May 16 / Ransomville Speedway / Ransomville, NY / Justin Peck (1)
- Tues, May 20 / Grandview Speedway / Bechtelsville, PA / Rico Abreu (4)
- Sat, May 24 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA / Brent Marks (2)
- Sun, May 25 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA / Aaron Reutzel (3)
- Sat, May 31 / Butler Motor Speedway / Quincy, MI / Justin Peck (2)
- Wed, June 4 / Red Cedar Speedway / Menomonie, WI / Rico Abreu (5)
- Thur, June 5 / 141 Speedway / Francis Creek, WI / Travis Arenz (1)
- Tues, June 10 / Eagle Raceway / Eagle, NE / Buddy Kofoid (1)
- Thur, June 26 / Lucas Oil Speedway / Wheatland, MO / Aaron Reutzel (4)
- Fri, June 27 / Lucas Oil Speedway / Wheatland, MO / Rico Abreu (6)
- Sat, June 28 / Lucas Oil Speedway / Wheatland, MO / Tyler Courtney (1)
- Fri, July 11 / Florence Speedway / Union, KY / Brad Sweet (3)
- Mon, July 14 / Fremont Speedway / Fremont, OH / Cole Macedo (1)
- Wed, July 16 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Aaron Reutzel & Corey Day
- Thur, July 17 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Kyle Larson (2)
- Tues, July 22 / Lernerville Speedway / Sarver, PA / Carson Macedo (1)
- Fri, August 15 / Thunderbowl Raceway / Tulare, CA
- Sat, August 16 / Placerville Speedway / Placerville, CA
- Thur, August 21 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA
- Fri, August 22 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA
- Sat, August 23 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA
- Mon, August 25 / Douglas County Dirtrack / Roseburg, OR
- Thur, August 28 / Skagit Speedway / Burlington, WA
- Fri, August 29 / Skagit Speedway / Burlington, WA
- Sat, August 30 / Skagit Speedway / Burlington, WA
- Thur, September 4 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA
- Fri, September 5 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA
- Sat, September 6 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA
- Fri, September 12 / Lernerville Speedway / Sarver, PA
- Sat, September 13 / Lernerville Speedway / Sarver, PA
- Wed, September 17 / Lawrenceburg Speedway / Lawrenceburg, IN /
- Fri, September 19 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
- Sat, September 20 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
- Sat, September 27 / Bridgeport Speedway / Swedesboro, NJ
- Sun, September 28 / Path Valley Speedway Park / Spring Run, PA
- Fri, October 10 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS
- Sat, October 11 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS
- Wed, October 15 / Lucas Oil Speedway / Wheatland, MO
- Fri, October 17 / Texas Motor Speedway / Fort Worth, TX
- Sat, October 18 / Texas Motor Speedway / Fort Worth, TX
- administrator on Aug 13, 2025
- Article Date: 8/13/2025 by Brian Walker