The second-to-last race of the 2026 Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing Series took place Friday night at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, which is just right outside of the Texas Motor Speedway. Championship points leader Rico Abreu entered tonight’s race with a slim margin of 45 points ahead of second place and last week’s Saturday night winner at Lakeside Speedway, Giovanni Scelzi. Abreu is seeking his second High Limit championship since last year, while Scelzi would be looking for his first in the series for Spire Motorsports.
Additionally, Abreu’s Tony Stewart Racing team was looking to rebound since last Saturday after he was disqualified due to his team refueling the car during red flag conditions. Finally, there was a chance for Abreu to clinch the championship tonight as well. The scenarios were if Rico won, Scelzi would need to finish third or worse. If Rico placed second, Scelzi would need to finish fourth or worse. If Rico finished third, he would need Scelzi to finish sixth or worse. In a simpler scenario, Abreu just needs to beat Scelzi by four positions on the track.
However, the championship-clinching scenarios for tonight were quietly put to rest, as it was Scelzi who fired the first shot by winning the 25-lap feature following a competitive battle with Abreu to cut into the championship points by gaining nine points and is now only 36 points behind heading into the finale on Saturday night.
“I can’t even put into words how proud of Eric, Cole, and Kinser I am,” Scelzi told Flo Racing in victory lane. “I had really high expectations hiring Eric Prutzman (Scelzi’s crew chief) with as much as he’s done and he’s succeeded in every single one of them. So just an amazing job. It was just an emotional night, I don’t know why.
“Just the way I felt, I like this place. This place is awesome, and it’s such a gorgeous facility. I always played here on the video games and never got to come here, and finally got to come here last year for the first time. Incredible job at the racetrack. I don’t know who is doing it (track prep), but to have two lanes like that and let us slice and dice and show what this place can show for racing. I really hope we stay here for our finale. This is a great event. I think it’s only growing every year, but yeah, Cole leaned in the car and said, you know, we’re not out of it. Don’t give up and take no prisoners. So, I’m just proud of the performance tonight.”
There were 34 Sprint Cars on the property at the dirt track for tonight’s race.
Feature Race Recap – 25-Laps – $10,000 To Win
Starting on the pole thanks to his dash victory was Tanner Holmes. Abreu started third and Scelzi seventh.
Holmes had the early race lead, with Abreu passing Daison Pursley for second to complete Lap 1. On Lap 2, Scelzi moved to the fifth position and then took over the fourth position one lap later. However, the first caution of the main came with 21 laps to go for Landon Crawley, who came to a stop in the middle of Turns 1 and 2 after he blew a motor off Turn 4. The race resumed, and the battle was on with Abreu and Holmes. Scelzi, however, continued his momentum by going into the third position following the restart.
With 16 laps to go, Pursley battled side-by-side with Scelzi for the third spot. Abreu took the lead from Holmes off Turn 4 with 12 laps to go. A top five battle then took place with Holmes, Scelzi, Pursley, and Courtney. After Abreu grabbed the lead, he began getting into the lap traffic, which allowed Scelzi to close in and take the lead from Abreu off Turn 2 with eight laps to go. Abreu would retake the top spot a lap later in Turn 3 for a brief period, but Sceliz grabbed it again shortly thereafter at the start/finish line. From there, Scelzi went on to lead the final six laps and take the checkered flag in order to stay alive in the championship battle. The victory was his third of the season and fourth of his High Limit career.
After winning tonight’s race, Scelzi would have to win Saturday night’s finale in order to win the championship and have Abreu finish 17th or worse.
Heat Race Recaps – Top Five Transfer – 8 Laps A Piece
Justin Peck paced the hot lap session with a lap time of 13.316 seconds. Following the hot lap session, Courtney’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Sprint Car had to make an engine change prior to the qualifying session.
There was a Flight A and Flight B Qualifying Session. Abreu paced Flight A with a lap time of 13.151 seconds, while Scelzi was the fastest in Flight B with a quick time of 13.124 seconds. Scelzi time was quick enough to be the overall fastest time of the groups combined.
It is important to note that Aaron Reutzel was involved in a violent crash last weekend at Lakeside Speedway, and his team (Ridge and Sons Racing) decided to use a medical provisional to withdraw from the event.
Heat 1 – Holmes was on the pole for the first heat with Roger Crockett alongside him on the outside. Holmes went on to win the heat with no yellows. Moving on were Crockett, Kerry Madsen, Abreu, and Sye Lynch.
Heat 2 – USAC standout Brady Bacon was the top spot for this heat. A caution occurred with four laps to go in the heat for a flat right-rear tire for Kasey Jedrzejek. Jedrzejek came to a stop off the exit of Turn 4.
Bacon went on to secure the heat victory with Courtney, Pursley, Brian Brown, and Austin McCarl in the top five transferring.
Heat 3 – Peck was No. 1 for the third heat. A caution came out with four laps to go for race leader Peck. A big puff of smoke came out the back of Peck’s car, and he would exit the racing surface to go back to the pit area. It was later determined that the engine expired on Peck’s car. Fortunately, for Peck, he went on to win the B-Main to get back in the A-main.
Kasey Kahne would go on to win the heat race, followed by Scelzi, Chase Randall, Danny Sams III, and Crawley moving on to the A-main.
Heat 4 – Brenham Crouch had the pole for the fourth and final heat. A caution came out immediately as the field had a bad start, which caused a complete restart. The rest of the heat was clean and green, with Crouch winning his heat race. Brent Marks, Tanner Thorson, Ryan Timms, and Chris Martin rounded out the transfers.
Moving on to the seven-lap dash were Holmes, Kahne, Bacon, Crouch, Abreu, Pursley, Scelzi, and Thorson. Holmes led every lap to win the dash and be on the pole for the 25-lap feature event.
For those who missed the feature, you can watch the highlights below.
Official Race Results Following Night 1 At Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track
- Giovanni Scelzi
- Tyler Courtney
- Rico Abreu
- Tanner Thorson
- Daison Pursley
- Brent Marks
- Chase Randall
- Tanner Holmes
- Brady Bacon
- Ryan Timms
- Kerry Madsen
- Brenham Crouch
- Austin McCarl
- Justin Peck
- Kasey Kahne
- Brian Brown
- Roger Crockett
- Rees Moran
- Sye Lynch
- Danny Sams III
- Ayrton Gennetten
- Ashton Torgerson
- Chris Martin
- Landon Crawley
Up Next – With night 1 complete, the series now turns its attention to the championship season finale Saturday night to wrap up their 2026 season, live on Flo Racing.
