Several national Sprint Car storylines converged on Monday night in the High Limit Midweek Money race at rubbered-up and locked-down Kokomo Speedway, a race won by ‘Sunshine’ Tyler Courtney.
For one, this was a win that Courtney both wanted and needed.
The Indianapolis native missed his home race last year while dealing with a fractured vertebra. But it also ended a rough three-race stretch where he had failed to reach the podium and lost the championship lead to Brad Sweet.
It also broke an 11-race winless streak.
Spencer Bayston got around Buddy Kofoid once the track really took rubber, completing a 12th to 2nd race while Kofoid already wants a do-over after leading the middle stages.
Kofoid, using the first of his four permitted non-World of Outlaws starts, led the race for much of the middle stages but got passed in traffic when Courtney found the rubber in Turn 3 first and used it drive by while they both navigated traffic.
“I love Kokomo,” Courtney said. “This place means a lot to not only myself but my entire (Clauson Marshall Racing) team so to park this car in Bryan Clauson Victory Lane and for $24,000 is really nice. ”
He insinuated it to Sportsnaut last week, but Kofoid is feeling like he needs to win by this point of the season in the Roth Motorsports. He traveled to the High Limit show and came really close from the pole but just couldn’t close out against Courtney.
It also came with the underlying context of the emerging Outlaws versus High Roller rivalry, one that has generally seen the High Limit drivers prevail head-to-head so more often than not this year and brag about it on social media too.
“I knew we had a good car so I had to keep that in mind through all those restarts,” Kofoid said. “It was so tough because it was super slick until the straightaway so you had to wait until the straightaway. I didn’t want to choose the outside because I thought it would be worse. I didn’t feel that good on the bottom but once we got going I felt really really good and just had no idea the rubber was there. Kind of found it in (Turn) 3 but I didn’t feel it in (Turn) 4 so I kept pounding (the wall) in 4. I had no idea it was there in 1 and 2 on the top, got passed, and everyone was running under the cushion and I had no idea, which sucks.”
Kofoid said he’ll have to replay this race and figure out where he could have done better.
Corey Day entered the third Midweek Money race of the season as the points leader and the winner of both races to start the season within a season and things were pointing towards his fifth overall High Limit win until he broke a right front spindle from the lead.
The team changed his front axle but mired in the back, Day was involved in several accidents, drew the ire of Chris Windom and finished 22nd.
Kyle Larson will begin his Indianapolis 500 journey on Tuesday morning and got a head start back to Speedway, Indiana when he flipped in his heat race after an errant slider on fast time qualifier Cale Thomas.
“Just racing hard for a transfer spot,” Larson said after climbing out of the Paul Silva 57. “I put myself in a hole and I was trying to race hard. Just ran ourselves out of space there. Probably my fault. It goes back to qualifying because I suck.”
It’s been a struggle this season for him on the Sprint Car side as he hasn’t won since the High Limit opener in February at East Bay.
HIGH LIMIT RACING STANDINGS
Brad Sweet
Tyler Courtney -31
Brent Marks -87
Corey Day -142
Rico Abreu -216
Spencer Bayston -237
Justin Peck -270
MIDWEEK MONEY STANDINGS
Tyler Courtney
Brad Sweet -32
Spencer Bayston -35
Corey Day -38
Tanner Thorson -49
Brent Marks -51
James McFadden -52
Justin Peck -54
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.