Kyle Larson Takes a Page Out of NASCAR’s Book for His Ever-Expanding High Limit Series

The charter system is a subject that is quite polarizing in the NASCAR community, with some heralding it as an integral cog to the sport while some calling it out for being something everyone can do better without. Naturally, considering the divisive reaction to this subject, it’s hard to judge which side is more right, but as for Kyle Larson, it can now be said that he is a big supporter of the charter system.

This is because his sprint car series, High Limit Racing, which he co-owns with Brad Sweet, recently announced that they’d be adapting the charter system from 2026. With a previously announced bigger schedule and a bigger purse for winners, Sports Business Journal reported that High Limit’s backers have agreed on creating a charter system, for which series co-owner Brad Sweet also made a case.

“(Sprint car racing) has changed over the last four to five years with streaming money coming in and some money goes to teams, but ultimately what we want to do is build High Limit and truly align ourselves with the team owners, who are the backbone of the sport and allow us (drivers) to showcase our skillset,” he said.

“We want to reward teams with a charter or franchise that aligns our interest so a revenue share as we grow together, they’ll be a part of the growing process.” 

NASCAR President insists charters are the way to go

During a recent interaction with the media, NASCAR President Steve Phelps insisted that they are going “all in” with this system, pointing to the overall value charters have provided to the sport. Phelps claimed the teams want three things: to be competitive, to increase their enterprise value, and to have a path to profitability.

Phelps claimed while the first two things are in the bag, the last thing is still unchecked. He also spoke about how teams are losing money at the moment, and the only two ways to solve that problem would be to generate additional revenue, and secondly it’d be to have some sort of cost cap.

It’s worth mentioning that Phelps made these comments when they announced their new media deal, which will be in effect from 2025. Many are touting that year to be the beginning of a new era in NASCAR, something which could also turn out to be the case for dirt racing, considering Kyle Larson introducing the charter system to his series the following year.