Not a long time ago, several top-level drivers such as Kyle Larson had publicly boycotted the Chili Bowl event, mainly due to its perceived low purse value for winners. While this sparked questions about why wealthy drivers would seek a higher purse, Brad Sweet, former World of Outlaws champion, recently provided some insight on the matter. During an appearance on Kenny Wallace’s Youtube channel, Sweet explained his own reluctance to participate in the prestigious Chili Bowl.
Advertisement
Furthermore, he went on to clarify why he and Larson prefer to compete in the High Limit Racing Series instead.
Brad Sweet explains why he and Kyle Larson do not race in the Chili Bowl anymore
Sweet detailed why it did not make sense for him to participate in an event that did not have a chance of making any money. Especially considering the amount of time and resources it would require from a driver’s end to go there, but return empty-handed if they fail to win.
Sweet mentioned, “Goes back to why we’re doing it ourselves, starting a series because there’s greed. We feel like there’s greed out there we feel like you know Chili Bowl is just one example. It’s not it’s a big example and it gets a lot of headlines…”
“As a professional racecar driver that makes a living racing if you want the best racers to go support the event. I’m certainly not going to leave my family for a week to go lose money in Oklahoma just because I want to bring a golden driller home. No, I mean, I gotta make my house payment. I gotta pay the bills.”
“And, you know, so if I can’t fly out there and stay in a hotel for five nights, and I have zero chance of making money then to me, that’s not a relevant event for you know, or a professional racing event. You know, we’re racing this weekend in Sioux Falls South Dakota for $250,000 to win, every high limit race is on a Tuesday night pays at least $25,000 or $23,000 to win, and has the $80,000 purse. The Chili Bowl purse is just, you know, it’s turning into more of just a fun event for whoever wants to go, you know, pay to race and that’s just not that’s not our style.”
Sweet’s explanation was not just regarding himself but other drivers such as Kyle Larson as well. None of these drivers apparently would prefer to lose money over an event, regardless of the prestige.
What is the High Limit Racing Series?
The series is basically a dirt racing event that takes place with talented drivers fielding 410 Sprint cars. However, the interesting point to note is that the series was launched by none other than Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet back in early 2022.
The series also has a partnership with FloRacing, which takes care of all of their online broadcasting for the mid-week racing events. Although they are not directly in competition with the World of Outlaws series, as per Sweet, the series has often been reluctant in having them in their backyard.
One of the most important things that the series addresses is the payout issue, something that was previously faced by racers in the Chili Bowl event. After all, when existing opportunities prove rigid, what could be more empowering than launching your own racing series?
