When Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet purchased the All-Star Circuit Sprint Car championship from Tony Stewart, dirt racers had to make a tough choice: go with the new, rebranded sprint car series High Limit or the World of Outlaws route. There was also an option for a “pick and choose” schedule, but the team owners had the final call regarding where their drivers would race.

High Limit offered a better racing structure with better payouts, whereas the Outlaws had the prestige and history that dirt racers adore. The racing community was divided in their preference, but after the early tussle, it seems like World of Outlaws is edging out in front. More dirt racers would prefer longer and more competitive schedules, and this left Larson and his team looking for answers.

Well, they had to do something to keep their new project up and running and attract more drivers to the series. And this is where former NASCAR Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne came in clutch for High Limit Racing, announcing a full-time schedule for the 2025 season.

Kasey Kahne might have kept High Limit Racing afloat

Having run the inaugural editions, the former Cup Series driver will bring back the #9 entry with crew chief Eric Prutzman. The veteran crew chief had been calling the shots for Kahne’s teammate Brad Sweet and has six consecutive national series titles under his belt. Ideally, Sweet would’ve liked his crew chief to stick around with him for the full season. However, that won’t be possible with Kahne’s return to full-time racing next year.

The 2024 season wasn’t a huge success for Kasey Kahne and his team in the High Limit. He finished 14th in the points and was only able to gather nine top-10 finishes in 45 starts. Going by the report shared by the series’ website, Kahne will be making his debut with nine new tracks that are locked in for the schedule. His focus will be on the Skagit Nationals in his home state of Washington, which will have a payout of $102,626.26, the richest race on the West Coast.

Now, while these changes at KKR have shifted the dynamics of the driver and crew chief relationship, this move has worked out in favor of High Limit Racing. Despite the efforts of bringing in new racetracks and improved purses, not a lot of drivers had signed up to run full-time for the 2025 season. But, with Kahne’s announcement, the list of drivers now stands at nine, with more expected to follow suit.

Kahne could’ve opted to compete full-time in the World of Outlaws as he has previously done. But it feels like the Hendrick Motorsports connection worked in favor of Kyle Larson and his series. This move has certainly got the High Limit Racing back on track. Meanwhile, this change within the team forced Brad Sweet’s hand in forging ties with a new crew chief for the 2025 season.

Tye Wolfgang takes charge of the No. 49 team at KKR

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Initially, Eric Prutzman was being bumped to the role of team manager to oversee the racing operations at KKR. This move relieved him from his crew chief duties, but no one could’ve guessed that Kasey Kahne was plotting a comeback for 2025 as well. Amid this massive overhaul, Brad Sweet was the one who was put in a tough spot. Now parting ways with a partner with whom he had five Outlaw championships and a High Limit Racing title was going to be a tough transition.

But luckily he did not have to search long and hard to find his new crew chief. As Tye Wolfgang was in the ranks to take up this responsibility. Wolfgang has been car chief for the past two years with Sweet and played a key role in helping the team win titles at the Outlaws and High Limit. His experience and chemistry with Sweet certainly made things easier for the team to put the pieces of the puzzle together for the 2025 season.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity to step into the crew chief role. Working with Brad and the entire KKR team has been an incredible opportunity. I’m excited to continue building on the foundation Eric and Brad have laid over the years.” Wolfgang said about being promoted to the role of crew chief. Now, it will be interesting to see how these changes work out for both Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet in the upcoming season.