Sweet noted a discord among World Racing Group executives and many of the platinum drivers in recent years has been the impact of DIRTVision, the streaming service World Racing Group owns that provides a live video stream of each World of Outlaws race along with coverage from several other race tracks around the country.
“There is an audience that’s not at the track,” Sweet said. “Football players, basketball players, fighters, they aren’t just paid off attendance in the stands. You can’t ignore there’s a whole other audience out there. And then advertisers are paying to be in front of that audience. There’s a whole other revenue. I don’t have the exact answers. It shouldn’t be ignored.
“It’s a touchy situation. Obviously, we care deeply … about the integrity of the sport, the nostalgic of what the World of Outlaws means. What it’s done for all of our careers, what it’s done for sprint car racing,” Sweet continued. “We had to put a little pressure from a business side of things to change the business model a little bit to try to incorporate the growing pay-per-view or streaming into the business. I felt like with COVID people were at home and there was nothing to do. Streaming grew exponentially in a short amount of time, which grew sprint car racing. We see it on the crowd side at the track. The one thing we can’t see is the streaming side.”
That has led to FloRacing, another streaming service that broadcasts more than 1,500 live races each year, partnering with Sweet and Larson for the High Limit Sprint Car Series.
“Kyle and I own the series outright,” Sweet said. “Flo has purchased the rights to the series, which gives us the working capital to take that and build a schedule.
“We’re evaluating the situation. I think the 12-race thing is what our goal is from the start. We didn’t know some of the reactions we were going to get. We’re going to do whatever we think is best for the High Limit Series or growth. I wouldn’t say it’s out of the question to grow the series eventually. We don’t have a set goal or projection.”
Sweet and Larson are also open to fellow drivers promoting races. World of Outlaws contender Sheldon Haudenschild has signed on for a $32,023-to-win race at his home track of Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, on May 16, and former World of Outlaws regular Shane Stewart partnered with Justin Marks of Trackhouse Racing to promote a $50,000-to-win event at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., on April 11.
“We want to help everybody and anybody we possibly can,” Sweet said. “We’re real spread out. We don’t want to oversaturate any 410 area. We want to make these a special deal and trying to focus on tracks that maybe didn’t have Outlaws races.”
Rico Abreu and Brent Marks have announced they will compete full time with the High Limit Sprint Car Series and Sweet said he’s heard from eight to 10 drivers who are planning on running all the events.
“You never know who is going to be there,” he said. “There’s a lot of smaller teams that are watching. As a driver you want more of these shows. As a local driver you’re hoping the Outlaws get more handcuffed because it’s more opportunity to take more money out of the purses.”
As the season nears some clarity from World Racing Group regarding the non-sanctioned races in which drivers will be allowed to compete, it will likely determine how many of the full-time drivers return versus running a true outlaw schedule. However, it is clear the High Limit Sprint Car Series has already prompted changes from World Racing Group that benefit drivers and teams.
“I don’t know if I called their bluff, but there’s enough pressure with money on the tables they have to make it appealing to sign a platinum agreement for exclusivity,” Sweet said. “Once there’s enough money outside the Outlaws that’s when the team’s freedom becomes a part of the decision and you’ll go and chase money. They don’t want that. That’s not good for their brand. They had to look at what we brought to the table. They have to keep evaluating it.
“We’re competing to put on a show, but stay in our own lane. We’re not trying to hurt anybody.”
This story appeared in the Feb. 1 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
