Heartbreak in Michigan as Sweet Charges to Podium before Penalty

After a monumental Memorial Day weekend at Port Royal, Brad Sweet and the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 team stayed out on the road for a two-race swing through Indiana and Michigan. With momentum on their side and the High Limit Racing  championship lead in hand, the team was primed for another strong weekend.

Mother Nature struck again Friday night, washing out the event at Lawrenceburg Speedway. The KKR crew kept rolling and shifted focus to Butler Speedway in Quincy, Michigan. This is the site of what was voted to be the “2024 High Limit Race of the Year,” one in which Sweet came up just .063 seconds short of victory.

From the moment the hauler doors opened at Butler, the NAPA No. 49 was fast. Sweet qualified sixth out of 19 cars in Group B, placing him on the front row of Heat 4. He needed a heat win to advance to the Dash and delivered with a strong drive to the checkers. A spin of the Redraw Wheel placed him sixth to start the Dash, but Sweet quickly climbed to third, earning a second-row starting spot for the 30-lap Feature.

As the green flag dropped, Sweet immediately jumped to second and locked in on leader Justin Peck. Navigating a dusty, slick racetrack and heavy lapped traffic, Sweet stalked the leader, patiently waiting for a chance. With just five laps to go, he found his moment, diving low in Turn 4 to briefly take the lead. Peck responded the next lap with a counter-move, reclaiming the point in an incredible duel. Aaron Reutzel then joined the mix and snuck past Sweet with two laps remaining.

Despite shredding his right rear tire in the final lap, Sweet brought the NAPA No. 49 across the line in third, or so it seemed. Thinking he had dropped out of podium contention with a shredded tire in the late-race chaos, Sweet exited the track rather than reporting directly to the scales, as required for podium finishers by High Limit rules. The misstep resulted in a disqualification, officially placing the team 25th and dropping Sweet to second in the championship standings, six points behind Tyler Courtney.

While the end result was disappointing, the performance of the NAPA team was anything but. Sweet and the NAPA crew showed elite speed all night long, and they’ll be looking to bounce back this week with two races in Wisconsin.

Start / Finish: 3 / 25
Points Standing / Total: 2nd / 984 pts. (-6)

Next Race: Wednesday, June 4, Red Cedar Speedway, Menomonie, WI
How to Watch or Listen: FloRacing

NAPA: @NAPARacing
Brad Sweet: @BradSweetRacing
Kasey Kahne Racing: @KKRdirt