Home ‘Sweet’ Home in the Golden State

Last week was a homecoming for California native Brad Sweet, driver of the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 sprint car in the High Limit Racing series. Sweet and the NAPA No. 49 team tackled three tracks in three different cities, and sprint car racing fans were treated to action and drama on the racetrack in all three.

To start the racing in the Golden State, the NAPA team arrived at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, where Sweet posted the quickest time in qualifying at 13.351 seconds. The Big Cat then lined up fourth for his 10-lap heat race. He advanced to second and nearly stole the win at the finish line. His runner-up finish secured his spot in the FK Rod Ends Dash, with the NAPA No. 49 machine starting from first. Sweet dominated the seven-lap dash to take the win. In Thursday night’s feature, Sweet led most of the race before a late-race caution came out. On the restart, his competitor held the better line and passed the No. 49, leaving Sweet to fall to third at the finish.

On Friday night at Kings Speedway in Hanford, the momentum continued as Sweet qualified second in Flight B with a time of 13.344 seconds. He again advanced in his heat race, too, finishing second after starting fourth. Sweet went on to beat the fastest car in the FK Rod Ends Pole Shuffle, putting the No. 49 on the pole for the feature. Sweet had his sights set on victory lane. The NAPA driver led early but ended the night with another third-place finish.

Sweet started strong when the NAPA team rolled into Placerville Speedway, sending the crowd roaring as he set the quickest overall qualifying time with a lap of 10.354 seconds. After moving from fourth to third in his heat race and finishing third in the dash, Sweet was determined for a solid feature finish. Unfortunately, a late-race incident with just four laps remaining dropped him from third to 18th, marking a rough end to an otherwise promising night.

Despite the setback, Sweet found he had the support of the NAPA Network at Placerville. Bill McAnally Racing and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing team owner Bill McAnally and former NAPA store owner Bart Riebe were at the track to greet and cheer on their fellow NAPA Racing organization.

Even with the tough luck at Placerville Speedway, Sweet remains at the top of the High Limit Racing points standings, holding a solid 96-point lead over second place with a total of 2,077 points.

Start / Finish: 
August 15, Thunderbowl Raceway: 1 / 3
August 16, Kings Speedway: 1 / 3
August 17, Placerville Speedway: 3 / 18
Points Standing / Total: 1st / 2,077 pts. (+96)

Next Race: Thursday, August 22, Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico, California
How to Watch or Listen: FloRacing

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