Spire Motorsports have announced that they will be running a sprint car full-time in 2026, specifically in Brad Sweet and Kyle Larson's High Limit Racing series.

Gio Scelzi will drive the car for the team, after leaving KCP Racing mid-season in 2025 only to round off the year with Clauson Marshall Racing as an injury replacement for Tyler Courtney.

The 2023 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year will have Eric Prutzman as his crew chief, an experienced head who achieved great success with Sweet in the form of six national championships.

Spire currently runs three Cup Series entries and three Truck Series entries in NASCAR, but co-owner Jeff Dickerson described them as 'dirt racers who happen to have a NASCAR team'.

Spire co-owner: New team is a dream come true

Dickerson said in a statement: “Going on the road with High Limit is like a dream come true and to do this with people I have deep respect and appreciation for makes it even better.

“We’ve worked with and for Kyle (Larson), Brad (Sweet), Kendra (Jacobs) and JP (Josh Peterman) for years and I have an immense amount of gratitude to them for not only building a great series but for making a series that offers long-term growth to all of us in a sport we all love.

“I’m thankful to Tim Clauson and the Marshalls for providing us a launch pad to make this jump and look forward to working closely this season.”

He added" “We are not a NASCAR team that is going dirt racing. We are dirt racers who happen to have a NASCAR team. This is in our blood and we can’t wait to get to Vegas in March.”

Scelzi: Thrilled for racing opportunity

Scelzi added: “To see the enthusiasm from the employees at Spire Motorsports, that’s really something that made an impact on me.

“The NASCAR stuff is their job but it’s pretty obvious they enjoy sprint car racing. We’ll likely run 80 to 90 times a year at probably 50 different race tracks, but when you have an owner like Jeff (Dickerson) who truly loves sprint car racing and comes from that background, it really makes this an exciting opportunity.”

“I’ve known Eric (Prutzman) for a long time. When I was probably 10- or 12-years-old, when Donny Schatz was driving for Tony Stewart Racing, those guys would work out of my dad’s shop during that three-week West Coast swing and Eric was the tire guy at the time, so we became friends and stayed in touch.”

“I’ve watched Eric’s career and he’s had amazing success. The guys who run up front all have really good equipment so, now more than ever, it’s the people. Having someone as accomplished as Eric is just as important as the equipment.”

“I’m thrilled to race the Chili Bowl, again. I’ve run it three times in the past. I ran for Clauson Marshall Racing my first time and made the show.”

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