Kyle Larson’s love for sprint car racing is no secret across the racing world. That’s why, after a quiet offseason shutdown, the High Limit Racing co-founder is back in Australia, lining up at his favorite track. But as the last champion returns to familiar ground, one major challenge stands in his way.

It’s rising star Corey Day, the biggest threat to Larson’s shot at the $110,000 prize. But the Yung Money is ready to “humble” him and defend his title.

It was an awesome, awesome event, Larson said about what it feels like to be back. “The crowd was amazing, the atmosphere was great throughout the three nights. And yeah, to cap it off with the win was pretty special, my first ever win, I guess, in Australia. So yeah, hopefully we can do the same again, got the same team, same car, same engine, Trevor Canales working on it again, so hopefully we’re fast.”

The 33-year-old doesn’t shy away from naming his major obstacle to the prize money. “I know Corey’s pretty confident after his run the other day on Boxing Night,” Larson said about Corey Day. “So hopefully we can humble him a little bit and do a good job. And yeah, just try to do better in the first two nights than I did last year. It was kind of more work than I think we wanted to have on the final night, so yeah, it comes down to execution, and I just didn’t do the best job executing last year until we got to the finale.”

This is about as real as it gets. Kyle Larson made his Perth Motorplex debut at the inaugural High Limit International and walked away with the finale win on December 30, 2024, pocketing a record $100,000 AUD. And honestly, that dominance didn’t come out of nowhere. Larson grew up racing on dirt, and sprint cars are still at the heart of who he is as a driver. That passion is exactly why he co-founded High Limit Racing with Brad Sweet.

This year, the stakes are even higher as the prize is bumped up to a massive $110,000. Larson enters the week as a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, fresh off another title. And his offseason has been anything but boring. Instead of slowing down, he’s been bouncing in muddy tracks before he made a grand helicopter entrance in Australia at the Perth Complex with the $110,000 prize carrying briefcase for the second outing of High Limit International.

The defending High Limit International 410 champ is back with all the same things. And the goal? Finish the three-night show with another statement win. But this time, it won’t be easy. Night 1 of High Limit International was all about Corey Day. Kaiden Manders led the opening eight laps from the outside pole before Corey Day, who started fourth, charged forward and slid past him for the lead on Lap 9.

Day controlled the race until a caution on Lap 22 for Kyle Larson’s flat tire bunched the field back up. Manders briefly retook the lead on the restart, but Day answered immediately on Lap 23 and never looked back. Manders tried one last slide job on the final lap. But Day held on to win by half a second. The victory marked Day’s first career win at Perth Motorplex and earned him a $15,000 bounty.

He also became the 20th American to win a sprint car feature at the track and just the third driver, alongside James McFadden and Kyle Larson, to win in the High Limit International series. Day now heads into Monday’s second preliminary as the high-point leader. He has a strong shot to lock into Tuesday’s $110,000 AUD finale.

Kyle Larson 2.0 in the making? 

Kyle Larson’s grip on sprint car racing might finally have a real challenger. At just 20, Corey Day is starting to look like a legit “Larson 2.0.” He’s already fitted into a full-time Hendrick Motorsports Xfinity Series ride for 2026, and his rise follows a familiar dirt-to-pavement path similar to Larson. Day’s sprint car résumé backs it up.

He won the 2023 King of the West title, followed it up with last year’s Trophy Cup, and a Turkey Night Grand Prix win. That’s elite company, and very Larson-y. The two have often gone against each other.

At Oskaloosa’s Front Row Challenge, Day clashed with Larson hard before finishing second in a $21,000-to-win showdown. On the NASCAR side, Day’s 2025 Xfinity debut included two top-10s. It got highlighted by a career-best fourth at Las Vegas. He also showed top-10 speed in the Phoenix finale before late cautions disrupted the order.

Even Larson knows Days’ potential. Fresh off his 2025 Cup title, he talked about him. He compared the situation to Jeff Gordon handpicking Jimmie Johnson. Larson has called Day “NASCAR’s next big phenomenon,” praising his ability to blend dirt-track edge with pavement polish.