Giovanni Scelzi Wins High Limit Finale as Rico Abreu Clinches 2026 Title

Scelzi takes the finale; Abreu leaves with the title

Giovanni Scelzi won the 30-lap High Limit Racing finale at the 0.4-mile Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track in Fort Worth on October 17, 2026. Rico Abreu finished second, enough to secure the 2026 series championship. The result gave the season-ending race a split outcome: Scelzi claimed the night’s win, while Abreu achieved the larger season goal.

Scelzi started from the front row alongside Tanner Thorson and led early, using the inside line to take control. A caution with 24 laps remaining interrupted the race. After the restart, Abreu moved past Thorson for second, then began closing on Scelzi as the laps wound down.

Abreu found speed on the high line and reached Scelzi’s rear bumper with eight laps left. With two to go, he drew alongside and got clear off turn two. Scelzi fought back on the bottom on the final lap, and the pair ran side by side into turn three. Scelzi came away with the victory; Abreu’s runner-up finish confirmed his championship.

The title was within Abreu’s reach before the main event: he needed to finish 16th or better to clinch it. He finished second. Scelzi, who had qualified on the front row for the feature, converted that track position into the win after a late challenge from the champion.

Top finishers and feature notes

Brent Marks completed the podium in third, ahead of Thorson in fourth. Tyler Courtney finished fifth and Austin McCarl was sixth. Chase Randall took seventh, Kasey Kahne finished eighth, Tanner Holmes climbed from 19th on the starting grid to ninth, and Daison Pursley rounded out the top 10.

The 30-lap Interstate Batteries A Feature results were:

• 1. 77-Giovanni Scelzi [starting position 1]
• 2. 24-Rico Abreu [4]
• 3. 19-Brent Marks [5]
• 4. 88-Tanner Thorson [2]
• 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [6]
• 6. 88W-Austin McCarl [3]
• 7. 9R-Chase Randall [10]
• 8. 4-Kasey Kahne [8]
• 9. 13-Tanner Holmes [19]
• 10. 9-Daison Pursley [9]
• 11. 42-Sye Lynch [12]
• 12. 55-Brady Bacon [20]
• 13. 24D-Danny Sams III [16]
• 14. 26-Justin Peck [14]
• 15. 5-Brenham Crouch [11]
• 16. 11-Roger Crockett [7]
• 17. 45X-Ashton Torgerson [17]
• 18. 74-Xavier Doney [24]
• 19. 17GP-Kerry Madsen [22]
• 20. 12X-Landon Crawley [21]
• 21. 21-Brian Brown [15]
• 22. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [18]
• 23. 22M-Rees Moran [13]
• 24. G5-Gage Pulkrabek [23]

Holmes made the largest listed move among the top 10, gaining 10 places. Xavier Doney started 24th and finished 18th, while Brady Bacon advanced from 20th to 12th. Rees Moran, who began 13th, finished 23rd.

Qualifying and preliminary races

Daison Pursley led Qualifying A with a two-lap time of 13.735 seconds. Brent Marks was second at 14.131, followed by Austin McCarl at 14.255. Roger Crockett topped Qualifying B in 13.811 seconds, with Kasey Kahne second in 13.861 and Ryan Timms third in 13.928.

Scelzi won the seven-lap dash from the front position, with Thorson second, McCarl third and Abreu fourth. Those results set up the leading contenders near the front for the feature. In the four eight-lap heats, Austin McCarl, Brent Marks, Crockett and Kahne took the wins. Abreu finished third in Heat 2; Scelzi was third in Heat 1, and Thorson placed fourth in Heat 4.

Landon Crawley won the 12-lap B Feature, ahead of Kerry Madsen and Gage Pulkrabek. That race sent the top finishers onward to the main event.

Practice pace

Brady Bacon set the fastest listed hot-lap time, 14.130 seconds. Thorson was second at 14.174, followed by Pursley at 14.275. Abreu recorded a 14.866, placing 20th in the 35-driver practice list, while Scelzi was 21st at 14.868. Their practice times gave little indication of the front-running battle that would decide the finale.

For the complete event picture, the qualifying times show Pursley and Crockett leading their respective groups, while the dash and heats put Scelzi and Thorson in position to start on the feature’s front row. Abreu’s late charge changed the shape of the final laps, but Scelzi held on. The season ended with a clear distinction between the night’s winner and its champion: Scelzi won at Texas, and Abreu secured the 2026 High Limit Racing title with second place.