Race Overview
On Thursday, May 1, 2025, the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track in Fort Worth, Texas roared to life under the lights as Kubota High Limit Racing kicked off the second annual Stockyard Stampede, its expanded two-night sprint car extravaganza held during NASCAR’s May weekend. Twenty-eight of the series’ top 410‑winged sprint car pilots tackled the fast‑dry half‑mile oval, battling for the first $10,000-to-win feature of the season. Myerstown, Pennsylvania’s Brent Marks emerged triumphant, leading flag-to-flag to claim victory in front of a packed grandstand and a live-stream audience on FloRacing.
Feature Recap
Marks wasted no time stamping his authority on the 25‑lap feature. Starting from the pole, he paced the field through a series of early‑race restarts—one of which saw him narrowly evade a charging Brad Sweet—and navigated a sea of lap traffic in the closing circuits. Despite encountering heavy turbulence through slower cars, he expertly balanced aggression with precision, consistently hitting the optimal line into turns one and two to maintain the lead cushion. Behind him, Sweet and Sam Hafertepe Jr. mounted persistent challenges, but none could wrest control of the top spot from Marks once he clicked off the opening lap.
Victory Implications
This triumph marked Marks’s first High Limit Racing victory of the 2025 season and extended his personal mastery at Fort Worth’s dirt surface—his third win in just five career starts at the track. The victory also netted the No. 19 Murray‑Marks Motorsports team its first Casm Safety Products Win Sticker of the year and delivered Marks into Whiskey Myers Victory Lane for the fourth time under the High Limit banner. With this repeat success, Marks has firmly planted himself as a title contender as the series embarks on its mid‑season stretch.
Podium Battle
Chasing Marks to the checkered flag was reigning series champion Brad Sweet, who settled for second after a hard‑fought duel and a Lap 9 restart attempt that fell just 1.420 seconds short of the lead. Sweet’s runner‑up effort represented his sixth podium in seven High Limit features, and he sported a special gold‑trimmed livery honoring 100 years of NAPA Auto Parts. Local favorite Sam Hafertepe Jr., racing on the heels of a successful World of Outlaws campaign this year, rounded out the podium in third—becoming one of only three non‑full‑time entrants to crack a sprint car podium across both series in 2025.
Heat and Award Honors
In addition to the feature, a full complement of preliminaries and special‑award sessions added drama to the night. Aaron Reutzel topped Hot Laps with a blistering 13.699‑second effort and secured QuickTime honors at 13.197 seconds. Heat wins went to Tyler Courtney (Heat 1), Brad Sweet (Heat 2), and Sam Hafertepe Jr. (Heat 3), while Brent Marks triumphed in the FK Rod Ends Dash. Aaron Reutzel also captured the Winters Performance B‑Main, and Marks logged the Jake’s Golf Carts Fastest Lap Award at 13.102 seconds. Tanner Thorson charged from 22nd to 10th to claim the Rod End Supply Hard Charger accolade, and Marks alone led all 25 feature laps.
Looking Ahead
With night one in the books, High Limit Racing shifts gears for the second leg of the Stockyard Stampede at Texas Motor Speedway this Saturday, May 3. Fans can expect more flat‑out winged sprint car action under the floodlights, with tickets available through the track box office and full live coverage returning on FloRacing. The weekend’s combined karting and NASCAR festivities promise a memorable motorsport showcase for racing enthusiasts of all stripes.
