3/30/2026
High Limit Racing
Stevie Smith Scores Cometic Gasket Crew Chief of the Month Honors as Thorson Surges to Points Lead
Rod Gross Motorsports Collects Two Wins, Never Finishes Outside Top-10 in March
The ascension of Tanner Thorson and Rod Gross Motorsports to the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing championship lead has been one of the most intriguing stories in sprint car racing to start the 2026 season.
Controlling the points by 21-markers over Aaron Reutzel and Ridge & Sons Racing following an eight-race swing in March, Thorson's rise to contention night-in and night-out has propelled his father-in-law - National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees, Stevie Smith - to Cometic Gasket Crew Chief of the Month honors.
Primarily a text message or phone call away while watching on FloRacing, this time Stevie spent a few nights at the track when he joined Tanner for the season-opening Blackjack Bash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Finishing top-10 in all eight events through Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, Thorson's highlights in March came with wins at Central Arizona Speedway and Route 66 Motor Speedway.
Forgoing the popular torsion bar choice and running a coil-over setup, Thorson said he's using Stevie's old setup notes from as far back as 1986 - and 40 years later, they're still beating the best in sprint car racing with Brinton Marvel and TJ Nichols by his side.
Smith, an 84-time World of Outlaws winner in his heyday, is now the fourth man to earn multiple Cometic Gasket Crew Chief of the Month Awards since the honor was established in 2024. He joins Eric Prutzman (5) of Spire Motorsport, Ricky Warner (4) of Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, and Jake Argo (2) of Clauson-Marshall Racing in that category.
The Cometic Gasket Crew Chief of the Month standings reset as the calendar flips to April with five races in five states on the agenda. The series is set to compete at Lakeside Speedway (KS) on Friday, April 17, Lucas Oil Speedway (MO) on Saturday, April 18, Eagle Raceway (NE) on Tuesday, April 21, Arrowhead Speedway (OK) on Tuesday, April 28, and Texas Motor Speedway (TX) on Thursday, April 30.
Cometic Gasket Crew Chief of the Month Standings - March 2026:
- Stevie Smith - Rod Gross Motorsports #88 (542 pts)
- Aaron Reutzel - Ridge & Sons Racing #87 (-21)
- Ricky Warner - Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #24 (-60)
- Eric Prutzman - Spire Motorsports #77 (-60)
- Jake Argo - Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC (-75)
- Tye Wolfgang - Vermeer Motorsports #55 (-104)
- Brandon Hickman - Rudeen Racing #26 (-117)
- Brent Marks - Brent Marks Racing #19 (-150)
- Jarrett Martin - Kasey Kahne Racing w/ Mike Curb #9 (-151)
- Sean Strausbaugh - Buch Motorsports #13 (-154)
- Heath Moyle - Mosites Lynch Racing #42 (-170)
- Michael Dutcher - Michael Dutcher Motorsports #17GP (-214)
- Adam Wallis - Chase Randall Racing #9R (-218)
- Tyler Swank - CJB Motorsports (-230)
- Danny Sams Jr. - Randerson Racing #24D (-240)
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Article Credit: Brian Walker
