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Larson Tames TK In Chico Civil War
Chance At Win Deflates In Opener
Chico, CA. May 24 & 25, 2008. Losing a chance at a win due to an unusual cause of a flat tire late in the race on Saturday night only made Kyle Larson more determined in the next nights fourth round of the Hoosier Tires California 360 Sprint Car Civil War Series as the 15 year old took another step up racing’s ladder by holding at bay the west coast’s top driver, Tim Kaeding, and emerged with a very popular win in front of a raucous capacity crowd on hand during the annual Chico Silver Dollar Fair.
Larson, nominated for the 2007 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Rookie of the Year in both the 410 and 360 divisions, nearly scored a clean sweep on the night as a third place finish in his heat followed the first quick time award of his short career. He also became the youngest winner ever at Silver Dollar Speedway in a winged sprint car.
After the 48 car field was whittled to 22 for the feature race, the inversion put Larson in the sixth starting slot. As Colby Weisz led before opening night winner Willie Croft took over on lap two, Larson moved into fourth by lap three with Kaeding on his bumper in fifth. Kaeding got by Larson on lap nine but Larson would not go away, making several attempts to get back by. On lap 12 contact ensued between third place Andy Forsberg and Kaeding in turn two, and Larson raced by both down the backstretch. While negotiating heavy lapped traffic on lap 14 Croft spun to a stop as Weisz inherited the point, with Larson now in second. As Weisz, Larson, and Kaeding raced under a blanket on lap 17 Larson made an incredible slide job pass on Weisz in turn two, as Kaeding dove into second in turn three. Despite several yellow flags over the last 13 laps, Larson’s ability to get great restarts never allowed Kaeding to get close enough to the high school sophomore from Elk Grove, California and the youngster held on for his third career main event win.
As Larson emerged from his car the large crowd roared its approval. Asked how it felt to beat Kaeding Larson said, “Racing against Tim Kaeding and pulling slide jobs with him was so much fun. He’s got the second most wins here ever at this track and to beat him feels really good. I have to thank my car owner Dave Vertullo for giving me a great car to run with and thank all the fans for coming out. Hope you guys had fun.”
On Saturday night the 360 sprint cars also competed in a non-point draw format show. Larson won his heat from the front row and, with the inversion drawn, started on the pole of the feature event. Croft started outside of Larson and took the lead at the start. As Croft led Larson fought off Tyler Walker from the outset. When Croft caught lapped traffic on lap five the trio were nose to tail battling through the lappers. Four yellow flags lowered the intensity level over the next several laps as Croft continued to lead over Larson and Walker. On lap 19 Walker executed a harrowing series of flips down the backstretch and into turn four after contact with a lapped car. While on the red Larson’s right rear tire was deflating rapidly. A cracked wheel center was found to be the culprit. After going to the work area Larson returned at the rear of the pack. Over the last six laps Larson raced back to an eighth place finish. “That flat tire was really unfortunate”, said Larson. “Because we don’t race here every week, and because the track can be so different each time, we sometimes have struggled here. But this week Dave Vertullo decided to put a little different setup on the car and it responded great. I really thought that if we could get back to lapped traffic again, that I had the best car in traffic. It was a bummer to not have that chance, but I felt good about my car for the next night.”
Larson’s racing efforts are sponsored by CRV Racing Products, Starr Real Estate and Property Management, Global ParkerStore, Safety Solutions – LFT Technologies, D & J Towing, RPM Indoor Kart Racing and Conference Center, A.R.T. Ent. Speed Equipment, Wion’s Body Shop and Powdercoating, JW Web Design, Mophead Graphix, SWEPCO Lubricants, and Sierra Tire and Wheel.
Check out www.kylelarsonracing.com for video clips, current news and information.
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