This message was edited on
June 01, 2011 at
11:20:11 PM by maj1kmotorsportspr
Dirt And Pavement, With Wing And Without, Three Solid Runs For Larson In Indiana And California
Indianapolis, Indiana and Calistoga, California. May 27, 28 & 29, 2011. Showing his quickly emerging versatility in different forms of open wheel racing, Elk Grove native Kyle Larson had a varied Memorial Holiday weekend of racing on both sides of the country. Starting in Indiana on Friday with his first ever drive in a USAC Silver Crown car, then Saturday, moving on to his first attempt at USAC Midgets on pavement, and finally heading home to California for a Sunday return to his roots of winged sprint car racing, Larson opened many eyes as he raced to 12th, fifth and second place finishes.
In his first attempt in the Keith Kunz Motorsports IWX Motor Freight Silver Crown machine, Larson qualified 12th in a field of 31 entrants on the dirt mile at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. In the “Hoosier 100” the 18 year old Larson drove a heady race in the early to middle stages as he impressively moved his way to sixth and ran in the pack with the leaders. Fighting a tight condition with his mount over the last quarter of the race, Larson twice slid out of the difficult groove in turn two and gave back the positions he had earned, crossing the finish line in 12th. Jerry Coons Jr. raced from ninth to take the crowd pleasing win in a close battle with defending champion Levi Jones.
Moving on to the paved half mile in the Indianapolis suburb of Clermont on Saturday night for the “Night Before The 500” midget race, Larson repeated what he did two weeks ago at the lightning fast Lucas Oil Raceway Park when he set fast time in an asphalt sprint car the first time he saw the track. In his first start in a midget on the macadam Larson stopped the clocks as the fastest once again, topping the 33 car field.
Larson wowed the crowd in heat one as he blasted the Kunz Motorsports/Toyota Racing Development # 67 to the lead from sixth starting before two laps were complete. Gaining the lead with a “thread the needle” pass between the two leaders in turn three, Larson assured himself a place in the 50 lap feature that would pay $20,000 to the victor.
With the inversion Larson started sixth in the talent laden field. Over the first half of the race Larson gained two hard fought positions as first Bryan Clauson, then Darren Hagen led. Over the last third of the race Larson’s tire grip started to go away and he began to lose ground to the top three of Hagen, Alex Bowman and Levi Roberts. After Tracy Hines got by for fourth with a handful of laps to go, Larson settled for fifth as Hagen went on to claim the big money.
Returning to a winged 410 sprint car for the first time in over three weeks, Larson flew home to take on the King of the West Sprints regulars at scenic Calistoga Speedway on Sunday. The defending King of California qualified ninth quick in the field of 28 cars and won the first heat to earn a place in the eight car dash that would determine the first four rows of the scheduled 25 lap main.
Drawing fourth on the dash’s grid Larson raced to third to secure the inside second row starting position. Wheeling the Stadelhofer Construction #99 Larson showed early that he would be a contender for the win. As front row starters Tim Kaeding and Ian Madsen swapped the lead at the head of the pack, Larson fought off first Evan Suggs and then Jonathan Allard. Despite a spate of yellow and red flags, Larson’s lap times were consistently the fastest in the race. With ten laps down Larson drove past Madsen for second and set his sights on Kaeding, who was slowing with a deflating right rear tire. Unfortunately for Larson, Brad Furr spun to bring out the race’s final stoppage, as the checkered flag was given to Kaeding due to the state mandated 11 p.m. curfew.
Larson’s racing efforts are sponsored by Stadelhofer Construction, Bullet Chassis, Toyota Racing Development, IWX Motor Freight, Peppermill ~ Resort ~ Spa Casino ~ Reno, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Simpson Race Products, RJ’s Race Graphics, Abreu Vineyards, JW Web Design, Kaeding Performance, Safety Solutions and All Star Performance.
For more information and news on Kyle Larson visit his website at www.kylelarsonracing.com
 
Photos Courtesy of David Nearpass and Terry Clauson
"Night Before the 500" Midget Heat Race #1 - Larson from 6th to 1st
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