Larson Goes Wire-To-Wire At 81 Speedway
Larson Goes Wire-To-Wire At 81 Speedway
Kyle Larson led all 25 laps to take his 11th career All Star Victory on Sunday at 81 Speedway.
For the second time in 2020, and for the 11th time in his career, ‘Yung Money’ Kyle Larson is an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event winner, this time during Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires competition at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas. Snagging $5,000 in the process, the wire-to-wire victory was extra satisfying for the Elk Grove, California-native, creating a sense of redemption after finishing second in a wild main event at Red Dirt Raceway on Friday, June 5.
Watch the full feature replay from 81 Speedway:
“That was a lot of fun. I just want to thank all of the fans for coming out and supporting this race,” Kyle Larson said, driver of the Paul Silva-owned/Tarlton and Sons/Finley Farms/Durst/No. 57 sprint car. “It definitely feels good to be out here racing sprint cars.”
Larson’s trip to 81 Speedway victory lane commenced from the outside of row one, eventually upgrading his runner-up starting position to the race lead with a slider over Cory Eliason through turns three and four. Although the move would result in abrupt contact with the turn four cushion bringing the familiar No. 57 to a slight wheel stand while exiting the corner, Larson prevailed and crossed under the flagstand with the race lead.
View full coverage for the All Star Sprints at 81 Speedway on FloRacing
The preferred line around the very topside of the speedway soon moved to the low side, as an abrasive surface forced the entire field, including the race leader, to switch focus to the inside line. By lap ten, the entire field was utilizing 81 Speedway’s bottom groove, already mastered by Angola, Indiana’s Zeb Wise who climbed six spots to find second by lap seven.
Despite countless attempts by Larson to increase his lead in traffic, Wise proved himself to be just as maneuverable through the roadblocks, eventually eradicating all slower cars between himself and the race leader. A caution on lap 18 would give Wise a chance to capitalize, but the opportunity to drive by Larson did not occur until lap 24 of 25.
While hugging the bottom of the speedway, Larson missed his entry into turn one allowing Wise a chance to sneak through. The near-side-by-side battle soon fell into Larson’s favor, driving on to score the $5,000 payday over Wise, Cory Eliason, Dominic Scelzi, and Tony Stewart.
Hear from the top three after the feature:
“I knew I needed to be aggressive at the start because it was a shorter race,” Larson continued. “I was able to get the lead on the first lap and then I just followed the cushion. I started to notice that I could make-up a lot of time on entry, but I was either maintaining position, or the lap cars were pulling away from me on exit, so I knew rubber was starting to come into play. Once you get in the rubber, you just try to not make mistakes. I did make a mistake there toward the end and Zeb (Wise) stuck his nose under me. Fortunately, I was able to get back down. At that point, I just needed to calm down and finish it out.”