Kyle Larson ⬇️Kyle Larson ⬇️
Kyle Larson ⬇️Kyle Larson ⬇️
Flag-to-flag leading Kyle Larson won the Knoxville Nationals on Saturday night at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway for the second time in a row and the third time in four years.
In the 50-lap duel, Larson maintained his lead for the entire 50 laps of the feature, fending off challenges from Carson Macedo, Giovanni Scelzi, and Daryn Pittman.
According to a release, Larson stated, “It doesn’t get any bigger than the Knoxville Nationals.” “It feels fantastic to lead two consecutive 50-lap races from start to finish, knowing that the world’s top sprint car racers are waiting for me in the rear.
It’s not made simple by them. That was a challenging race. Even though it might not seem like it at times, those lappers were just sufficiently quick around the bottom. I thought I was just going more slowly. I felt like I put together some solid laps there at the finish because I was able to pass a few of them, roll back toward the bottom, and the middle actually came in.”
The team had difficulties early in the season, but things entirely turned around when his luck changed. The most recent of five straight sprint car triumphs came from the Knoxville Nationals preliminary and main races.
When Larson fought back from a 12th-place starting position to lead 12 of 55 laps in the Feature, the Nationals demonstrated a far simpler route to victory than the Ironman 55 last week. In a qualifying race earlier in the weekend, he started twenty-first and won. at Pevely, Missouri, at Federated Auto Parts Raceway on I-55.
Larson entered victory lane at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on Monday after starting from 13th place.
Pittman presented Larson with his first challenge of the Nationals, pressing him from his starting position in second place.
On lap 16, Macedo passed Pittman for second place and increased his lead to within half a second of Larson prior to the scheduled fuel yellow flag.
Scelzi got his chance after the restart, but Larson refused to let go of the lead.
“Well done, [the team],” Larson exclaimed. Everyone is aware that, up until the last few weeks, we have been extremely bad this year. They have been putting in a lot of overtime. By our standards, this year has been incredibly disappointing. It’s difficult for me to never give up and for them to never give up either. They work really hard, as I mentioned.
All of this is a credit to them for never giving up and always trying to improve. Ninety races a year are held by these teams. We have to put in extra effort because we are only going to reach races 25 to 30. It adds to the special feeling of these victories.”
Scelzi managed to keep Corey Day at bay and take second place.
“I know I look upset, but I can’t be more proud of my guys,” remarked Scelzi. “Adam Clark, to be a crew chief on a Sprint Car, coming from a beer delivery truck. It would be great if Tim Mallicoat could have watched us finish second. More than anything in my life, I want to win this race. I want to thank Danny Lasoski, my parents, and all of the race team members. I really, really want to win this race. Before you can gain them, you must first lose them.”
Day finished the podium.
