WoO News: Larson takes Knoxville Nationals Prelim Victory
Kyle Larson joined the field for night two at Knoxville Raceway with the World of Outlaws and took the field to school.
Not too long ago many questioned Kyle Larson’s chances at the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s. But in one short week, every trace of doubt has been erased, and he stands likely as the favorite.
A big week at Eldora Speedway served up struggles for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion. It started with a strong runner-up, but then he closed out the week with a 13th during the Knight Before and missing the Kings Royal main event.
And then it all began to turn around at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. Larson opened Ironman weekend with an unforgettable drive from 21st to victory. Then he topped his third Ironman 55 the following night by charging from 12th. The stage then moved to Southern Iowa Speedway (Oskaloosa, IA) on Monday, and “Yung Money” rolled from 13th to Victory Lane.
Knoxville Raceway then welcomed the Sprint Car world for “The Granddaddy of ‘Em All” this week. And Larson delivered yet another statement on Thursday during Toyota Qualifying Night.
Larson lined up sixth for the 25-lapper and put on another show in the Silva Motorsports No. 57. He methodically picked his way forward, passing some strong cars in the process. The Elk Grove, CA native punctuated his rise to the top of the leaderboard with a slider on Rico Abreu with only two laps remaining. Four straight wins for Larson with a combined 49 Sprint Cars passed. The Knoxville triumph was his 10th overall at “The Sprint Car Capital of the World.”
And just like that, Larson looks like the clear-cut favorite for Saturday as he aims to go back-to-back on the sport’s biggest stage. His performance earned him 490 points, enough to put him on the pole for the 50-lap finale.
“Rico was doing a good job as the leader and doing a good job through traffic,” Larson recalled. “And Carson (Macedo) got kind of rolling there for a minute and thankfully I was able to get by him. I didn’t know exactly what to do. I felt like if you could hit the bottom, it was the best place to be, and I think Rico knew that as well. But then he got to that lapper and couldn’t follow him, had to go to the top or middle. And that lapper just hit the berm in front of me, gave me a bunch of clean air and probably messed him up. So, right place at the right time, but you always have to execute every lap. We were able to put ourselves in position to get another win. It feels really good. The car felt great during the Feature.”
Bill Balog and Abreu led the Feature to green, and it was Balog inching ahead to lead the opening lap.
Throughout the opening half of the race, the action remained relatively tame up front. Balog made some daring moves in traffic to stay ahead of Abreu, but the action really warmed up beyond the halfway mark.
Abreu made his move with a slider on Balog on Lap 12. The battle between the two allowed third-running Carson Macedo to close in. Right after Abreu stole the lead, Macedo ripped by Balog to secure the runner-up spot.
It wasn’t much longer before Larson followed the footsteps of the two Californians up front and went by “The North Pole Nightmare” for third. Up ahead Abreu got trapped behind a lapped car allowing Macedo to look low down the back straightaway, but the No. 24 closed the door on the No. 41.
That allowed Larson to close in, and on Lap 18 he rolled by Macedo for second. Then the sights were set on his childhood friend Abreu just ahead.
Larson got to work building momentum to chase down Abreu as he was nearly a second behind once he grabbed the runner-up position. It didn’t take long for the gap to shrink, but Abreu made some moves in traffic to hold Larson off at first as the race hit five laps to go.
But Larson stayed on the gas, and the opportunity he needed presented itself with only two laps remaining. As the two navigated Turns 1 and 2, Larson looked low as Abreu went to the cushion. Larson managed to pull alongside, and a lapped car drifted in Abreu’s lane exiting the corner. The disruption to Abreu’s line allowed Larson to power ahead down the back straightaway and head toward the white flag.
Abreu stayed close with Larson throughout the final rotation around the half mile, but there was no stopping Larson as he held on for the prelim win.
Now all the focus is on Saturday for Larson. With NASCAR duties in Richmond, VA, it’s going to be a busy day but he’s confident. It’s not his first rodeo of jumping between race cars and a few flights over a weekend.
“It’s always fun to run the 57. We’ve definitely been on it lately and no better time than now,” Larson said. “I’ve been fortunate enough now to be able to do double duty between NASCAR and the Sprint Car. No doubt it’s on your mind through the whole weekend. Richmond is a tough place for us. I’ll definitely be focused on that as well. I’m looking forward to getting back in the 5 car. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve seen all of them with the break. Excited to see the 5 guys. And then hopefully Qualifying goes well then we’ll get back here and try to win another Knoxville Nationals.”
Abreu come home second and only a couple laps short of prelim glory. The St. Helena, CA driver earned some valuable lessons as he prepares to chase his first Knoxville Nationals title on Saturday. He’ll line up sixth.
“I’ve got to do a little better job managing traffic and knowing the race pace,” Abreu said. “I felt like I left the bottom open there, but I just wanted to keep it up on the pipes toward the end of the race. The top was just really far around. On the cushion my right front would get up a little bit where I had to give up some in the center. Other than that, Ricky (Warner), Zack (Middlebrooks), and Brady (Forbrook) did an awesome job.”
Rounding out the Knoxville Nationals prelim podium was Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing crew. It was a strong night from beginning to end that will set them up fourth in the lineup for Saturday’s finale.
“The race was in stages for me,” Macedo said. “I feel like early I got my wing back too far, and I had to push it back forward. I started catching them back once we got to traffic. I felt pretty good. And then once we got to traffic I felt really good. I could maneuver really nicely anywhere I wanted to go. I got to Rico when he kind of got messed up with a lapper and thought I was going to be able to squeeze underneath him and then just had to pace behind him for a minute.”
Tyler Courtney and Bill Balog rounded out the top five.
Race Results
1. 57-Kyle Larson[6]
2. 24R-Rico Abreu[2]
3. 41-Carson Macedo[3]
4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[7]
5. 17B-Bill Balog[1]
6. 69K-Daryn Pittman[8]
7. 49-Brad Sweet[9]
8. 21H-Brady Bacon[4]
9. 26-Zeb Wise[11]
10. 21-Brian Brown[5]
11. 58-Kaleb Johnson[14]
12. 19S-Hunter Schuerenberg[13]
13. 83SR-James McFadden[23]
14. 8-Cory Eliason[24]
15. 5T-Ryan Timms[17]
16. 1D-Tasker Phillips[18]
17. 24D-Danny Sams III[10]
18. 36-Jason Martin[12]
19. 3J-Dusty Zomer[21]
20. 7S-Landon Crawley[16]
21. 3G-Ayrton Gennetten[20]
22. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier[15]
23. 33W-Cap Henry[22]
24. 25-Daison Pursley[19]
FEATURE LOCK-INS:
Row 1: Kyle Larson – Daryn Pittman
Row 2: Tyler Courtney – Carson Macedo
Row 3: Giovanni Scelzi – Rico Abreu
Row 4: Brian Brown – Anthony Macri
Row 5: Brady Bacon – Scott Bogucki
Row 6: Corey Day – Brent Marks
Row 7: Bill Balog – Sheldon Haudenschild
Row 8: Chase Randall – Jacob Allen