Kyle Larson wins the Ironman 55
The longest race in terms of number of laps for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series is the Ironman 55 and it may very well prove to be the most thrilling show of the year as well. Kyle Larson and Logan Schuchart engaged in a fierce battle over the closing laps before the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion just edged the winner of this year’s Eldora Million for the victory at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.
The Silva Motorsports driver from Elk Grove, California earned $20,000 for his win on the track located in Pevely, Missouri in a race shown live by DirtVision.com.
A total of 31 cars were signed in for competition.
Qualifying Results: 1. Sheldon Haudenschild(10.829), 2. James McFadden, 3. Spencer Bayston, 4. Logan Schuchart, 5. Brad Sweet, 6. Kyle Larson, 7. Robbie Price, 8. Carson Macedo, 9. Noah Gass, 10. Kraig Kinser
Heat 1 Results: 1. Brad Sweet, 2. David Gravel, 3. Sheldon Haudenschild, 4. Noah Gass, 5. Brian Bell
Heat 2 Results: 1. James McFadden, 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Buddy Kofoid, 4. Kraig Kinser, 5. Rusty Hickman
Heat 3 Results: 1. Robbie Price, 2. Cole Macedo, 3. Spencer Bayston, 4. Corey Day, 5. Cody Maroske
Heat 4 Results: 1. Logan Schuchart, 2. Carson Macedo, 3. Donny Schatz, 4. Giovanni Scelzi, 5. Joe B. Miller
WoO Dash Results: 1. James McFadden, 2. Logan Schuchart, 3. David Gravel, 4. Brad Sweet, 5. Kyle Larson, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Cole Macedo, 8. Robbie Price
Last Chance Showdown Finish: 1. Brock Zearfoss, 2. Jacob Allen, 3. Riley Goodno, 4. Bill Rose
Feature Re-cap: The 55-lap feature started out with Shuchart leading McFadden, Sweet, Gravel and Carson Macedo. However, one of those early front runners would experience trouble on lap 4 when McFadden crashed to bring out a caution.
On the lap 4 restart, Sweet battled with Macedo, Gravel and Larson at the back of the top-5 as Schuchart continued to lead. Larson began to rise on lap 7 when he passed Macedo for fourth. Two laps later, Haudenschild would also get by Macedo to break into the top-5.
Slide job passes became the order of the day as numerous battles played out throughout the field. With Schuchart leading a tight formation around the track that included Sweet, Gravel, and Larson the opportunity presented itself again for Larson to gain a position when he got around Gravel for third on lap 17.
Cole Macedo stopped on track to bring out a yellow flag on lap 18. That ensuing restart allowed Larson to move into the runner-up spot and then engage in a battle with Schuchart that would last until the end of the feature.
Those two drivers exchanged numerous slide jobs with Larson briefly getting by Schuchart only to get passed again in the next set of turns. Finally on lap 34, Larson asserted himself as the race leader but Schuchart did not give up easily as he made multiple bids to get back by.
Further back, Sweet and Gravel were wrestling for third as Day moved up to join the fray.
As the laps clicked away, the trading of slide jobs between the top-2 drivers resumed. The two machines took the white flag side-by-side with Schuchart appearing to have the advantage. But when the cars went through turns three and four for the final time it was Larson who would gain a slight lead just beating out Schuchart in a side-by-side finish.
It was Larson’s third win in five starts with the World of Outlaws at I-55.
Feature Results: 1. Kyle Larson, 2. Logan Schuchart, 3. Brad Sweet, 4. Corey Day, 5. Carson Macedo, 6. Spencer Bayston, 7. Donny Schatz, 8. Buddy Kofoid, 9. David Gravel, 10. Sheldon Haudenschild, 11. Robbie Price, 12. Giovanni Scelzi, 13. Kraig Kinser, 14. Rusty Hickman, 15. Brock Zearfoss, 16. Joe B. Miller, 17. Riley Goodno, 18. Brian Bell, 19. Cole Macedo, 20. Noah Gass, 21. Bill Rose, 22. Jacob Allen, 23. James McFadden, 24. Cody Maroske
Please consider also reading:
Bobby Pierce just edges Hudson O’Neal for USA Nationals triumph
Respond to this post on Twitter by following @RichardAllenIDR and @MichaelRMoats or by liking the InsideDirtRacing.com Facebook page.
Also, NASCAR and pavement racing fans can check out InsideCircleTrack.com
