Kyle Larson(Photo: Getty Images)
Kyle Larson isn’t necessarily running the Castrol FloRacing Night in America Series for the points. The NASCAR Cup Series regular can only race on dirt when the schedule for his “regular job” allows. But when he has competed on dirt, he has made an impact. The driver of the No. 6 K&L Rumley Longhorn Chassis won the FloRacing feature at the Brownstown(IN) Speedway and finished third at Tyler County(WV) Speedway but had to miss the event at Atomic Speedway.
His impact has been significant enough that not only fans but competitors notice when he and his team roll through the pit gate.
The driver who scored dozens of Sprint Car wins in 2020 only began racing Super Late Models on a semi-regular basis late last year. But he did so by quickly winning a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race at Port Royal(PA) Speedway. Larson has since added another LOLMDS triumph earlier this season at Florida’s All-Tech Raceway.
On Tuesday night when the FloRacing Series made its way to Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill., many considered Larson to be among the favorites. As a matter of fact, eventual feature winner Bobby Pierce specifically singled out that one foe when he told announcer Dustin Jarrett before the race that he felt like he “had something” for the 6 car.
After starting the 40-lap feature from the sixth position, the Elk Grove, CA native made his way to third on lap 15 when he passed by Earl Pearson Jr. But by that time, Pierce and second running Jonathan Davenport had already built a big advantage in a race that would go caution free over its final 36 circuits and Larson was unable to significantly cut into the gap. It wasn’t just the big deficit he faced at that moment that hurt Larson’s chance of winning.
“I got into the wall as soon as I got to third and right after that I got really loose in,” Larson explained in his post-race interview. “I think if I wouldn’t have got into the wall I would have been able to run the middle strong like I was and would have chased them down, who knows? But we did get really good there at the end.”
Previous wall contact prior to the feature might have played a bigger role in the star driver’s lack of a shot at victory. On his second lap in time-trials, the No. 6 machine hooked the track’s cushion in turn three and ultimately bounced into the outside wall ending his qualifying attempt prematurely.
The Tri-City Speedway is configured in such a way that cars enter the track through an opening in the wall in turn four then immediately take the green flag for their first qualifying lap. Often times, that first lap is thought of as a “throw away” lap with the second typically going down as the lap of record. Larson only got to use his first lap which left him starting his 8-lap heat race from the fourth position. He was only able to climb to second in that preliminary race earning him a sixth-place starting slot in the main event.
Kyle Larson finished third at Tri-City in the K&L Rumley Longhorn Chassis
As a result of his qualifying mishap, Larson had to start the race in a bit of a hole. And by the time he climbed out of that hole, it was a bit too late considering the lack of yellow flags. But even with whatever damage his car might have suffered in that lap 15 scrape with the fence in the feature, Larson still thought he might have a chance to steal the checkered flag with the right break.
“I was hoping for a caution and I was watching the board and was just praying that a caution would come out and give me some sort of an opportunity,” he said. “It was a fun race. The track obviously went through a lot of changes with the rain, it was really heavy(the dirt) in the first few laps but the surface was so hard that it went slick really quick. You had to move around and find a line and I had some good lines working for me where I didn’t have to be so committed to the top which was nice. It’s an awesome race track. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here in a much smaller race car when I was here so this place feels way smaller, the track does, in a Late Model.”
Please consider also reading “Chad Knaus a bit surprised by Hendrick Motorsports revival“
While light rain drops that fell throughout much of the night might have played a role in the outcome for Larson, he believes he still had a winning car although he never really had an opportunity to show it.
“I just kept asking to be tighter and tighter(after hot laps and qualifying) then it rained and I was like uh-oh, we’re going to be way too tight here. But thankfully, the track blew off quickly and we were really good. I definitely felt like I had a car to win but just needed maybe a caution or not get in the wall and maybe we could have got it done.”
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.
