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Sheldon Haudenschild Steals U.S. 36 Raceway Win On Last Corner
Posted by: | CommentsContact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
LET IT EAT: Sheldon Haudenschild Steals U.S. 36 Raceway Win On Last Corner
The NOS Energy Drink driver earned his 10th career World of Outlaws victory
OSBORN, MO — Aug. 29, 2020 — Sheldon Haudenschild could watch leader Brad Sweet enter a turn by the time he found a straightaway. More than two seconds separated the top two with seven laps to go Saturday night at U.S. 36 Raceway.
Both were on a mission to win. However, Sweet, the reigning champion, hadn’t won since the beginning of July. Haudenschild’s last victory was earlier this month.
That didn’t classify Haudenschild as being less determined or motivated, though. He proved that by keeping the NAPA Auto Parts #49 in his target for those final seven laps. And watched it fade to him.
With five to go, Sweet’s lead was down to about a second.
With three to go, nearing half of a second.
With one to go, Haudenschild was no longer polite with his throttle. He shocked Sweet and everyone watching by driving around the outside of Sweet in Turn 4 and then edged him by 0.118 seconds at the finish line to claim the win.
“That last lap, I just let it eat,” Haudenschild said about his show stopping performance in his first appearance at U.S. 36. “I didn’t know if we were going to crash coming to the checkered. I didn’t even know if it was the checkered or not honestly.”
The win is his third of the 2020 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car season and 10th of his Series career – tying him with Danny Smith and Joe Gaerte for 42nd on the all-time wins list.
Sweet started the night as the early favorite, setting Quick Time in Qualifying, winning his Drydene Heat Race and winning the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. Haudenschild finished fifth in the Dash.
When the field of 24 cars commenced their duel for the win in the 35-lap Feature, Sweet bolted ahead to the early lead with points leader Logan Schuchart close behind him. Haudenschild maneuvered his way from fifth to third on the first lap, but David Gravel grab the final podium spot back five laps later.
Heavy traffic became an obstacle for the leaders within the first six laps and cost Sweet the lead for about 20 seconds. Austin McCarl spun in Turn 2 in front of the leaders, blocking Sweet’s favored low line. That allowed Schuchart to throttle around the outside of Sweet and take the lead down the backstretch. The Shark Racing driver’s moment of glory ended by the time they reach Turn 4 again as Sweet powered back by the Drydene #1S for the lead.
Once Schuchart lost the lead, he got sucked into Gravel and Haudenschild’s duel, creating a three-car battle for second. The trio went three wide in Turn 1 and resulted in Schuchart holding second off the corner and Haudenschild moving back ahead of Gravel for third.
The next corner, Haudenschild and Schuchart took Sweet three wide for the lead on the exit of the Turn 4. Sweet was able to maintain the lead with the run he got off the high side of the corner and Haudenschild edged Schuchart for second at the line before the caution came out.
Haudenschild took advantage of his opportunity to line up alongside Sweet on the restart. Using the provided high line to his advantage, he powered alongside Sweet in Turn 4 and snuck ahead of him down the front stretch to take the lead for the first time – a move that foreshadowed his future.
With 18 laps to go, Haudenschild’s hopes for another victory looked to be tarnished when he bounced off the cushion in Turn 2 and allowed Sweet an easy pass for the top spot. Sweet pulled away to a straightaway lead and Schuchart was back on Haudenschild’s bumper.
Keeping his poise, Haudenschild was able to hold Schuchart behind him and get back into a rhythm of clicking off fast laps.
Heavy traffic became an issue again for Sweet in the closing circuits. He preferred the bottom lane, making his trek around the slower cars more difficult as many of them ran the same line. Haudenschild’s lane was a little clearer around the top, allowing him to shave off tenths of a second from Sweet’s lead every lap.
With seven laps to go, he was 2.5 seconds behind.
With three to go, down to about half of a second.
With one to go, the NOS Energy Drink #17 brought the Missouri crowd to their feet and kept the Series’ train of spectacular finishes rolling.
“It was tough,” Haudenschild said about running down Sweet. “I made one bobble over there (in Turn 2) and let Brad capitalize and get by me and ran away. We got to lappers there and they were running top and bottom pretty good pace. Kind of held Brad up there. And I got held up for a few laps. I really didn’t get close there until the white or two to go and just had to send it off (Turn) four.”
Sweet’s runner-up finish is his second in a row and his 22nd podium finish of the season.
“Hopefully I can get on the good side of one of these,” Sweet said. “Hopefully the fans enjoyed it. The NAPA Auto Parts car was good. I really felt like I drove a good race. Just got to those lap cars at the end and, obviously, Sheldon just… I had no idea we were coming to the checkered. But no excuses. You have to run every lap. I was full bore. Just hoping I had a good enough lead there.”
Sweet is now six points behind Schuchart, who finished third, for the championship points lead. And by rounding out the podium, Schuchart was able to break the tie for the team points lead with David Gravel finishing fourth – Shark Racing leads Jason Johnson Racing by two points for the team championship.
“You got to be consistent,” Schuchart said about going after the championship. “I would’ve liked to have raced for the win or have been up there putting on a show. But I felt like some restarts didn’t go our way. It’s a great run. We’re here on the podium. Another good run for this Drydene Performance Products race car.”
Haudenschild’s win helped elevate him in the Series points, as well. He is now up to fourth in points – 86 points behind Schuchart. And he’s no stranger to making late race charges to steal the win.
UP NEXT
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, NE for the first time in four years on Sun., Aug. 30. Get tickets by clicking here. https://mpv.tickets.com/?agency=WRG_SNG_MPV&orgid=52711&pid=8832154#/event/8832154/ticketlist/?view=sections&minPrice=40&maxPrice=40&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=false&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision.
Race Results: 8/29/20 – U.S. 36 Raceway
NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps) – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$5,500]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2][$3,200]; 4. 41-David Gravel [3][$2,800]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [9][$2,500]; 6. 2-Carson Macedo [7][$2,300]; 7. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6][$2,200]; 8. 83-Daryn Pittman [11][$2,100]; 9. 14-Parker Price-Miller [10][$2,050]; 10. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4][$2,000]; 11. 7-Tim Kaeding [19][$1,500]; 12. 7S-Jason Sides [16][$1,200]; 13. 1A-Jacob Allen [8][$1,100]; 14. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [18][$1,050]; 15. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [15][$1,000]; 16. 2C-Wayne Johnson [13][$900]; 17. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [21][$800]; 18. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [12][$800]; 19. 33M-Mason Daniel [24][$800]; 20. 21-Brian Brown [20][$800]; 21. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [23][$800]; 22. 28-Scott Bogucki [14][$800]; 23. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [17][$800]; 24. 17A-Austin McCarl [22][$800]; Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet 1-10, 12-34; Sheldon Haudenschild 11, 35; KSE Hard Charger Award: 7-Tim Kaeding[+8]
Qualifying – 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 10.892; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 10.914; 3. 41-David Gravel, 10.939; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 10.943; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 10.986; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 11.014; 7. 14-Parker Price-Miller, 11.02; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.033; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.045; 10. 2-Carson Macedo, 11.049; 11. 28-Scott Bogucki, 11.084; 12. 21-Brian Brown, 11.113; 13. 17A-Austin McCarl, 11.128; 14. 83-Daryn Pittman, 11.134; 15. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg, 11.177; 16. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 11.182; 17. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, 11.195; 18. 3-Ayrton Gennetten, 11.216; 19. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, 11.23; 20. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell, 11.251; 21. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 11.253; 22. 33M-Mason Daniel, 11.254; 23. O9-Matt Juhl, 11.264; 24. 7-Tim Kaeding, 11.279; 25. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.334; 26. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips, 11.582; 27. 6-Bill Rose, NT
DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 4. 14-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson [6]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [9]; 7. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [7]; 8. 33M-Mason Daniel [8]; 9. 17A-Austin McCarl [5]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [1]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [5]; 5. 28-Scott Bogucki [4]; 6. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [7]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [6]; 8. O9-Matt Juhl [8]; 9. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [9]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 4. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [5]; 5. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [6]; 6. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [7]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 8. 7-Tim Kaeding [8]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [9]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 3. 41-David Gravel [2]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [6]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 7-Tim Kaeding [7][-]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [1][-]; 3. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [3][-]; 4. 17A-Austin McCarl [2][-]; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [4][-]; 6. 33M-Mason Daniel [5][-]; 7. O9-Matt Juhl [6][$300]; 8. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [8][$250]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [9][$225]
Kyle Larson Wins At Red River Valley To Sweep North Dakota Weekend
Posted by: | CommentsContact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
DAKOTA DOMINANCE: Kyle Larson Wins At Red River Valley To Sweep North Dakota Weekend
Brad Sweet closes points gap and Jason Johnson Racing ties Shark Racing for team championship lead
WEST FARGO, ND — Aug. 22, 2020 — Kyle Larson had never raced at Red River Valley Speedway before this weekend. Never raced at River Cities Speedway. Never even raced in North Dakota.
In less than 24 hours, he picked up the win at both tracks – River Cities on Friday and Red River Valley on Saturday night – keeping fans at the edge of their seat both races.
Larson, of Elk Grove, CA, made a last corner pass on points leader Logan Schuchart Friday night to get the win and then had to hold off reigning champion Brad Sweet, Sheldon Haudenschild and Kerry Madsen to secure the win at Red River Valley.
“Once again, another great car,” Larson said. (Car owner and crew chief) Paul Silva gives me great stuff night in and night out to allow me to contend as often as we do. I couldn’t do it without him. I couldn’t do it without all of our supporters.”
Before the start of the 30-lap Feature, Haudenschild presented himself as the early favorite to run away with the win. From the pole in the six-lap DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, the NOS Energy Drink driver rocketed to a more than four second lead ahead of Kyle Larson Racing driver Carson Macedo by the end of the Dash.
However, when the green flag dropped to commence the Feature, Macedo took advantage of the momentum built by running the top lane and launched ahead of Haudenschild down the backstretch.
While Macedo held command out front for the first 14 laps, Haudenschild, Larson and Sweet dueled for second behind him. Haudenschild tapped the front stretch wall with his right rear tire on the second lap, making an easy pass for Larson. Sweet passed Haudenschild three laps later and then soared around the top of the track to steal second from Larson two laps after that.
Larson didn’t let Sweet out of his sight, though. As the NAPA Auto Parts #49 car ran down Macedo, the Finley Farms #57 lurked behind him, waiting to strike.
Making the most of the bottom lane, Larson got a run underneath Sweet down the front stretch on Lap 13 and carried it into Turn 1 to not only move past Sweet but to power by the car he owns for the lead, as well. Sweet passed Macedo for second the next corner to setup another family feud with his brother-in-law for the win.
With 14 laps to go, Kevin Ingle spun off Turn 4, did a 360, and kept going with the two leaders entering the picture. His maneuver blocked Larson’s run down the front stretch and provided Sweet with an opening to dive under Larson going into Turn 1 and take the lead. However, Sweet’s rear end stepped out on the exit of Turn 2, not allowing him to mash the throttle as soon as he’d like. That provided Larson with the opportunity to drive back by.
Traffic continued to be an obstacle for the two drivers. With the top and bottom lanes occupied by slower cars, Larson and Sweet became more acquainted with the brake pedal every corner. Sweet did a better job of finding the openings around the lappers and got a run around the outside of Larson in Turn 1 to reclaim the lead with 11 laps to go.
The sole caution of the night came out with 10 laps to go, setting up a 10-lap brawl for the victory. Haudenschild was brought back into contend, along with Kerry Madsen, who had been on the charge from 10th.
Sweet got a solid launch on the restart, leaving Larson to fend off Haudenschild and Madsen. However, it only took a lap before Larson was back in his rhythm and hunting down “The Big Cat.” Knowing Larson had the bottom figured out, Sweet switch from the top lane to the bottom to block any potential runs by his brother-in-law.
When he went low, Larson went high. And it benefited Larson the most. While ripping the top through Turns 1 and 2 with seven laps to go, Larson blazed around the outside of Sweet. He reclaimed his crown as the leader and held on to it for the final six laps without any challenges to pick up the $10,000 check, his third World of Outlaws win in-a-row and ninth win with the Series this season.
“That was a fun race there,” Larson said. “Early, Brad was really really good. I though he was good all race. He could get the top going in (Turns) three and four really well. Anytime I go down to the bottom I’d see him blaze by me on the top. Then the caution came out and he’d seen me running the bottom a lot in (Turns) one and two. I figured I was going to have to get something going differently than him. I was able to get the top going in (Turns) one and two and able to get down the backstretch good.”
Sweet’s runner-up finished concluded a solid weekend for the defending champion, of Grass Valley, CA, who finished fifth the night before. He had dealt with bad luck the past few weeks but was able to gain points Saturday night and leaves North Dakota eight points behind leader Logan Schuchart – who finished 10th.
“Obviously, disappointed we finished second,” Sweet said. “I thought I had a better car through lap traffic. Being able to change lanes. Got the lead there with 10 to go and made a misjudgment on my end. I thought I needed to be on the bottom. I needed to react a little quicker to get to the top… Once he got around me, I was ready to change my line then. Just a split second too late.”
Haudenschild was able to hold off Madsen and round out the podium – his first podium and top-five in four races.
“I didn’t really get myself positioned too well there,” said Haudenschild, of Wooster, OH. “I got into the front stretch wall. A couple of guys got by me and had to do a little bit of work after that. But man, this NOS Energy Drink #17 was really good tonight.”
His performance helped bring him back within 100 points of the championship lead – now 92 points behind Schuchart.
Hometown favorite and 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, of Fargo, ND, also made a small gain with his seventh-place run at Red River Valley. He is now 58 points behind Schucharts.
David Gravel, again, made big gains for Jason Johnson Racing in the team championship points. With his sixth-place finish at Red River Valley, JJR is tied with Schuchart’s Shark Racing team for the points lead with less than 20 races to go this season.
UP NEXT
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series makes its return to US 36 Raceway in Osbron, MO on Sat., Aug. 29. Get tickets by clicking here. https://mpv.tickets.com/?orgid=52711&agency=WRG_SNG_MPV&pid=8857400#/event/8857400/ticketlist/?view=sections&minPrice=40&maxPrice=40&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=false&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false
Then, on Sun., Aug. 30, the Series returns to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, NE. Get tickets by clicking here. https://mpv.tickets.com/?agency=WRG_SNG_MPV&orgid=52711&pid=8832154#/event/8832154/seatmap/?selectBuyers=false&minPrice=35&maxPrice=38&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=true&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false
If you can’t make it to the tracks, you can still watch both races live on DIRTVision.
Race Results: 8/22/20 – Red River Valley Speedway
NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [4][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [5][$5,500]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1][$3,200]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [10][$2,800]; 5. 9-James McFadden [3][$2,500]; 6. 41-David Gravel [9][$2,300]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [8][$2,200]; 8. 2-Carson Macedo [2][$2,100]; 9. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [12][$2,050]; 10. 1S-Logan Schuchart [13][$2,000]; 11. 1A-Jacob Allen [6][$1,500]; 12. 14-Parker Price-Miller [7][$1,200]; 13. 19-Paige Polyak [14][$1,100]; 14. 7S-Jason Sides [11][$1,050]; 15. 2C-Wayne Johnson [20][$1,000]; 16. 13-Sammy Swindell [18][$900]; 17. 33M-Mason Daniel [15][$800]; 18. 8H-Jade Hastings [16][$800]; 19. 35-Skylar Prochaska [19][$800]; 20. 14T-Tim Estenson [21][$800]; 21. 6N-Greg Nikitenko [17][$800]; 22. 26-Blake Egeland [24][$800]; 23. 2K-Kevin Ingle [22][$800]; 24. 6-Bill Rose [23][$800];
Lap Leaders: Carson Macedo 1-13; Kyle Larson 14-19, 24-30; Brad Sweet 20-23;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 2M-Kerry Madsen[+6]
Qualifying – 1. 14-Parker Price-Miller, 12.581; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.672; 3. 9-James McFadden, 12.724; 4. 2-Carson Macedo, 12.794; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.824; 6. 57-Kyle Larson, 12.839; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.855; 8. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.893; 9. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 12.915; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.923; 11. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.974; 12. 33M-Mason Daniel, 13.021; 13. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.024; 14. 19-Paige Polyak, 13.073; 15. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 13.308; 16. 8H-Jade Hastings, 13.384; 17. 9N-Wade Nygaard, 13.404; 18. 41-David Gravel, 13.438; 19. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 13.469; 20. 6N-Greg Nikitenko, 13.597; 21. 13-Sammy Swindell, 13.663; 22. 11M-Brendan Mullen, 13.702; 23. 35-Skylar Prochaska, 13.719; 24. 6-Bill Rose, 13.738; 25. 14T-Tim Estenson, 13.773; 26. 17M-Zach Omdahl, 13.811; 27. 26-Blake Egeland, 14.439; 28. 14X-Tom Egeland, 14.522
DRYDENE Heat #1 (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 3. 14-Parker Price-Miller [1]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 6. 8H-Jade Hastings [6]; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson [7]; 8. 11M-Brendan Mullen [8]; 9. 14T-Tim Estenson [9]; 10. 14X-Tom Egeland [10]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [3]; 5. 19-Paige Polyak [5]; 6. 6N-Greg Nikitenko [7]; 7. 35-Skylar Prochaska [8]; 8. 17M-Zach Omdahl [9]; 9. 9N-Wade Nygaard [6]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 9-James McFadden [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 3. 41-David Gravel [6]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [3]; 5. 33M-Mason Daniel [4]; 6. 13-Sammy Swindell [7]; 7. 6-Bill Rose [8]; 8. 2K-Kevin Ingle [5]; 9. 26-Blake Egeland [9]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 3. 9-James McFadden [3]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [5]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 35-Skylar Prochaska [4][-]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson [3][-]; 3. 14T-Tim Estenson [8][-]; 4. 2K-Kevin Ingle [1][-]; 5. 6-Bill Rose [5][-]; 6. 26-Blake Egeland [9][-]; 7. 14X-Tom Egeland [10][$300]; 8. 17M-Zach Omdahl [7][$250]; 9. 11M-Brendan Mullen [6][$225]; 10. 9N-Wade Nygaard [2][$200]
Kyle Larson Steals World of Outlaws Win In River Cities Debut
Posted by: | CommentsContact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
RIVER RUNNER: Kyle Larson Steals Win In River Cities Debut
Logan Schuchart extends his points lead over reigning champion Brad Sweet
GRAND FORKS, ND — Aug. 21, 2020 — Kyle Larson was sideways in the Turn 4 grass with four laps to go as Logan Schuchart ran away with the lead at River Cities Speedway Friday night.
Yet, he still managed to turn an unpredictable situation into a characteristically canny conclusion.
The Elk Grove, CA driver rallied in three laps to catch and strong arm his way past the Shark Racing #1S to claim his eighth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win in 2020 — making him the winningest driver, so far, this year in the Series.
“The Outlaws is as tough as it gets for Sprint Car racing throughout the world," Larson said. "To come in here and be as strong as we have all year long and get a lot of wins, it’s been a lot of fun. We need to keep getting our stuff better, because everyone is chasing us and getting their stuff better each race.”
Friday’s event at the quarter-mile speedway was Larson’s debut at River Cities and his first time racing in North Dakota. He kicked it off my setting quick time in Qualifying and making his way into the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash with a second-place run in his Drydene Heat Race behind David Gravel.
He drew the rear for the Dash but in typical Larson fashion, he seamlessly teleported his way from sixth to third on the opening lap of the Dash and ended up second. Gravel claimed the win — placing he and Larson on the front row for the 40-lap Feature.
Their battle around the bullring would be an extension of the war they waged for the win at Knoxville Raceway last weekend.
When the duo drag raced to Turn 1 at the start of the Feature, Larson darted ahead by ripping the top lane of the corner. Points leader Logan Schuchart followed in his tire tracks, stealing second from Gravel on the first lap, as well. The Silva Motorsports #57 did as it does every race, though, and pulled away from the field.
The end of the first 14 laps saw reigning champion Brad Sweet’s streak of bad luck continue. Wayne Johnson spun in Turn 4, causing cars to stack up. Sweet, who was fifth, jumped a tire of a slowed car in front of him and went head first into the Turn 4 wall. His Kasey Kahne Racing team was able to get his car repaired and send him back on track to make a charge from the rear. And he did. While Larson and Schuchart battled, Sweet made his way back to fifth by the end of the Feature.
Larson held a commanding lead over Schuchart for the majority of the race, but with heavy traffic in the final five laps Schuchart took advantage of the opportunity to strike. Locked on Larson’s bumper down the backstretch with four laps to go, Schuchart dove to the bottom in Turn 3. Larson also had the same idea. The two drivers made contact with Larson getting turned into the Turn 4 grass off Schuchart’s front bumper.
“I felt contact into (Turn) three,” Larson said. “I wasn't sure if it was a lapper because I came across. But thank God I was able to keep it straight. I knew there wasn’t many laps left. Had to get up on the wheel there.”
Schuchart sped away while Larson added off-roading to his resume by steering his car straight through the grass and back on to the track without losing another spot.
The win appeared to be in Schuchart’s hand as he held about a half of a straight away lead on Larson coming to the white flag. However, Larson tested the limits of his machine each corner. He throw it into Turn 1 and found enough traction to cut a few car lengths off Schuchart's lead.
On their exit of Turn 2, Schuchart couldn’t put the power down quick enough and allowed Larson to close even further. At Turn 3, Schuchart entered through the middle, while Larson went as high as he could go. Their cars met at Turn 4, but while Schuchart was sliding up, Larson turned down underneath him and rocketed by to steal the win.
“I knew he was going to have to make a decision going into (Turn) three and hoped he wasn’t going to run the cushion,” Larson said. “I knew that would be my only shot. I was just able to time the run good and clear him off of (Turn) four here.
“That was definitely an exciting one. It’s been fun to win a lot. I hope we keep it going.”
While Schuchart had to settle for second, he was still able to extend his points lead over Sweet – now 24 points ahead of the defending champion.
“It is just tough when you’re behind a guy like that,” Schuchart, of Hanover, PA, said about racing with Larson. “Kyle doesn’t make any mistakes. He’s tough. I had one shot right there. I felt like I could get through (Turns) one and two a little bit better at times and catch him.
“I felt like I had one shot there. I was getting close and had a really good run into (Turn) three when he cut to the bottom and I was trying to back off and go to the outside of him and caught his back bumper. I’m not trying to hit him, and I know he didn’t the other night at Knoxville. That’s racing and we’re racing hard. He just drove a little bit better than I did and got the job done.”
Ten-time Series champion Donny Schatz, of Fargo, ND, put on a show for his home state crowd, battling with Gravel and James McFadden for third throughout the Feature. He was able to come out on top of that battle, rounding out the podium, and rebound from a rough weekend in Knoxville where he was unable to score a top-10 finish.
“We didn’t have the right combination here tonight,” Schatz said. “Just the way it goes. When you get behind the eight ball a little bit you get a long way behind. My guys are doing an incredible job with what we have to work with and will have to keep digging.”
Gravel’s fourth-place finish helped keep Jason Johnson Racing in close contention for the team championship – only eight points behind Schuchart’s Shark Racing team.
UP NEXT
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, ND for the Red River Rumble on Sat., Aug. 22. Get tickets by clicking here. https://slspromotions.ticketforce.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=191
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision.
Race Results: 8/21/20 - River Cities Speedway
NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps) — 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2][$10,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4][$5,500]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [7][$3,200]; 4. 41-David Gravel [1][$2,800]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [6][$2,500]; 6. 9-James McFadden [3][$2,300]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [9][$2,200]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [11][$2,100]; 9. 14-Parker Price-Miller [10][$2,050]; 10. 2-Carson Macedo [13][$2,000]; 11. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [14][$1,500]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen [8][$1,200]; 13. 7S-Jason Sides [5][$1,100]; 14. 13-Sammy Swindell [12][$1,050]; 15. 8H-Jade Hastings [21][$1,000]; 16. 33M-Mason Daniel [16][$900]; 17. 9N-Wade Nygaard [15][$800]; 18. 20A-Jordan Adams [24][$800]; 19. 14T-Tim Estenson [22][$800]; 20. 35-Skylar Prochaska [20][$800]; 21. 2C-Wayne Johnson [18][$800]; 22. 2A-Austin Pierce [25][$]; 23. 8-Jack Croaker [17][$800]; 24. 26-Blake Egeland [23][$800]; 25. 11M-Brendan Mullen [19][$800];
Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson 1-36, 40; Logan Schuchart 37-39;
KSE Hard Charger: Jade Hastings
Qualifying — 1. 57-Kyle Larson, 10.056; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 10.127; 3. 49-Brad Sweet, 10.129; 4. 41-David Gravel, 10.145; 5. 9-James McFadden, 10.153; 6. 7S-Jason Sides, 10.192; 7. 15-Donny Schatz, 10.201; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 10.217; 9. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 10.244; 10. 14-Parker Price-Miller, 10.252; 11. 1A-Jacob Allen, 10.257; 12. 35-Skylar Prochaska, 10.272; 13. 2-Carson Macedo, 10.342; 14. 6N-Greg Nikitenko, 10.36; 15. 13-Sammy Swindell, 10.402; 16. 33M-Mason Daniel, 10.514; 17. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 10.571; 18. 8H-Jade Hastings, 10.605; 19. 11M-Brendan Mullen, 10.644; 20. 2A-Austin Pierce, 10.775; 21. 9N-Wade Nygaard, 10.822; 22. 6-Bill Rose, 10.837; 23. 8-Jack Croaker, 10.86; 24. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 10.895; 25. 20A-Jordan Adams, 10.898; 26. 14T-Tim Estenson, 10.959; 27. 14X-Tom Egeland, 11.196; 28. O-Nick Omdahl, 11.259; 29. 26-Blake Egeland, 11.296; 30. 4-Colton Young, 11.831; 31. 17M-Zach Omdahl, NT
DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer — 1. 41-David Gravel [2]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [1]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 4. 14-Parker Price-Miller [4]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [5]; 6. 33M-Mason Daniel [6]; 7. 11M-Brendan Mullen [7]; 8. O-Nick Omdahl [10]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [8]; 10. 20A-Jordan Adams [9]; 11. 17M-Zach Omdahl [11]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer — 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. 9-James McFadden [2]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 5. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [6]; 6. 8-Jack Croaker [8]; 7. 6N-Greg Nikitenko [5]; 8. 14T-Tim Estenson [9]; 9. 2A-Austin Pierce [7]; 10. 26-Blake Egeland [10]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer — 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [2]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 4. 13-Sammy Swindell [5]; 5. 9N-Wade Nygaard [7]; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson [8]; 7. 35-Skylar Prochaska [4]; 8. 8H-Jade Hastings [6]; 9. 4-Colton Young [10]; 10. 14X-Tom Egeland [9]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) — 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [6]; 3. 9-James McFadden [3]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [4]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [2]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer — 1. 11M-Brendan Mullen [3][-]; 2. 35-Skylar Prochaska [1][-]; 3. 8H-Jade Hastings [6][-]; 4. 14T-Tim Estenson [5][-]; 5. 26-Blake Egeland [11][-]; 6. 20A-Jordan Adams [10][-]; 7. 6-Bill Rose [7][$300]; 8. O-Nick Omdahl [4][$250]; 9. 17M-Zach Omdahl [13][$225]; 10. 6N-Greg Nikitenko [2][$200]; 11. 2A-Austin Pierce [8][$200]; 12. 14X-Tom Egeland [12][$200]; 13. 4-Colton Young [9][$200]
Kyle Larson Makes History With Capitani Classic Win at Knoxville
Posted by: | CommentsContact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
ONE OF A KIND: Kyle Larson Makes History With Capitani Classic Win at Knoxville
Logan Schuchart and David Gravel make big points gains during “The One and Only” weekend
KNOXVILLE, IA – Aug. 15, 2020 – Kyle Larson was forced to leave Knoxville Raceway with a broken heart last year after failing to qualify for the Knoxville Nationals. A year later, it was healed with the Elk Grove, CA driver winning the biggest Sprint Car race of his career at the historic half-mile with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
Larson was a missile among bullets Saturday night, leading from the green to checkers in the 30-lap Feature to claim the Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank win and the big $50,000 check.
“It means a lot,” Larson said about winning the Capitani. “We wish it was the (Knoxville) Nationals but hats off to the Outlaws and Knoxville and everyone who helps present this race and award this purse.”
He and the Silva Motorsports team have been the class of the field about every time they hit the black Zook clay. Aside from a 10th-place run with the Series in May, Larson has won five out of his last six starts at the track in the #57 car, owned and worked on by Paul Silva. On Thursday, Larson won the opening night of “The One and Only” – which replaced the postponed Nationals – and was forced to settle with a second-place finish Friday night.
His performance during the two opening nights of the event helped lock him into the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash for Saturday’s Capitani Classic. With the fortune of starting on the outside pole for the Dash, Larson darted past polesitter Aaron Reutzel on the start and ran away with the win.
It was teaser of what would come in the 30-lap Feature.
Reutzel tried to make it interesting when the green flag flew, crowding Larson on the entrance to Turn 1. However, Larson was strong no matter where he had to put his car. While ridding the inside berm, Larson was able to nose ahead of Reutzel off Turn 2 and pulled further ahead down the backstretch. He cleared Reutzel on the entrance to Turn 3 and again pulled away.
A lap later, Larson no longer had to worry about a battle from the Folkens Bros Trucking #87 as Reutzel suffered a rear end issue that took him out of the race. That lined up points leader Logan Schuchart alongside Larson for the restart.
When the green flag waved again, Larson had no intentions of allowing another challenge for the lead. He timed his throttle acceleration perfect and rocketed ahead of the field. He became untouchable, pulling away to about a four second lead. Even while having to navigate traffic.
His race almost came to an end toward the halfway point when he nearly collided with Shane Golobic while trying to lap him. The incident forced him up the inside berm and got his car out of shape. He lost little time to Schuchart, though, who had been working on keeping 2019 Knoxville Nationals winner David Gravel behind him.
Gravel’s car came to life in the closing laps, passing Schuchart for second with five laps to go. His next target, Larson, was too far gone to catch. Time wasn't on his side. Until it was given to him.
James McFadden rolled over in Turn 4 with two laps to go, bringing out the red flag and giving Gravel one attempt at dethroning Larson. It was a rematch from Friday night’s race, where Gravel held of Larson in the closing laps of the race. Knowing Gravel was behind him made Larson a little worried, too.
“I wasn’t quite sure what to do because Gravel gets around the bottom so well,” Larson said. “I had been running the top both ends really good. But I didn’t want to leave the door open on the restart. I kind of debated with myself the whole way down the front stretch of what to do.”
When they were allowed to mash their throttles again, Larson made the decision to dive to the bottom and block the head of steam Gravel had going into the turn. His decision helped win him the race, as Gravel was unable to work the bottom to his advance and get by Larson.
“If he ran the top there, I was going to send it in on him,” Gravel said. “It just didn’t happen. It was a good race. We wouldn’t have had a shot if that red didn’t come out. He was gone. Started fifth and couldn’t get going there early in the race. Had to battle Logan (Schuchart) there quite a bit. I think we had the second-best car.”
With his performance this weekend of finishing, fifth, first and second, Gravel has helped propel Jason Johnson Racing to second in the team points – now only four-points back from the leader.
Logan Schuchart had a similar feat by reclaiming the points lead the first night of “The One and Only” when reigning Series champion Brad Sweet and 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz DNF’d. He held the lead throughout the weekend and with a third-place finish during the Capitani Classic, he leaves Knoxville with an 18-point lead over Sweet.
“I just got beat by better experienced drivers and better teams tonight,” Schuchart said. “We’ve gotten better since we’ve come to Knoxville. Really hit it right last year. I just pulled my wing back a little too much at the start of the race and got tight on the cushion and started trying different things that wasn’t really working.”
Along with Larson’s impressive run, Schatz had one of his own. He lost a motor during his Drydene Qualifier race and his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team had to scramble to get the car out of the track, to their trailer and then replace the motor in time to be back for the C-Main.
Schatz went from 17th to the win in the 12-lap C-Main, which transferred him to the rear of the Last Chance Showdown. He then went from 18th to fourth in the LCS to earn the final spot in the Feature. By the time the checkered flag was shown, Schatz had made his way from 24th to 12th in the Feature, earning the KSE Racing Hard Charger award for the second night in a row.
Larson’s win is his seventh win of the season with the Series – 15th career win overall – and the most historic one of his Sprint Car career, so far.
We’re only a year away from heartbreak or triumph at the 2021 Knoxville Nationals.
UP NEXT
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to North Dakota for a doubleheader weekend. On Fri., Aug. 21 the Series returns to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND. Get tickets by clicking here. And on Sat., Aug. 22 the Series returns to Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, ND. Get tickets by clicking here. https://slspromotions.ticketforce.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=191
Race Results: 8/15/20 – Knoxville Raceway – Capitani Classic
NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [1][$50,000]; 2. 41-David Gravel [5][$25,000]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3][$12,500]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [6][$8,000]; 5. 71-Spencer Bayston [8][$7,000]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [4][$6,000]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [9][$5,750]; 8. 17A-Austin McCarl [19][$5,500]; 9. 24-Rico Abreu [7][$5,250]; 10. 83-Daryn Pittman [12][$5,000]; 11. 26-Cory Eliason [14][$4,500]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz [24][$4,250]; 13. 18-Gio Scelzi [16][$4,000]; 14. 12N-Joey Saldana [10][$3,750]; 15. 48-Danny Dietrich [22][$3,500]; 16. 21-Brian Brown [21][$3,250]; 17. O9-Matt Juhl [23][$3,000]; 18. 19-Shane Stewart [15][$3,000]; 19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [20][$3,000]; 20. 1A-Jacob Allen [11][$3,000]; 21. 9-James McFadden [13][$3,000]; 22. 17W-Shane Golobic [17][$3,000]; 23. 4-Terry McCarl [18][$3,000]; 24. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2][$3,000]; Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson 1-30; KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz[+12]
DRYDENE Qualifier #1 (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 3. 9-James McFadden [3]; 4. 17W-Shane Golobic [6]; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 6. 49X-Tim Shaffer [11]; 7. 17X-Josh Baughman [8]; 8. 33M-Mason Daniel [10]; 9. 5C-Colby Copeland [9]; 10. 42-Sye Lynch [14]; 11. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [12]; 12. 44-Chris Martin [13]; 13. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 14. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 15. 56-Joe Simbro [15]
DRYDENE Qualifier #2 (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 24-Rico Abreu [1]; 2. 12N-Joey Saldana [4]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 4. 4-Terry McCarl [5]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8]; 7. O9-Matt Juhl [3]; 8. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [10]; 9. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [9]; 10. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [11]; 11. 56N-Davey Heskin [12]; 12. 9W-Ryan Giles [13]; 13. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [7]; 14. 6-Bill Rose [14]
DRYDENE Qualifier #3 (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 19-Shane Stewart [3]; 4. 17A-Austin McCarl [7]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [9]; 6. 13-Paul McMahan [6]; 7. 39-Sammy Swindell [5]; 8. 44S-Trey Starks [10]; 9. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [4]; 10. 5-Ian Madsen [8]; 11. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [12]; 12. 70-Cale Thomas [13]; 13. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [11]; 14. 14K-Tori Knutson [14]
DRYDENE Qualifier #4 (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 71-Spencer Bayston [1]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 18-Gio Scelzi [3]; 4. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 5. 14-Parker Price-Miller [7]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [5]; 7. 7-Tim Kaeding [6]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9]; 9. 2C-Wayne Johnson [10]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee [11]; 11. 88-Kyle Offill [12]; 12. 39M-Anthony Macri [8]; 13. 2K-Kevin Ingle [14]; 14. 35-Zach Hampton [13]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 5. 41-David Gravel [3]; 6. 2-Carson Macedo [7]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu [8]; 8. 71-Spencer Bayston [5]
C-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [17][]; 2. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [6][]; 3. 5-Ian Madsen [7][]; 4. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [11][]; 5. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [3][$450]; 6. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [2][$400]; 7. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [9][$350]; 8. 42-Sye Lynch [5][$300]; 9. 88-Kyle Offill [12][$300]; 10. 14K-Tori Knutson [19][$300]; 11. 56N-Davey Heskin [10][$300]; 12. 2C-Wayne Johnson [4][$300]; 13. 5C-Colby Copeland [1][$300]; 14. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [16][$300]; 15. 44-Chris Martin [13][$300]; 16. 99-Skylar Gee [8][$300]; 17. 70-Cale Thomas [14][$300]; 18. 39M-Anthony Macri [15][$300]; 19. 56-Joe Simbro [22][$300]; 20. 2K-Kevin Ingle [21][$300]; 21. 6-Bill Rose [18][$300]; 22. 35-Zach Hampton [20][$300]; 23. 9W-Ryan Giles [23][$300]; 24. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [24][$300]
Last Chance Showdown (15 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 21-Brian Brown [1][]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [3][]; 3. O9-Matt Juhl [2][]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [18][]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5][$2,400]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8][$2,200]; 7. 7-Tim Kaeding [13][$2,000]; 8. 7S-Jason Sides [4][$1,800]; 9. 13-Paul McMahan [9][$1,600]; 10. 14-Parker Price-Miller [6][$1,400]; 11. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [10][$1,200]; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser [17][$1,100]; 13. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [15][$1,000]; 14. 49X-Tim Shaffer [7][$900]; 15. 5-Ian Madsen [20][$800]; 16. 44S-Trey Starks [16][$700]; 17. 33M-Mason Daniel [14][$600]; 18. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [21][$500]; 19. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [19][$500]; 20. 17X-Josh Baughman [11][$500]; 21. 39-Sammy Swindell [12][$500]
David Gravel Holds Off Kyle Larson To Win Night Two Of ‘The One and Only’
Posted by: | CommentsContact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
STEPPING IT UP: David Gravel Holds Off Kyle Larson To Win Night Two Of ‘The One and Only’
Saturday’s Capitani Classic at Knoxville Raceway will see Gravel, Larson, Aaron Reutzel and Logan Schuchart locked into the Feature
KNOXVILLE, IA – Aug. 14, 2020 – A thousand pounds of weight fell from David Gravel’s body when he exited his Jason Johnson Racing #41 car Friday night.
His sweat drenched face showed. His tired body language showed it. And his smile showed it as he waved the checkered flag in Victory Lane for the second time this season at Knoxville Raceway.
Gravel led from green to checkers in the 25-lap Feature during the second night of “The One and Only” but had to survive challenging conditions and a late race charge for Kyle Larson to claim his fourth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the season.
“It was very very daring there in (turns) three and four,” said Gravel, of Watertown, CT. “Dirty air makes it worse. One and two was fairly easy to run the bottom. But it made you step up your game and stay up on the wheel. I know guys would be charging pretty hard. I was able to get by some (lap) guys and didn’t get held up too bad. Definitely got to clean up a few corners to make sure we win these longer races.”
A fifth-place run Thursday night at the historic half-mile was suitable but not sufficient enough for Gravel and the JJR team. They stepped up their game on Friday, returning to the winning caliber level that brought them a Nationals victory about a year ago.
Gravel qualified third Friday night and then rocketed from eighth to third in his Drydene Heat Race. That resulted in him being the top points earner for the night and the first to draw for the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. With the support of Lady Luck, Gravel drew the #1 pile for the Dash and went on to dominate the six-lap event.
At the drop of the green flag for the Feature, Gravel mastered the relationship between torque and acceleration to launch ahead of the 25-car field. By the time he reached the flag stand to compete the first lap, his Mesilla Valley Transportation #41 car was already half a straightaway ahead of second-place Rico Abreu.
As Gravel pulled away, Abreu became his best friend. The California driver made life hell for Larson, who moved into third on the first lap and was forced to work overtime to get by Abreu. The two Californians waged war for second place in the first eight laps, testing who could throw a better slide job each corner. And while they did, Gravel continued his escape.
With 16 laps to go, Larson was able to get a run underneath Abreu down the front stretch and dart ahead of him into Turn 1. Abreu attempted to dive underneath Larson entering the corner but was left minimal room to do so and had to abort his move. That allowed Larson to drive away and reigning Series champion Brad Sweet to make the pass on him for third, as well.
By the time Larson finally secured the runner up spot, Gravel already had about a two second lead. With challenging track conditions for Gravel and heavy lap traffic ahead of him, a late race charge from Larson looked inevitable.
Gravel was able to put distance between himself and Larson through Turns 1 and 2 but struggled to find grip through Turns 3 and 4 and off the corner. The added obstacles of slower cars allowed Larson closed in every lap.
With five laps to go, Larson was within striking distance. Gravel switched to the bottom line through Turns 3 and 4 for a couple of laps to try and find traction, but instead he allowed Larson to rip the top and charge to his bumper.
With the white flag in the air, Larson was in prime position to upset Gravel’s night. He dove underneath the red JJR car down the front stretch and had his finger on the trigger to pull the winning slide job. However, when he got to the isle, the lane was closed. Gravel entered Turn 1 through the middle, just above the slower car of Daryn Pittman, and used him as a pick to kill Larson’s attempt at a pass.
The move ultimately secured Gravel the win as he was able to find enough grip through Turns 3 and 4 to hold off Larson by 0.203 seconds at the finish line.
“All I have to say is Paul Silva and Kyle Larson are really good, but when (JJR crew chief) Philip Dietz and David Gravel are on, we can compete with the best,” Gravel said. “Tonight, it showed. Kyle is a good friend. He’s made us step up our game. This year has been a struggle to find a balance. Tonight, we felt really really good. Had the motor running right tonight. It was definitely intense there. Those lap cars, who knew where they were going?”
Gravel’s win ended Larson’s streak of four wins in a row at the Sprint Car Capital of the World and two wins in a row with the World of Outlaws.
“Our race car was really good,” Larson said. “Especially when I get to traffic, I feel really good. David did just a little bit better of a job than me at some points. In the early points we got into traffic and then, (turns) one and two is so good you can kind of go anywhere. I couldn’t make it good enough around to stay close to him off (turn) two. We’ll take a second. A good points night.”
Sweet rounded out the podium, which is a solid rebound from his disastrous Thursday night run. The Grass Valley, CA driver had suffered his fourth DNF of the year due to being involved in an early wreck.
“It feels like a win for us,” Sweet said. “We needed a good rebound after last night. This team has been through a lot with the NAPA Auto Parts car. But we never give up.”
His run also helped him gain some points on championship points leader Logan Schuchart, who finished ninth. He’s now 12 points back from the lead. Ten-time Series champion Donny Schatz, who also suffered a DNF Thursday night, rebounded to finish 11th, but it was still not the night he and his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team were looking for. He had to use a rare provisional to start 25th in the Feature.
Gravel’s win has locked him into the Feature and DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash for Saturday’s $50,000-to-win Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank. Larson, Schuchart and Aaron Reutzel are also locked in. The rest of the start-studded field will need to race their way in through four Qualifier races or the D-Main, C-Main and Last Chance Showdown.
With a red and black paint scheme that resembles Jason Johnson’s 2016 Knoxville Nationals winning car, the thousand pounds of weight will be back on his shoulders Saturday night. However, having to win under pressure at Knoxville is nothing new for the 2019 Capitani Classic winner and Knoxville Nationals champion.
His sweat drenched face has shown it. His tired body has shown it. And his victorious smile.
UP NEXT
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will conclude “The One and Only” three-day event with the $50,000-to-win Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank on Sat., Aug. 15 in front of a sold-out crowd.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can still watch all of the action live on DIRTVision.
Race Results: 8/14/20 – Knoxville Raceway
NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1][$10,000]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [4][$7,500]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [10][$5,000]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [2][$4,500]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic [5][$4,000]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [14][$3,500]; 7. 26-Cory Eliason [6][$3,250]; 8. 19-Shane Stewart [7][$3,000]; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart [21][$2,800]; 10. 87-Aaron Reutzel [15][$2,600]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz [25][$1,400]; 12. 9-James McFadden [13][$2,200]; 13. 2-Carson Macedo [24][$2,000]; 14. O9-Matt Juhl [22][$1,800]; 15. 39M-Anthony Macri [9][$1,600]; 16. 21-Brian Brown [3][$1,500]; 17. 39-Sammy Swindell [19][$1,400]; 18. 83-Daryn Pittman [12][$1,300]; 19. 1A-Jacob Allen [11][$1,200]; 20. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [23][$1,100]; 21. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [16][$1,000]; 22. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [20][$1,000]; 23. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [18][$1,000]; 24. 5C-Colby Copeland [17][$1,000]; 25. 71-Spencer Bayston [8][$1,000]; Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1-25; KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz[+14]
Qualifying – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.718; 2. 21-Brian Brown, 15.723; 3. 41-David Gravel, 15.811; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, 15.825; 5. 19-Shane Stewart, 15.833; 6. 71-Spencer Bayston, 15.834; 7. O9-Matt Juhl, 15.854; 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 15.883; 9. 17W-Shane Golobic, 15.886; 10. 49-Brad Sweet, 15.891; 11. 83-Daryn Pittman, 15.893; 12. 15-Donny Schatz, 15.909; 13. 33M-Mason Daniel, 15.916; 14. 39M-Anthony Macri, 15.942; 15. 12N-Joey Saldana, 15.952; 16. 24-Rico Abreu, 15.979; 17. 18-Gio Scelzi, 15.987; 18. 26-Cory Eliason, 16.005; 19. 17X-Josh Baughman, 16.007; 20. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.009; 21. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 16.013; 22. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey, 16.015; 23. 57-Kyle Larson, 16.021; 24. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 16.024; 25. 14-Parker Price-Miller, 16.054; 26. 9-James McFadden, 16.055; 27. 49J-Josh Schneiderman, 16.065; 28. 13-Paul McMahan, 16.082; 29. 3-Ayrton Gennetten, 16.086; 30. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 16.091; 31. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.091; 32. 2-Carson Macedo, 16.112; 33. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 16.124; 34. 7-Tim Kaeding, 16.146; 35. 4-Terry McCarl, 16.152; 36. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 16.167; 37. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 16.169; 38. 5C-Colby Copeland, 16.172; 39. 88-Kyle Offill, 16.183; 40. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell, 16.212; 41. 42-Sye Lynch, 16.231; 42. 44S-Trey Starks, 16.242; 43. 7S-Jason Sides, 16.259; 44. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg, 16.265; 45. 39-Sammy Swindell, 16.266; 46. 5-Ian Madsen, 16.293; 47. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 16.311; 48. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 16.35; 49. 17A-Austin McCarl, 16.364; 50. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, 16.394; 51. 70-Cale Thomas, 16.408; 52. 99-Skylar Gee, 16.436; 53. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.439; 54. 56N-Davey Heskin, 16.469; 55. 9W-Ryan Giles, 16.489; 56. 35-Zach Hampton, 16.5; 57. 6-Bill Rose, 16.505; 58. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips, 16.507; 59. 44-Chris Martin, 16.553; 60. 14K-Tori Knutson, 16.88; 61. 56-Joe Simbro, 17.085; 62. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 17.303; 63. 94-Jeff Swindell, NT
DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 3. 14-Parker Price-Miller [4]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2]; 5. 17X-Josh Baughman [5]; 6. 17A-Austin McCarl [9]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [8]; 8. O9-Matt Juhl [7]; 9. 33M-Mason Daniel [6]; 10. 9W-Ryan Giles [10]; 11. 56-Joe Simbro [11]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 5C-Colby Copeland [2]; 2. 9-James McFadden [4]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri [6]; 5. 21-Brian Brown [8]; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel [7]; 7. 48-Danny Dietrich [5]; 8. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [1]; 9. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [9]; 10. 35-Zach Hampton [10]; 11. 2K-Kevin Ingle [11]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 39-Sammy Swindell [1]; 2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 3. 41-David Gravel [8]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic [7]; 6. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [4]; 7. 12N-Joey Saldana [6]; 8. 70-Cale Thomas [9]; 9. 88-Kyle Offill [2]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [10]; 11. 94-Jeff Swindell [11]
DRYDENE Heat #4 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [2]; 2. 7-Tim Kaeding [3]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [4]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 6. 5-Ian Madsen [1]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [8]; 8. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [5]; 9. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [10]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee [9]
DRYDENE Heat #5 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [5]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson [1]; 3. 4-Terry McCarl [3]; 4. 19-Shane Stewart [8]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [7]; 6. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [4]; 7. 18-Gio Scelzi [6]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9]; 9. 44-Chris Martin [10]; 10. 42-Sye Lynch [2]
DRYDENE Heat #6 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [1]; 2. 44S-Trey Starks [2]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [6]; 4. 71-Spencer Bayston [8]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 8. 56N-Davey Heskin [9]; 9. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [4]; 10. 14K-Tori Knutson [10]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 3. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [8]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic [3]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 7. 19-Shane Stewart [7]; 8. 71-Spencer Bayston [6]
D-main (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 99-Skylar Gee [2][]; 2. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [1][]; 3. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [3][]; 4. 44-Chris Martin [4][]; 5. 35-Zach Hampton [6][$125]; 6. 9W-Ryan Giles [5][$125]; 7. 14K-Tori Knutson [8][$125]; 8. 6-Bill Rose [7][$125]; 9. 56-Joe Simbro [9][$125]; 10. 2K-Kevin Ingle [10][$125]; 11. 94-Jeff Swindell [11][$125]
C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [1][]; 2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2][]; 3. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [7][]; 4. 2C-Wayne Johnson [3][]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [6][$350]; 6. 33M-Mason Daniel [4][$350]; 7. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8][$300]; 8. 17A-Austin McCarl [10][$250]; 9. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [5][$200]; 10. 5-Ian Madsen [9][$150]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [15][$150]; 12. 56N-Davey Heskin [16][$150]; 13. 70-Cale Thomas [14][$150]; 14. 99-Skylar Gee [17][$150]; 15. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [19][$150]; 16. 44-Chris Martin [20][$150]; 17. 42-Sye Lynch [13][$150]; 18. 88-Kyle Offill [11][$150]; 19. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [18][$150]; 20. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [12][$150]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3][]; 2. O9-Matt Juhl [1][]; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [4][]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [8][]; 5. 14-Parker Price-Miller [2][$800]; 6. 18-Gio Scelzi [12][$750]; 7. 7-Tim Kaeding [6][$725]; 8. 13-Paul McMahan [9][$700]; 9. 12N-Joey Saldana [10][$675]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz [7][$650]; 11. 48-Danny Dietrich [16][$625]; 12. 44S-Trey Starks [13][$600]; 13. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [19][$575]; 14. 17X-Josh Baughman [5][$550]; 15. 4-Terry McCarl [11][$525]; 16. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [17][$500]; 17. 2M-Kerry Madsen [15][$400]; 18. 7S-Jason Sides [14][$400]; 19. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [18][$400]; 20. 2C-Wayne Johnson [20][$400]
Kyle Larson Wins Opening Night Of ‘The One and Only’ At Knoxville
Posted by: | CommentsContact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
NIGHT ONE WONDERS: Kyle Larson Continues Dominance At Knoxville
Opening night of ‘The One and Only’ sees big shake up in championship points
KNOXVILLE, IA – Aug. 14, 2020 – Kyle Larson’s historic run has carried over to the biggest Sprint Car event of the year at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.”
The Elk Grove, CA driver piloted his Silva Motorsports #57 like a fighter jet through traffic to charge from 10th to the lead in 18 laps and win the opening night of “The One and Only” at Knoxville Raceway Thursday night.
The win is his second World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory in row – after claiming his first Ironman title last week – his third Series win at Knoxville in a row, his sixth Series win this year and 14th Series win overall.
“It’s cool to get another win,” Larson said. “Thanks to all of the fans for coming out and watching (on DIRTVision) at home… Thanks to the Outlaws for putting this event on. Just an awesome race there.”
Before he claimed his perch at the top of the mountain in the 25-lap Feature, drama plagued the night for reigning World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet and 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz. Nine laps into the Feature, Cory Eliason spun in front of Sweet entering Turn 1, causing Sweet to run into him. Then, Schatz piled into them and as their cars slid up toward the wall, Sweet’s teammate James McFadden ran into all of them.
The accident ended the night for all four drivers, giving Sweet his fourth DNF of the season and Schatz his second. The duo held the top two spots in the Series championship points entering the night. Now, with Sweet finishing 24th and Schatz finishing 22nd, they both fell a spot in points as Logan Schuchart propelled himself to the championship lead with a second-place finish.
“It’s a good points night overall,” said Schuchart, of Hanover, PA. “Good for the weekend. We qualified good. We’re good every time we hit the racetrack.”
Schuchart started on the pole for the Feature after being one of the top eight drivers in accumulated points throughout the night and winning the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.
After pulling a wheelie to the green flag, Schuchart held off second-place Aaron Reutzel in the first two corners to pull away with the lead. Reutzel kept pace with Schuchart but was never close enough to the Drydene #1S to make a move.
Three early cautions hindered Schuchart’s attempt to run away from the field with Daryn Pittman spinning on his own on Lap 9 and then the incident with Sweet and Schatz a restart later.
When the race resumed, defending Knoxville Raceway track champion Brian Brown rocketed around the top of Turn 1 to go from fourth to second in a corner. Reutzel was then left to fend off last year’s Knoxville Nationals champion David Gravel and Larson, who looked to have 10 more horsepower than everyone else.
Already up to fifth in nine laps, Larson powered his way around the outside of Gravel and Reutzel in one lap. Then, about four laps later he tried to make quick work of Brown by throwing a slide job underneath him but realized the end result would be a collision with Brown and about spun himself out trying to avoid the FVP #21.
It took only four laps for Larson to find a rhythm again and dart by Brown for second. Shortly after, Reutzel also made his way back by Brown for third – where he would end the night.
Larson drove like a man with something to lose. He threw his car into every corner and played a game of chicken with about every car he passed, sliding in front of them with inches to spare, seeing who would lift first. It wasn’t him.
He caught Schuchart with eight laps to go. While the Shark Racing driver ran the top line, Larson ran a lane below him to his advantage. He pulled ahead of Schuchart through Turn 3 and then chopped his nose on the next of Turn 4, making contact with Schuchart’s car and damaging his front nose wing.
Schuchart held on to finish second while Larson pulled away to the $10,000 win.
“As the race went on, I felt like I wasn’t hitting my marks as good,” Schuchart said. “I would have liked to of had a little bit better of a race with Kyle there. I wish his slide job was a little better there, but he’s got a reputation to live up to. That’s where you let other people make the rules and maybe we’ll get him next time.”
Larson knew when he caught Schuchart he had to make his move quick if he wanted to ensure another victory.
“I was able to get by [Brown] and track Logan down and hit the bottom really well in (turns) one and two and got a run on him,” Larson said. “It felt like I needed to take advantage of that before we got to heavier traffic and slid him and felt some contact. So, glad to see him not in the wall or anything like that. Just, hard work there. Heartbeat is up again.”
With a fifth-place qualifying effort, a third-place run in his Drydene Heat Race, a second-place run in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash and a third-place finish in the Feature, Reutzel ended the opening night of “The One and Only” with the points lead for the three-day event – Schuchart and Larson are tied for second, nine points back.
He still wasn’t satisfied, though.
“I feel like we keep getting better and better every time we come here,” Reutzel said. “Tonight, if I don’t screw up that restart, I may take the lead before Kyle gets to us and run away, I don’t know. I definitely made some really bad mistakes as a driver and put myself in a bad situation where I couldn’t contend for the win.”
UP NEXT
The star-studded field of drivers that raced Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway will return Friday night – for round two of “The One and Only” – to compete for another $10,000 and look to earn more points toward Saturday’s Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank. Get tickets by clicking here. https://mpv.tickets.com/?orgid=52711&agency=WRG_SNG_MPV&pid=8851947#/event/8851947/seatmap/?selectBuyers=false&minPrice=35&maxPrice=35&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=true&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision.
Race Results: 8/13/20 – Knoxville Raceway
NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [10]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [24]; 5. 41-David Gravel [6]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [7]; 7. 71-Spencer Bayston [3]; 8. 18-Gio Scelzi [15]; 9. 12N-Joey Saldana [5]; 10. 5-Ian Madsen [19]; 11. 17A-Austin McCarl [21]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen [11]; 13. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [16]; 14. 7S-Jason Sides [20]; 15. 24-Rico Abreu [22]; 16. 4-Terry McCarl [13]; 17. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [18]; 18. O9-Matt Juhl [23]; 19. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [25]; 20. 83-Daryn Pittman [9]; 21. 11K-Kraig Kinser [17]; 22. 15-Donny Schatz [8]; 23. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 24. 49-Brad Sweet [12]; 25. 9-James McFadden [14];
Lap Leaders: Logan Schuchart 1-17, Kyle Larson 18-25;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 2-Carson Macedo[+20]
Qualifying – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.57; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.609; 3. 71-Spencer Bayston, 15.61; 4. 21-Brian Brown, 15.632; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 15.647; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 15.66; 7. 15-Donny Schatz, 15.687; 8. 19-Shane Stewart, 15.732; 9. 12N-Joey Saldana, 15.735; 10. 83-Daryn Pittman, 15.763; 11. 13-Paul McMahan, 15.795; 12. 49-Brad Sweet, 15.836; 13. 41-David Gravel, 15.852; 14. 9-James McFadden, 15.865; 15. 26-Cory Eliason, 15.872; 16. 17W-Shane Golobic, 15.88; 17. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, 15.891; 18. 39-Sammy Swindell, 15.899; 19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 15.903; 20. 57-Kyle Larson, 15.912; 21. 14-Parker Price-Miller, 15.915; 22. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 15.923; 23. 17A-Austin McCarl, 15.944; 24. O9-Matt Juhl, 15.957; 25. 18-Gio Scelzi, 15.957; 26. 7-Tim Kaeding, 15.985; 27. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, 15.985; 28. 20-A.J. Moeller, 16.017; 29. 7X-Justin Henderson, 16.019; 30. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.028; 31. 28-Scott Bogucki, 16.029; 32. 5C-Colby Copeland, 16.036; 33. 4-Terry McCarl, 16.044; 34. 49J-Josh Schneiderman, 16.053; 35. 3-Ayrton Gennetten, 16.056; 36. 2-Carson Macedo, 16.06; 37. 24-Rico Abreu, 16.07; 38. 17X-Josh Baughman, 16.086; 39. 44S-Trey Starks, 16.093; 40. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.094; 41. 33M-Mason Daniel, 16.1; 42. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 16.111; 43. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 16.12; 44. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.12; 45. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg, 16.124; 46. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell, 16.15; 47. 5-Ian Madsen, 16.159; 48. 7S-Jason Sides, 16.16; 49. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips, 16.168; 50. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 16.177; 51. 88-Kyle Offill, 16.193; 52. 70-Cale Thomas, 16.197; 53. 99-Skylar Gee, 16.23; 54. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 16.24; 55. 94-Jeff Swindell, 16.242; 56. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey, 16.269; 57. 56N-Davey Heskin, 16.36; 58. 35-Zach Hampton, 16.379; 59. 9W-Ryan Giles, 16.404; 60. 44-Chris Martin, 16.421; 61. 6-Bill Rose, 16.524; 62. 42-Sye Lynch, 16.526; 63. 39M-Anthony Macri, 16.574; 64. 14K-Tori Knutson, 16.646; 65. 56-Joe Simbro, 16.754; 66. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 16.791; 67. 64-Scotty Thiel, NT
DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 3. 18-Gio Scelzi [4]; 4. 41-David Gravel [6]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 6. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [8]; 8. 94-Jeff Swindell [10]; 9. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [9]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [11]; 11. 28-Scott Bogucki [3]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [1]; 2. 17X-Josh Baughman [2]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson [5]; 4. 7-Tim Kaeding [4]; 5. 9-James McFadden [6]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [8]; 7. 49X-Tim Shaffer [9]; 8. 5C-Colby Copeland [3]; 9. 19-Shane Stewart [7]; 10. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [10]; 11. 42-Sye Lynch [11]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 4-Terry McCarl [3]; 2. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [1]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [6]; 4. 71-Spencer Bayston [8]; 5. 12N-Joey Saldana [7]; 6. 56N-Davey Heskin [10]; 7. 39M-Anthony Macri [11]; 8. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [4]; 9. 88-Kyle Offill [9]; 10. 14-Parker Price-Miller [5]; 11. 44S-Trey Starks [2]
DRYDENE Heat #4 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [1]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 3. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [3]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [8]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [7]; 6. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [5]; 7. 20-A.J. Moeller [4]; 8. 35-Zach Hampton [10]; 9. 14K-Tori Knutson [11]; 10. 17W-Shane Golobic [6]; 11. 70-Cale Thomas [9]
DRYDENE Heat #5 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 5-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 33M-Mason Daniel [2]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [8]; 4. 17A-Austin McCarl [5]; 5. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [3]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [6]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [7]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee [9]; 9. 9W-Ryan Giles [10]; 10. 56-Joe Simbro [11]
DRYDENE Heat #6 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich [4]; 4. O9-Matt Juhl [5]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9]; 7. 39-Sammy Swindell [6]; 8. 44-Chris Martin [10]; 9. 2K-Kevin Ingle [11]; 10. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2]; 11. 2M-Kerry Madsen [8]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 3. 71-Spencer Bayston [3]; 4. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 5. 12N-Joey Saldana [6]; 6. 41-David Gravel [5]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [7]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [8]
D-main (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 39M-Anthony Macri [4]; 2. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [7]; 3. 94-Jeff Swindell [1]; 4. 9W-Ryan Giles [6]; 5. 44-Chris Martin [5]; 6. 35-Zach Hampton [3]; 7. 2K-Kevin Ingle [11]; 8. 88-Kyle Offill [2]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [10]; 10. 14K-Tori Knutson [9]; 11. 56-Joe Simbro [12]; 12. 70-Cale Thomas [8]; 13. 42-Sye Lynch [13]; 14. 7X-Justin Henderson [14]; 15. 64-Scotty Thiel [15]
C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 39-Sammy Swindell [1]; 2. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [3]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [2]; 4. 14-Parker Price-Miller [7]; 5. 5C-Colby Copeland [8]; 6. 39M-Anthony Macri [17]; 7. 17W-Shane Golobic [5]; 8. 49X-Tim Shaffer [10]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee [14]; 10. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [16]; 11. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9]; 12. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [18]; 13. 20-A.J. Moeller [4]; 14. 9W-Ryan Giles [20]; 15. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [6]; 16. 44S-Trey Starks [15]; 17. 94-Jeff Swindell [19]; 18. 56N-Davey Heskin [11]; 19. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [13]; 20. 28-Scott Bogucki [12]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 17A-Austin McCarl [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [8]; 3. O9-Matt Juhl [2]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [6]; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 6. 13-Paul McMahan [4]; 7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [10]; 8. 19-Shane Stewart [15]; 9. 7-Tim Kaeding [5]; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [12]; 11. 39-Sammy Swindell [17]; 12. 17X-Josh Baughman [9]; 13. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [7]; 14. 14-Parker Price-Miller [20]; 15. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [11]; 16. 2M-Kerry Madsen [16]; 17. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [18]; 18. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [14]; 19. 33M-Mason Daniel [13]; 20. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [19]
Kyle Larson Reigns At I-55 To Claim Ironman Title
Posted by: | CommentsContact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
SPECTACULAR IRONMAN: Kyle Larson Reigns At I-55 To Claim Ironman Title
The 55-lap barn burner at I-55 saw multiple lead changes and drivers giving their all
PEVELY, MO – Aug. 8, 2020 – Rain was minutes away. The laps still showed five to go. Kyle Larson led with a hungry and determined Sheldon Haudenschild pushing his car to its limits to steal the lead and claim another Ironman title at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.
Larson already had a hard-enough time wrestling his own car around the fast 1/3-mile track. The cushion was unforgiving if not treated with care and 55 laps gave no pleasure to tired arms. He’s made winning look easy in 2020, but to win the Ironman 55 he had to prove his worthiness of the title.
Holding on with the might and skill of a seasoned driver every time his right rear tire and the cushion disagreed on space, Larson committed to the high line of the track to make the most speed in the closing laps. At the same time, Haudenschild worked any line he could to gain an advantage on the Finley Farms #57.
His effort couldn’t match Larson’s, though. The Elk Grove, CA driver brought the crowd to their feet and opened a hole in the sky by winning his first Ironman 55 title Saturday night with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the $20,000 top prize.
“That was hard work,” said Larson, who looked to have just finished running a marathon. “A wild racetrack. I’m normally pretty calm after racing but my heart rate is still going. That was wild. You can’t say enough about everyone who helps out on this team. I tore up a car at Huset’s (Speedway) last week and these guys worked their asses off all week to get it ready.”
The Silva Motorsports crew put together a brand-new car for Larson after he wrecked the one he has dominated the year with at Huset’s. His first race in the new car was during the Friday night prelude to the Ironman and there appeared to be some bugs to still work out as Larson finished sixth – he hadn’t finished worse than second in his last five starts with the Series.
Those bugs only lasted a night as Larson and his team returned to form when the Ironman title was on the line. He qualified third, won his Drydene Heat Race and then dominated the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.
However, the early events were baby steps compared to the grueling and spellbinding marathon he had to run in the 55-lap Feature.
Larson led the first four laps of the Feature but bicycled off the cushion in Turn 4 and allowed second-place Jacob Allen to close on him. Allen then dove underneath Larson entering Turn 3 and slid in front of him to officially take the lead on Lap 5.
Allen said earlier in the day he needed to eat his Wheaties to be able to hang on for 55 laps around the fast-tacky track. He proved he did by initially pulling away from Larson after taking the lead. However, Larson closed back in on the Drydene #1A in traffic. Allen continued to prove his strength by holding off attacks by Larson lap after lap.
While they battled, Shane Stewart, in third, closed in. With 39 laps still to go, Stewart launched his Indy Race Parts #71 under both Larson and Allen in Turn 1 and sped down the backstretch with the lead.
For the next 34 laps, Stewart – the 2015 Ironman – held command out front. Behind him, Allen, Larson, Haudenschild and two-time Ironman champion Rico Abreu brawled for second. Larson nearly saw his night come to an end while battling with Abreu for second.
Abreu threw his car underneath Larson entering Turn 1, feeding Larson his right rear and sending the white #57 up the track and into the cushion. Larson’s rear end bounced off the cushion, sending his car sideways and facing the inside wall. He perfected a brilliant save and only lost one position to Haudenschild.
“I was so tight,” Larson said. “I felt good early out in clean air. The cushion was getting bigger and I was getting tighter. Jacob (Allen) got by. I was just praying the track would come to us. Wasn’t quite sure. I felt like at times I’m good. Then I’d get closer to people and I’d get really tight. It made it easy to make mistakes. Even when I wasn’t tight. The track did finally come to us.”
Soon after, a caution came out for Hunter Schuerenburg stopping on track. When the race resumed, Abreu jumped the cushion in Turn 4, bouncing around like a bucking bull. That allowed Haudenschild and Larson get by.
With 20 laps to go, the track conformed to Larson’s liking. He was able to put his car back on the cushion and rip the top. That led him back by Haudenschild for second and then to Stewart’s pumper with 10 laps to go.
Charging down the front stretch with a head of steam, Larson launched underneath Stewart going into Turn 1 and slid in front of him to reclaim the lead on the exit of Turn 2. Haudenschild also made his way by Stewart four laps later and then aimed to hunt down Larson.
With rain minutes away, the laps still showing five to go and Larson out front with a hungry and determined Haudenschild behind him, the conclusion to the Ironman left everyone at the edge of their seat.
Larson’s Ironman win is his 13th career World of Outlaws victory – tying him with Brooke Tatnell and Terry McCarl for 34th on the all-time wins list – and his fifth win of the year – second at I-55 this year.
Haudenschild’s runner-up finish concluded a solid weekend for the Wooster, OH driver and his Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing as they won Friday night and gained points in the championship battle. Haudenschild is fifth in points – 80 points back from leader Brad Sweet.
“We came here to win and gave our best effort,” Haudenschild said. “Congratulations to Larson and his team. They’ve been really good. So has my team. Hats off to my guys, Nickolas. Ripper and Drew. They’ve been busting their ass and working hard to win these races. We wanted to get this NOS Energy Drink #17 in the winner’s circle, but we’ll take a second.”
Stewart, who had to settle for third, said he feels like he gave the race away.
“My car was so good,” said Stewart, of Bixby, OK. “I knew the track was going to change a little bit, but that cushion was so gnarly. I did hit it wrong a few times. It wasn’t from a lack of effort from my guys. We work so hard. We don’t race full-time but every time we show up, we’re competitive.”
Points leader and reigning champion Brad Sweet finished 10th, allowing the four drivers behind him in points to close in. Ten-time Series champion Donny Schatz and Logan Schuchart are now tied for second – 20 points behind Sweet.
For Larson, points are of no concern. He's happy collecting trophies and celebrating with confetti and the occasional rain shower in Victory Lane.
UP NEXT
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to Knoxville Raceway for “The One and Only” three-day event, Aug. 13-15, which includes the $50,000-to-win Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank on Saturday. Get tickets by clicking here. https://mpv.tickets.com/?agency=WRG_SNG_MPV&orgid=52711&packageId=56017&packageListId=56016#/event/PKG/seatmap/?selectBuyers=false&minPrice=110&maxPrice=110&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=true&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false
If you can’t make it to the track, you can still watch all three days of racing live on DIRTVision.
Race Results: 8/8/20 – Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 – Ironman 55
NOS Energy Drink Feature (55 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [1][$20,000]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2][$6,000]; 3. 71-Shane Stewart [4][$3,750]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [5][$3,250]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$2,750]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [3][$2,500]; 7. 2-Carson Macedo [9][$2,400]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [12][$2,300]; 9. 41-David Gravel [8][$2,200]; 10. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$2,100]; 11. 83-Daryn Pittman [16][$1,700]; 12. 39-Sammy Swindell [10][$1,400]; 13. 96-Parker Price-Miller [15][$1,300]; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser [13][$1,200]; 15. 13-Paul McMahan [18][$1,100]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [21][$1,000]; 17. 70-Cale Thomas [11][$1,000]; 18. 23B-Brian Bell [17][$1,000]; 19. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [19][$1,000]; 20. 51B-Joe Miller [20][$1,000]; 21. 21-Carson Short [23][$1,000]; 22. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [14][$1,000]; 23. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [22][$1,000]; 24. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [24][$1,000];
Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson 1-4, 48-55; Jacob Allen 5-17; Shane Stewart 18-47;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 83-Daryn Pittman[+5]
Qualifying – 1. 71-Shane Stewart, 10.165; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 10.178; 3. 57-Kyle Larson, 10.187; 4. 41-David Gravel, 10.199; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen, 10.203; 6. 24-Rico Abreu, 10.216; 7. 15-Donny Schatz, 10.218; 8. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 10.243; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 10.271; 10. 39-Sammy Swindell, 10.305; 11. 96-Parker Price-Miller, 10.325; 12. 83-Daryn Pittman, 10.332; 13. 2-Carson Macedo, 10.341; 14. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, 10.346; 15. 70-Cale Thomas, 10.349; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 10.35; 17. 7S-Jason Sides, 10.389; 18. 13-Paul McMahan, 10.404; 19. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg, 10.409; 20. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 10.433; 21. 23B-Brian Bell, 10.451; 22. 99-Skylar Gee, 10.5; 23. 33M-Mason Daniel, 10.513; 24. 51B-Joe Miller, 10.582; 25. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 10.583; 26. 21-Carson Short, 10.586; 27. 49J-Josh Schneiderman, 10.602; 28. 35-Zach Hampton, 10.609; 29. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 10.652; 30. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 10.748; 31. 6-Bill Rose, 10.762; 32. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 10.967
DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 71-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 5. 23B-Brian Bell [6]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 7. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [7]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson [8]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 3. 39-Sammy Swindell [3]; 4. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [4]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [5]; 6. 21-Carson Short [7]; 7. 99-Skylar Gee [6]; 8. 9K-Kyle Schuett [8]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 3. 70-Cale Thomas [4]; 4. 96-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 5. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [5]; 6. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [7]; 7. 33M-Mason Daniel [6]; 8. 6-Bill Rose [8]
DRYDENE Heat #4 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 5. 51B-Joe Miller [6]; 6. 35-Zach Hampton [7]; 7. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [5]; 8. 2K-Kevin Ingle [8]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 4. 71-Shane Stewart [4]; 5. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [8]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 8. 41-David Gravel [5]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1][]; 2. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [2][]; 3. 21-Carson Short [3][]; 4. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [4][]; 5. 99-Skylar Gee [7][$300]; 6. 33M-Mason Daniel [8][$250]; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9][$225]; 8. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [6][$200]; 9. 35-Zach Hampton [5][$200]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [11][$200]; 11. 9K-Kyle Schuett [10][$200]; 12. 2K-Kevin Ingle [12][$200]