Larson Fourth in Golden State Challenge Opener At Placerville
Placerville, CA March 27, 2010. With a huge opportunity before him as part of Brent
Kaeding’s BK Motorsports operation, Kyle Larson had been looking forward to his
opening night of the 2010
sprint car season for quite a while and with the rainout of the two day Mini Gold Cup at
Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway two weeks ago only delaying that start, his
anticipation grew daily. Finally, on Saturday night Larson and the rest of the Golden
State Challenge Series contingent were able to get some racing out of their system as the
touring group debuted at Placerville Speedway. In a solid effort Larson drove from ninth
to fourth, taking advantage when he could on a narrow racing surface.
Larson qualified the Stadelhofer Construction/Peppermill Casino/Maxim/Shaver sixth of the
22 cars entered. With a change in the GSC format this year that puts heat winners and the
top three qualifiers in the dash, Larson had his work cut out for him to make the dash.
Starting third in the third heat, Larson trailed front row starter Brent Kaeding, fourth
starting Jonathan Allard, and pole starter Brandon Carey in the early going. However, on
lap five Larson got above the cushion in turn four and spun to a stop. Restarting at the
back Larson was able to advance to sixth when the checkered flag appeared, while gaining a
small consolation by turning the fastest lap of the race.
Larson began the 30 lap feature in ninth on the lighting fast hillside bullring that had
seen almost no passing up to that point. On the first lap seventh starting Andy Gregg slid
high in turn one and Larson was able to dart underneath both him and Andy Forsberg before
the exit of turn two. Two laps later Larson drove below Jimmy Trulli off turn two and
powered into sixth.
Following a restart Larson scooted by Evan Suggs in turn one to take over fifth. Larson
sized up fast time qualifier Colby Copeland over the next couple of laps before making the
pass with an inside move in turn three, which pushed the 99 car into fourth on lap six.
With Allard leading over Kaeding and Bobby McMahan from the outset, Larson joined the fray
with repeated attempts to overtake McMahan over the last 24 laps. With several caution
periods slowing the pace, much needed lapped traffic rarely became a factor and the top
four drivers held firm to the finish, with Larson just missing a place on the podium.
“Starting where I did tonight with the track the way it was, I feel pretty good about
my finish,” Larson commented after the race. “You can’t win them all and consistency with top
five’s is how to get it done over a season. The resources of Brent and his crew,
especially my crew chief Clark Riolo, Skippy and Nick, has me really excited about
contending for the GSC championship. Having great sponsors like Stadelhofer Construction
and the Peppermill Casino make this all possible and I’m sure looking forward to a
great season.”
Larson’s racing efforts are sponsored by Stadelhofer Construction, The Peppermill ~
Resort ~ Spa ~ Casino ~ Reno, Kaeding Performance, Safety Solutions-LFT Technologies,
Abreu Vineyards, Simpson Performance Products, and JW Web Design.
Race: March 27, 2010
Photos Courtesy of Steve LaMothe
www.stevesracingphotos.com
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