Mixed Bag Of Finishes For Larson In Indiana Threesome
Bloomington, Haubstadt, and Kokomo, Indiana. May 20,21, and 22, 2011. Elk Grove,
California’s Kyle Larson got his first look at three more Indiana bullrings this past
weekend, finally getting back into Keith Kunz’ Toyota Racing Development midget for
one of the most prestigious events on the calendar and running twice for Jeff Walker in
the Jam-It-In Storage non-wing sprint car.
Action started Friday night at Bloomington Speedway as the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car
Series invaded the beautiful facility with no threat of rain in sight. Larson qualified 11th quick of the 41
cars on hand. He started fourth in heat two and finished second to earn the pole position
in the main event. Larson led the first 20 laps by a wide margin until a yellow flag
appeared. On the restart veteran Jon Stanbrough passed the 18 year old Larson on the
outside to take over the lead. A fast closing Chris Windom was then able to get by both
Larson and Stanbrough in short order to steal the win in the closing laps.
The next night Larson competed in the Hut 100 for the Mopar USAC National Midget Series at
Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway. A disappointing qualifying effort saw Larson stop the
clocks 27th
fast of the 34 cars pitted. While the top nine cars automatically made the feature Larson
was relegated to one of two qualifier races to set the balance of the 33 car headliner.
Starting ninth Larson raced to fourth, which placed him 17th on the three wide grid for
the century grind. Larson moved forward to seventh, but spun on lap 87. Restarting from
the rear Larson raced back to 12th at the finish, while Zach Daum claimed his first USAC
feature win.
Larson ventured to Kokomo Speedway for a regular points race against the very tough
competition the track draws, as it runs unopposed in the Hoosier State on Sunday nights. With 34 cars assembled under very
threatening skies Larson was fast qualifier in his group, earning the fourth position in
the heat race inversion. He finished third in heat one, out of the redraw for the top
eight main event positions, but earning the ninth starting slot in the 25 lapper. While
running ninth on lap 12 disaster struck as the panhard bar on the front axel broke,
sending Larson into a wild flip that destroyed the car. Larson quickly emerged unhurt,
while Windom went on to pick up his second win of the weekend.
Larson’s racing efforts are sponsored by Stadelhofer Construction, Bullet Chassis,
Toyota Racing Development, Peppermill ~ Resort ~ Spa Casino ~ Reno, ButlerBuilt
Professional Seat Systems, Simpson Race Products, RJ's Race Graphics, Abreu Vineyards, JW
Web Design, Kaeding Performance, Safety Solutions and All Star Performance.
