TWIN TOP FIVES HIGHLIGHT LARSON’S NIGHT

Chico, CA – After surviving an early race spin and restarting 22nd ParkerStore Outlaw Sprint Kart driver Kyle Larson drove to a hard fought fourth place finish in the 500cc Open Division main event as Cycleland Speedway returned to their regular season point format following last weeks two day Golden State Championships. Also competing in the 500cc Open Intermediate Division, Larson placed fifth in the 20 lap event.

Larson qualified fourth fast of the 24 open karts on hand. He was challenging Alec Kerns for the win in the six kart eight lap trophy dash when a spin relegated the ParkerStore/Grandpa George Motors/QRC Factory Kart to the back with two laps to go. Larson drove back to fifth at the finish but was docked to sixth for not maintaining a nose to tail alignment on the restart. He lined up tenth on the grid for the feature race. Despite advancing to seventh over the first three laps, Larson was fighting an obviously ill handling kart and spun on lap four. He restarted 22nd and did his best to still move forward, getting to 16th when a red flag was displayed on lap 12 for a double flip on the back straightaway that eliminated five karts. Under the red Larson’s crew found a problem with the front end of his kart and made repairs. After restarting 11th Larson had a kart he could drive and mounted a charge that saw him drive by seven karts over the last eight laps, finishing fourth behind winner Sean Becker.

In the Open Intermediate division Larson set his third fast time of the season, besting 27 other competitors. He drove from sixth to third in the dash to earn the seventh starting spot in the A-Main. By the feature the track had turned very dry slick and Larson struggled to find traction, eventually dropping to eight by the fourteenth lap. On the last lap of the 20 lapper Larson was able to crack the top five as Mason Moore drove to his first win of the Cycleland season.

After the races Larson commented, “Both mains tonight ended with decent finishes for me. We were real lucky to get the red flag in the open main. My crew found that the nut that locks the right front spindle in place had come off. The spindle had moved all the way up on its threads, making the kart about as loose as it could possibly be. After the restart the kart was back to normal and I could go hard at it. To go from 22nd to fourth and pass seven karts in the last eight laps, I feel like I won.”

Race: August 12, 2006
Photos Courtesy of Jack Waterman
www.kylelarsonracing.com