Chico and Petaluma, CA. July 4 and 5, 2008. In a return visit of the Hoosier Tire
California 360 Sprint Car Civil War Series to Petaluma Speedway, things proceeded in much
the same manner for Kyle Larson as they did in round number two for the traveling series
last April. Then, as well as Saturday night, Larson held third place in the main event
only to lose the spot at the midpoint, but just like the previous Petaluma event, fought
back to make a late race pass to take a podium finish.
After qualifying seventh quick of the 37 cars assembled, Larson transferred into the
feature with a fourth place finish in his heat. The inversion placed the Dave and Debbie
Vertullo CRV Racing Products/Eagle/Kistler sixth on the starting grid. Larson quickly
jumped into fourth coming out of turn two and trailed fellow outlaw kart graduates Bradley
Terrell, Richard Bailey and Alissa Geving.
The foursome ran in the same close order for the first 15 laps with another outlaw karter,
Sean Becker, moving into fifth from eighth starting. On lap 16 disaster struck for
Geving as a lapped car spun in front of her and Bailey in turn two resulting in terminal
damage for Geving and front end issues for Bailey. After the restart Terrell and Bailey
continued to hold the top two positions, with Larson beginning to get heavy pressure from
Becker.
Becker made his move out of turn four on lap 18, dropping Larson to fourth. The lead
quartet pulled away and began to encounter heavy lapped traffic as the race continued at a
torrid race. Becker briefly moved into second on lap 24, but Bailey fought back to retake
the spot. Coming to the white
flag Terrell was hampered by a lapped car ahead as Bailey made a daring outside pass and
move to the front. Becker followed suit in turn two, while Larson got under Terrell and
the lapper in turn three. Bailey held on to take his first ever sprint car win in ultra
exciting fashion, with Becker and Larson trailing, and Terrell dejectedly settling for
fourth at the lap 30 checkered.
For Larson, the finish allowed the 15 year old driver to move into third place in the
season long 15 race Civil War series point standings, trailing flip victim Andy Forsberg
by one point, and point leader Becker by 35.
Larson also competed at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway on the Fourth of July.
Unfortunately for him, Larson provided onlookers with his own fireworks while pushing off
for the A-main. As the car came to life on the push off lane, the throttle stuck partially
open sending the youngster hard into the inside push lane wall, destroying the front end
of the car and setting off a series of scary looking donuts before Larson was able to hit
the kill switch. With his night ended early the team could only assess the damage and
begin to focus on a better result for the next night at Petaluma.
Larson’s racing efforts are sponsored by CRV Racing Products, Starr Real Estate and
Property Management, Global ParkerStore, Safety Solutions – LFT Technologies, D &
J Towing, RPM Indoor Kart Racing and Conference Center, A.R.T. Ent. Speed Equipment,
Wion’s Body Shop and Powdercoating, JW Web Design, Mophead Graphix, SWEPCO
Lubricants, and Sierra Tire and Wheel.
Race Date: July 4 & 5, 2008
Photos Courtesy of Steve’s Racing Photos
www.stevesracingphotos.com
