The Justin Wilson giant-killing act is set to occur, yet again, in IndyCar

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If this story’s been written tens if not hundreds of times before, it’s because it has been.

It shouldn’t still need to be, but yet, no matter the success level Justin Wilson achieves at a mid-level to borderline top IndyCar Series team, like Led Zeppelin once opined, “The Song Remains the Same.”

It seems hard to believe Wilson is entering his 11th season of IndyCar racing in 2014, and it remains hard to believe that save for maybe two or three seasons, he’s never had the machinery at his disposal to consistently threaten for wins and championships.

That he only has seven career wins almost beggars belief, but consider two have come with Dale Coyne Racing – two of the team’s three wins in 30-plus years in the sport – and that showcases Wilson’s talent level on its own.

And so 2014 is likely going to be yet another year of “Wilson and Dale Coyne overachieve – again – to challenge the establishment.” It’s not a bad story line; it’s just a chapter that’s been written over, and over, and over again. The difference is in some minor details.

The key for making 2014 a slightly altered story line, compared to the general one outlined above, is how well the push for driver and team to make the necessary improvements actually comes to fruition. As Wilson said yesterday, he and his eponymous team owner have had numerous conversations over the winter to see if they can analyze better; attack better; be more consistent more often.

Key to the Wilson-Michael Cannon driver-engineer balance will be the start of the season. St. Petersburg, traditionally one of Wilson’s stronger tracks, was a place the team struggled in 2013, while Barber was a challenge to master for the pairing in 2012.

“Last year was actually my worst year at St. Petersburg competitive‑wise,” Wilson said. “Before that I’ve always run really well. But we seemed to miss the setup last year and had a slow start to the year. But we recovered well after it. I’d like to think we’ve learnt a lot since then and can come back this year and be near the front again.”

He’s fully recovered from his Fontana injuries, and he’ll get his first bit of racing for 2014 in this weekend at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

It’s hard not to consider Wilson one of the top five overall drivers in the series. Perhaps this is the year that Wilson’s overall standing and results matches his ability level.

Kyle Larson wins third consecutive High Limit Sprint race at Eagle Raceway, Rico Abreu second again

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It took four attempts for Kyle Larson to win his first High Limit Sprint Car Series race in the series he co-owns with brother-in-law Brad Sweet, but once he found victory lane, he has been undefeated with his win at Eagle (Nebraska) Raceway. For the second week, Abreu led early only to fall prey to Larson.

The win was Larson’s third straight victory and the fifth consecutive top-five, giving him a perfect sweep of the season after finishing 10th in last year’s inaugural race at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Indiana.

Larson started third behind Abreu and Brent Marks but was embroiled in a fierce battle with Anthony Macri for third during the first dozen laps. Larson slipped by Macri in traffic until a red flag waved for a flip by Lachlan McHugh.

Meanwhile at the front of the pack, Marks retook the lead from Abreu on Lap 18. Larson followed one lap later and then caution waved again. Tyler Courtney lost power and fell to 24th after starting eighth.

Marks scooted away on the restart but tragedy struck in Lap 26. Leading the race, Marks hit a pothole in Turn 1, bicycled and then flipped, handing the lead to Larson.

Abreu caught Larson again during the final laps and in a reprise of their battle at Tri-City Speedway, the two threw sliders at one another for several laps until Larson built some separation and ran away to the checkers.

“I didn’t feel like my pace in [Turns] 1 & 2 slowed down a ton,” Larson said from victory lane. “I missed it once there and then I saw his nose in 3 & 4. I didn’t know if he nailed the bottom that well behind me and I think he might have slid me in the next corner, so he was definitely on the top.

“I was nervous to move up there because my car was really pogoing up in the entry of 1. I got up just in time, made a few mistakes and he threw a couple more sliders at me but he was just a little too far back and I was able to squirt around him. Then I really had to commit to hitting my marks – back my effort down a bit to avoid mistakes.”

After leading early, Abreu fell back as far as sixth, but faith in his car kept hope alive.

“I just needed to do a few things a few laps before I did and fix some angles, then my car got a whole lot better,” Abreu said. “I’m thankful for this team; they do an amazing job. They don’t give up on me. I know my car is going to be there right at the end of these races, so it’s just the discipline of being patient.”

For Abreu, it was his third near-miss this season. He was leading at Lakeside in the 2023 opener until a tire went flat in the closing laps and he lost the lead to Larson late in the Tri-City Speedway race. Abreu has finished sixth or better in his last three High Limit races with each result being progressively better until his pair of runner-up results.

Third-place finisher Scelzi was the hard charger, advancing from 17th.

“I had a very specific plan; don’t go near [the hole in Turn 1],” Scelzi said. “It worked out. No one wanted to start on the top. I think I gained a couple of rows there on the choose cone and ran the middle, which seemed to be better than right around the bottom.”

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid in fourth and Macri rounded out the top five.

World of Outlaws star and former NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne was one of 41 entrants, but he was not among the 26 starters. He failed to advance to the Main after finishing eighth in the B Main and seventh in his heat.

Feature Results

A Feature (40 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[4]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu[1]; 3. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[17]; 4. 71-Michael Kofoid[5]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri[3]; 6. 9-Chase Randall[9]; 7. 26-Zeb Wise[14]; 8. 1X-Jake Bubak[15]; 9. 8-Aaron Reutzel[10]; 10. 14D-Corey Day[18]; 11. 11-Cory Eliason[12]; 12. 5T-Ryan Timms[11]; 13. 88-Austin McCarl[13]; 14. 21H-Brady Bacon[22]; 15. 48-Danny Dietrich[16]; 16. 7S-Robbie Price[19]; 17. 21-Brian Brown[23]; 18. 22-Riley Goodno[26]; 19. 52-Blake Hahn[25]; 20. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[21]; 21. 3J-Dusty Zomer[6]; 22. 14-Cole Macedo[7]; 23. 19-Brent Marks[2]; 24. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[8]; 25. 25-Lachlan McHugh[20]; 26. 53-Jack Dover[24]

2023 High Limit Sprint Car Series

Race 1: Giovanni Scelzi wins at Lakeside Speedway
Race2: Anthony Macri wins at 34 Raceway
Race 3: Kyle Larson wins at Wayne County Speedway
Race 4: Kyle Larson wins at Tri-City Speedway