Red Bull GRC: Layout, entry list set for L.A. doubleheader - MotorSportsTalk

A big weekend awaits in La-La-Land for Red Bull Global Rallycross.

In addition to the return of action sports icon (and former NASCAR racer) Travis Pastrana to GRC competition, the series will stage a pair of full-points races on Saturday and Sunday at the Port of Los Angeles. If you recall, the series added a second round in the City of Angels after its Detroit event, originally set for Aug. 2-3, couldn’t come off.

A nine-turn, .586-mile circuit will be the battleground this weekend. Drivers won’t encounter dirt until they hit the right-hand Turn 6, which will also mark the start of the joker.

The dirt jump will be positioned between Turn 6 and 7, but the joker is perhaps the signature feature of this course, as it wraps around the final three corners – making it the longest joker of the 2014 GRC season.

After finishing eighth in last weekend’s inaugural Formula E race in Beijing, Nelson Piquet Jr. is back in his familiar Ford Fiesta this week and holding a 40-point lead over Ken Block in the championship.

Block has been on a tear as of late with three consecutive podium finishes (which includes a Round 5 win at Charlotte), the longest active streak in GRC.

In the last race at Daytona, Block was runner-up behind Rhys Millen, who bagged his first series victory for himself and for Hyundai. However, Millen was penalized 50 championship points and fined $5,000 after his No. 67 Hyundai Veloster was found equipped with speed sensors in post-race inspection. The sensors were deemed as not having given the car a performance advantage.

Both GRC finals from Los Angeles will air LIVE Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m. ET on NBC-TV and NBC Sports Live Extra.

SUPERCARS ENTRY LIST – RED BULL GRC AT LOS ANGELES
00-Steve Arpin, Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada, Royal Purple Racing/OMSE2 Ford
07-Nelson Piquet Jr., Brasilia, Brazil, SH Racing Rallycross Ford
11-Sverre Isachsen, Hokksund, Norway, Subaru Rally Team USA
14-Austin Dyne, Los Angeles, Barracuda Racing Ford
18-Patrik Sandell, Ostersund, Sweden, Olsbergs MSE Ford
27-Emma Gilmour, Dunedin, New Zealand, Hyundai/Rhys Millen Racing
31-Joni Wiman, Pohja, Finland, Olsbergs MSE Ford
34-Tanner Foust, Dana Point, CA, Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross
43-Ken Block, Park City, UT, Hoonigan Racing Division Ford
67-Rhys Millen, Huntington Beach, CA, Hyundai/Rhys Millen Racing
77-Scott Speed, Mt. Holly, NC, Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross
81-Bucky Lasek, Dundalk, MD, Subaru Rally Team USA
199-Travis Pastrana, Annapolis, MD, Subaru Rally Team USA

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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.

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧. 𝗪𝗔𝗦. 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗖.@EagleRaceway went above and beyond in their return to the main stage with the High Limit Sprint Car Series tonight!

pic.twitter.com/H3XKQEOpg6

— High Limit Racing (@HighLimitRacing) June 7, 2023

“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

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