With a Saturday night victory, Kyle Larson made up for some of the crash damage from his spectacular sprint car wreck six days earlier.
Larson reclaimed his summer dirt track momentum by rallying for his fifth victory this season in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. He led the final eight of 55 laps in the Ironman 55 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, passing runner-up Sheldon Haudenschild and third-place finisher Shane Stewart in the closing laps.
Larson earned his second $20,000 payday of the season with the Outlaws, cushioning the blow of his wild flip in the All Star Circuit of Champions race Aug. 2 at Huset Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota, that left Paul Silva’s team scrambling to build a new car.
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“That was hard work,” said Larson, who looked to have just finished running a marathon. “A wild racetrack. I’m normally pretty calm after racing but my heart rate is still going. That was wild. You can’t say enough about everyone who helps out on this team. I tore up a car at Huset’s last week and these guys worked their asses off all week to get it ready.”
. @dirtvision REPLAY: Kyle Larson holds off @Haudenschild_17 in a thriller to win the Ironman 55 at @I55Raceway! #LiveNOS pic.twitter.com/rW4vHDdWsj
— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) August 9, 2020
Larson said “the track finally came to us” in his 13th career Outlaws victory (tied with Brooke Tatnell and Terry McCarl for 34th on the all-time winning list).
After finishing sixth with the new car in Friday’s Outlaws race at Pevely (which was won by Haudenschild), Larson now has 24 victories in 40 starts on dirt since the beginning of June in sprint cars and USAC midget events.
The Outlaws will race Thursday through Saturday at Knoxville Raceway, normally the site of the Knoxville Nationals. With the prestigious event canceled this season, the Outlaws will hold a three-day event with a special format and a $50,000 first prize from a season-high purse.
Larson swept the Outlaws races at Knoxville in June.