The time for Kyle Larson to strike back is finally here. After a dominant victory at the Darlington Raceway last week, Kyle Larson has booked his ticket to the round of 12s, regardless of his performance in the next two races in Kansas and Bristol. And now perhaps, he has all the time in the world to go back to his roots. And that is exactly what he is doing.
The Hendrick Motorsports #5 Chevy driver flew to California for the prelims of the 69th Gold Cup Race of Champions. And for the second time in a row, Larson gave his hometown fans much to cheer about as he announced his dominance at the Silver Dollar Speedway.
Kyle Larson admits to having the “Fear of Missing Out” as he leaves for Kansas
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The 31-year-old Californian’s pride knew no bounds after he won his second consecutive victory at the 30-lap event. Kyle Larson had started 6th and after a series of tussles with Kalib Henry and Chase Johnson. When Larson took the runner-up spot in the 15th lap, Johnson’s dominance started fading away. When Larson passed Henry, he was 2.047 seconds behind. However, he almost halved that gap in the next lap.
On lap 22, Larson caught up with Johnson around turn 2. As they moved toward the next set of turns, Johnson tripped on the cushion on turn 4. It was all that Larson needed. He dominated the rest of the race, finishing with a 4-second lead, and taking home the $25,000 winner’s cheque.
Gold Cup Race of Champions – Silver Dollar Speedway
1. Kyle Larson
2. Shane Golobic
3. Corey DayHighlights 👇https://t.co/sxpvLTl99w pic.twitter.com/f1IdxRYAik
— Tomáš Cvejn (@TomasCve) September 8, 2023
During the post-race interview, the 2021 Cup Series champion revealed his only regret—not being able to be there at two places simultaneously. He wished he could stay for his third win at the quarter-mile track but his day job calls: “Thanks to all the fans too. I wish I could stay for the rest of the weekend, but, got to get to Kansas tomorrow.”
He later exclaimed, “Obviously you get a little FOMO you wish you could be in two places at once but, it’s tough. I’m fortunate to be here for Wednesday and Thursday. I wasn’t supposed to run tonight but things changed with my schedule; [I] was able to stay for the night.”
Watch this story: Kyle Larson’s Near Escape After Impact With Tony Stewart’s Driver Trigger Major Next Gen Change From NASCAR
“I’ll for sure be tuned in for Saturday,” he smiled.
The Silver Dollar Speedway holds memories dear to the “Yung Money”
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Kyle Larson won his first World of Outlaws race at the Silver Dollar Speedway last year. He admitted that Sprint car racing tournaments like the Gold Cup RoC are great opportunities for young or local racers to showcase their talents. He exclaimed, “This is a race that I grew up coming to for so long; won my first ever World of Outlaw race in this track in this event. So this facility means a lot to me.”
The HMS star has led a whopping 127 laps in the 11 Sprint car races that he has driven this year, with an average finish of 4.4545 seconds. If one looks back at 2021 and 2022, that is a significant improvement from his average finish of 6.8125 and 6.10000 respectively in those two years.
California loves @KyleLarsonRacin. And Larson loves California.
A late pass led the Elk Grove native to his 2nd straight Gold Cup prelim victory at @sdspeedway in front of his home state fans at the event that means so much to him.
𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘:https://t.co/eGqDJWtLkK
— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) September 8, 2023
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Being a California native, Kyle Larson, driver of the #49 Brad Sweet and Colby Copeland joined hands to form the SLC Promotions and held the reins of the North Californian bullring. Since then, they have been striving to bring back the former glory of the Gold Cup Race of Champions. And with more than 6 cars entering the contention this year, it can be said that the trio has succeeded.
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Read more: Kyle Larson Expresses Desire to Compete in Formula 1 As He Prepares to Attend 2021 Abu Dhabi GP