Heat Race
After an hour-and-a-half rain delay, followed by Larson going third fastest in the second flight of qualifying behind Jimmy Owens and Sheppard, Larson headed toward the newly built pit stands.
He just wanted to find a decent seat to take in the early heats, since he would start on the pole for the sixth and final heat. Larson walked up the metal ramp, turned the corner, and, without intently looking, happened to spot his family not far up. His mom, Andrea, lifted Audrey, Kyle’s 2-year-old daughter, into his arms and he took a seat.
In a way, these moments help ease the tension for Larson, who’s suddenly garnered expectation, something he wanted to stay away from all week.
“It’s enjoyable to have your family here,” Larson said.
It was now time for Larson to race his 10-lap heat, and two-time reigning series champion Jonathan Davenport lined up behind him. When the green flag waved, Larson raced to a five car length lead, which quickly grew to a second and a half by lap two. From there it swelled. Larson streaked away from Davenport.
The lead grew to 2.2 seconds, then 2.7 seconds. His lead kept growing, finally maxing out at 4.8 seconds. The only thing that kept it from getting bigger was the end of the heat race.
Larson won by a straightaway, but things were far from flawless. Larson is still learning how to settle the car into the middle of the corner and get it to roll smoothly.
As a result of his heat victory, Larson was set to start to sixth in the 30-lap event, and before it was time to saddle up, Larson opened the black cooler in the back of the trailer and plucked out a red Gatorade. He plopped down on the bench and smiled.
It grew larger when Lance Dewease, one of Pennsylvania’s finest to wheel a sprint car and a good friend of Larson’s, stepped into view and into the trailer. One more lighthearted conversation before the aura intensified.
Feature
Larson walked to the rear of the trailer, grabbed a slab of tear offs laying on the bench, and began fitting them in the notches.
“Seven minutes!” a series official yelled as he drove by on an ATV.
He then rushed down from his trailer and jumped into the cockpit, sliding his face cover over his head while his team lowered the lift. It was finally time to race.
After staying in sixth in the early going, Larson successfully landed his first slide job on Shane Clanton not long after to move to fifth before the race’s first caution came out. On the ensuing restart, Larson was slow out of the box, and Clanton and Zeigler railroaded the late model newbie on the top.
Right when it appeared this would be Larson’s breaking point, he rolled the bottom so smoothly he recovered those two positions by the time they reached the backstretch. On the final restart with 12 to go, Larson picked off Devin Moran for fourth in turns one and two and then made a narrow attempt at a slide job stick on Owens in the following corner to power into third.
Larson and Owens put on a show thereafter, but it was Owens who outlasted the driver trying his hardest to showcase his universal driving talent despite getting hung up on the cushion numerous times. Larson limped home fifth after Owens landed a last-corner slide job that left Larson scrambling around the top before pounding the wall, laying it all out there for a shot at a podium.
He had busted the right rear pretty good, but that didn’t put a damper on any smiles.
“Helluva job!” Rumley told Larson, the crippled car parked along the frontstretch runway after the fifth-place finish. “That was fun.”
“Yeah, that was fun,” Larson said through a smile.
Rumley pushed the No. 6 back to the stable and Larson unwinded. There, more fans anticipated a meet and greet with the guy who has 48 top-six finishes in his past 51 races across four disciplines. This is what they wanted to see.
Larson changed back into his black t-shirt that repped Ascot Park and khaki pants, and then slipped on his black cap, green-lens sunglasses placed around it.
On Friday, it happens all over again.