Then, just three days later he enjoyed one of the greatest thrills of his life. In an interesting development, it was announced that Kyle Larson — the hottest racer in the universe — would be back for a night of fun with KKM at Bakersfield. To his astonishment, Jarrett Martin learned he would be responsible for Larson‘s car too.
Remembering the night, Martin says, “I had to ask Keith to introduce me, because I had never met Kyle before formally. Kyle told me from the very beginning that he was pretty easy. We would talk a little bit as he came in and he would tell me what he was thinking. I always watched him when he was working with Keith. He would come right in and, before he was even out of the car, he was telling Keith all kinds of different things while just standing there in the seat. And that‘s what happened. He came in after hot laps and qualifying and said he needed a little bit of help here and there. Then he came in after the heat race and said he needed a lot of help.
“After the feature, he said we got a lot better and were really good. Pete told me that this is basically Kyle‘s whole spectrum, and I got to experience it all in one night.”
One thing Kunz had shared with Martin is that when you shove your car out for the feature your work is done. Now was the time to sit back and let your driver do their job. In this case, he had two drivers prepared to do just that, and what a show it was.
One thing that has always been true at KKM is that there is no thing called team orders. Buddy Kofoid grew up in the northern California outlaw kart scene. He may have idolized
Steve Kinser when he was very young, but by the time he was behind the wheel of a midget and sprint car one of the men to emulate was Larson. Kofoid started behind Kyle, and knew his crew chief had prepared both cars. It was truly down to him.
When it was all said and done, what Buddy Kofoid accomplished was a rare feat in a crazy 2020 season: he beat Larson in a toe-to-toe fight.
Right after it was over, Larson commented on how much fun it had been. It had truly been a joy to watch. Kofoid needed someone to pinch him. “It was cool to say that you beat Kyle,” he says. “And I really wasn‘t in shock, but I did think, ‘Did I just do that?‘” He did. Jarrett Martin had to be asking himself the same question.
With a fourth-place finish in the final points, he was a runaway winner of Rookie of the Year honors. Outside of USAC, he scored seven POWRi wins and bagged his second All Star Circuit of Champions win, this time at Fremont Speedway.
In terms of overall accounting, it was really pretty simple. Buddy Kofoid came into the season with a lot expected of him and he delivered. Before the year had ended, Tyler Courtney, clearly one of USAC‘s biggest stars, proclaimed that Kofoid would be the next National midget champion. Maybe so. He will also get his feet wet with some pavement late model action as part of his driver development program.
Long-term, he hopes someday to follow in the footsteps of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who remains one of his all-time favorites. Dan Simpson was there from the beginning and has no doubt that Kofoid is headed for big things on the domestic racing front, or even internationally. Time will tell. So many things have to fall in place for a racing dream to come true. Yet, for the moment it looks like blue skies lie ahead.