Larson won a trio of All Star sprint car events on June 7, June 8 and June 10 before going to Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway and sweeping a two-day World of Outlaws program at the Sprint Car Capital of the World.
Larson packed up his helmet bag and driver’s suit, quickly found a ride with former driving rival-turned team owner Chad Boat and proceeded to piece together the most dominant Indiana Midget Week run in USAC history — winning the first three nights and four of the six features.
Larson’s eight-race winning streak ended June 19 at Lincoln Park Speedway when he finished second to Tucker/Boat teammate Chris Windom.
A night later at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Larson hit pay dirt for the ninth time in 10 races. He wrapped up the Indiana Midget Week title with a second-place finish in the finale at Kokomo Speedway.
Larson then moved on to “something I’ve always wanted to try and win” in the form of Pennsylvania Speedweek, sliding in a second-place finish with the All Stars during the Keith Kauffman Classic at Port Royal Speedway before finishing second, second, third, sixth, first, fourth, first, first and first during the nine nights of PA Speedweek.
Included were victories in the Mitch Smith Memorial at Williams Grove Speedway and the Speedweek finale at Port Royal.
For those keeping score at home, that’s 13 wins and 22 podium finishes in 23 races between May 30 and July 3, with no result worse than sixth and an average finishing position of 1.74 during that span.
That’s as close to unbridled domination as one will ever see in one of the most-competitive eras that professional dirt-track racing has experienced.
But amid the domination, the hours up and down the road and the turmoil of the past few months, there has also been peace for Larson in returning to the style of racing that first put him in the spotlight.
“It’s definitely something I love,” Larson noted. “I really just love racing cars in general. I’m just happy I can still get out here and have some fun and be around my close friends.”
Those friends — along with a legion of devoted fans — rallied around Larson in the weeks following the loss of his NASCAR ride. Without that, Larson admits it would have been more difficult to rally in the fashion that he has.
“It’s meant the world to me (to have the fans’ support),” said Larson on the “Winged Nation” podcast. “Obviously, I’ve gone through a lot and lost a lot of my partners, which I fully understand. But the ones who’ve stuck by me, it just means the world to have that support from people and fans and friends and family.
“That’s what has really helped me get by and stay positive through this all. It’s been life changing, no doubt. But the support of everybody has really helped get me by, and Katelyn (his wife), too,” added Larson, who has quietly been volunteering with several diversity-oriented organizations. “The kids don’t know what’s going on, but still just getting that support from everybody helps me stay strong and be a dad still. It’s tough, but the support … it’s hard to be positive, but the support really helps.”
Come back tomorrow for part two of this story.