MERCED, Calif. – Kyle Larson isn’t done dominating headlines.
The Elk Grove, Calif., superstar swept the winged 360 sprint car portion of Midget Madness on Wednesday at Merced Speedway, controlling 14 of the final 30 laps that weren’t as breezy as the night before.
Larson led 33 of 35 laps on Tuesday but had to exercise his full array of abilities for win No. 33 of the year across four disciplines on Thanksgiving eve. He implemented bold moves in the early laps to avoid dropping out of the top five.
Once Cole Macedo pressured Larson for fifth on lap seven, Larson dug deep and unleashed a pair of two-for-one moves the ensuing four laps that launched him into second.
Chase Johnson led laps seven through 16 and tested Larson’s craftsmanship.
“He was pretty good out front,” Larson said of Johnson in victory lane. “He was really committed to the top of [turns] three and four. The entry was getting a little slower and the middle was getting thin.”
Following a caution period on lap 16 for Jayson Bright, Larson pounced on Johnson with one clean, sweeping slide job in turns three and four.
From there Larson posted a 1.669-second victory ahead of Tanner Carrick. Four stoppages the final 14 laps negated the influence of lapped traffic, which actually is what Larson wanted all along.
“Wish we could have gotten to lapped traffic with these winged cars,” said Larson, winner of 13 sprint car events this year. “Lapped traffic is so fun around here.”
D.J. Netto led the opening six laps and completed the podium.
Macedo and Chase Randall closed out the top five, with Johnson, Blake Carrick, Joey Ancona, Justyn Cox and Austin McCarl forming the top 10.
NASCAR Cup Series star Chase Elliott brought the Tarlton No. 21 home 11th in his second sprint car race and seven spots better than his maiden run Tuesday night.
Colby Copeland spun out the top five midway through the event and finished 17th.
The finish:
Kyle Larson, Tanner Carrick, D.J. Netto, Cole Macedo, Chase Randall, Chase Johnson, Blake Carrick, Joey Ancona, Justyn Cox, Austin McCarl, Chase Elliott, John Michael Bunch, Mitchel Moles, Daniel Whitley, Ryan Lippincott, Evan Burrola, Colby Copeland, Steel Powell, Ryan Timms, Eric Humphries, Keith Day, Jayson Bright, Travis Reber, Dawson Hammes