PEEBLES, Ohio — As if Kyle Larson’s season wasn’t already memorable enough, the Elk Grove, Calif., hotshoe added another statistical milestone to his growing résumé on Wednesday night.
Larson claimed a dominant victory during the 38th Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek round at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex, marking the 10th score of his career during the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions’ annual tour of the Buckeye State.
The win at the three-eighths-mile dirt track made Larson the fifth driver in Ohio Sprint Speedweek history to reach the double-digit threshold. It also moved him into a tie for second all-time on the Speedweek win list with Tim Shaffer, Kenny Jacobs and Kevin Huntley.
“That’s really cool,” noted Larson in victory lane. “I don’t get to run a lot of Speedweek races normally, so to be second on that list is pretty special to me.”
Only Dale Blaney, with an Ohio Speedweek-best 32 feature wins, has more than Larson after Wednesday night’s Brushcreek rout.
Not knowing that in the moment, Larson quickly asked All Star announcer Blake Anderson, “What do I have to do to get to the lead (in terms of Speedweek wins?”
Anderson chuckled before responding, “Well, you’re at 10 and Dale’s at 32.”
Without missing a beat, Larson smiled before offering the punchline.
“It’s a good thing he’s done racing now; it looks like he’s just an official, so maybe we can slowly catch him over the upcoming years here!” he said with a hearty laugh.
Larson will have his first shot to take sole possession of second in all-time Ohio Speedweek wins — and start his pursuit of Blaney’s leading mark — tonight (Thursday) at Muskingum County Speedway.
He’s looking to add to a season record that includes 18 feature wins in the United States between sprint cars and midgets, including the prestigious Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals in January and a sweep against the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at historic Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway in June.
Larson hasn’t finished worse than sixth in any dirt race he’s entered since May 30, a span of 25 races. Included in that incredible stretch are 14 feature victories, including four against the All Stars.
Muskingum County will see Thursday’s drivers meeting begin at 5:30 p.m. Racing fires off at 7 p.m. at the half-mile dirt track.
SPEED SPORT’s Ohio Sprint Speedweek coverage is presented by Cometic Gasket Inc., a leading worldwide supplier of gaskets and engine sealing solutions for the automotive performance, powersports, original equipment and remanufactured engine industries. No matter what you ride, Cometic Gasket can seal your machine so you can focus on the finish line.
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