KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Kyle Larson joined elite company Saturday night when he won the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals for the third time in the last four years.
He joined a legendary group of drivers who have won the world’s biggest sprint car race three times or more. Steve Kinser leads the list with 12 victories, while Donny Schatz is one win behind with 11 triumphs.
Doug Wolfgang (five), Kenny Weld (four), Danny Lasoski (four) and Mark Kinser (three) have also won the race at least three times. Larson became the eighth different competitor to tame back-to-back Knoxville Nationals.
It was also the fifth victory in the last five starts for Larson and his Silva Motorsports team. He swept the two races during the Ironman 55 weekend at Missouri’s Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, won the Front Row Challenge at Southern Iowa Speedway and his preliminary night feature on Thursday before leading all 50 laps to pocket Saturday’s $190,000 winner’s check.
“Hats off to Paul, Trevor, and Doug,” Larson said. “Everybody knows we’ve been really bad this year until the last couple weeks. They’ve been working extremely hard. It’s been a very disappointing year to our standards. For them to never give up and myself to never give up either is tough to do. Like I said, they work so hard. All of this goes to them for continuing to push and push and try to get better and better. All of these teams are racing 90 times a year. We’re only getting to race 25 to 30, so we have to work extra hard. It makes these wins feel extra great.”
Three wins at the sport’s biggest race over four years. If the One and Only in 2020 during the pandemic had been the traditional event, he’d be up to four in five years since he also won then.
Kinser had his stretch of dominance. Schatz had a turn. Larson wants to put together a similar chapter in the history books.
“Any time you win a crown jewel it’s up there,” Larson said. “To win back-to-back Knoxville Nationals, that puts it right up there as well. Donny Schatz had dominated this place for so long. I feel like we’re on our own little streak of dominance like he was. With 2020 not really counting, I feel like we could have four of these things.”
• Brian Brown earned the MPV Express Jesse Hockett Mr. Sprint Car award for the third time in his career, receiving $6,500. Brown finished sixth on Saturday night.
Points are earned through Southern Iowa Sprintweek events at both the Knoxville Raceway and the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa.
Justin Peck earned $2,500 for second in the standings and Austin McCarl took home $1,000 for third.
• Emerson Axsom, who finished 20th in Saturday night’s A main was selected as the Jetco Rookie of the Year for the Nationals, earning an extra $1,000.
• In addition to earning $85,000 as the runner-up finisher in the Nationals, Giovanni Scelzi and his KPC Racing team took home and extra $1,500 from the DGRD Best Appearing Car contest. Matt Juhl ($750) was second and Donny Schatz ($400) was third.
The Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 team won the Avanti Windows & Doors Best Appearing Crew and $500.
• Many of the cars carried decals paying tribute to longtime World of Outlaws scoring guru Eloy Gutierrez, who missed the Nationals while battling cancer. As well, Saturday’s drivers’ meeting included a toast to Gutierrez with his beloved Klondike ice cream bars.
• There was no charge from the back to be made this year. David Gravel (19th), Donny Schatz (21st) and Logan Schuchart (22nd) all started near the back of the 24-driver field and none finished in the top 10.
Gravel came home 12th, with Schatz and Schuchart directly behind him at the checkered flag.
• Brock Zearfoss earned $10,000 as the fifth-place finisher in the B main, having missed the main event by one spot.