Kyle Larson Finishes Second To Teammate Shane Stewart
Kyle Larson Finishes Second To Teammate Shane Stewart
Shane Stewart won his second race in the past three nights, but he had to take the lead from his boss Kyle Larson to do so.
Shane Stewart won his second race in the past three nights, but he had to take the lead from his boss, Kyle Larson, to do so.
The 35-lap World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, IN, on Monday showcased the talent that still resides under the right foot of Larson. One night after finishing a disappointing 33rd in the Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Larson was looking to put that bad result behind him by returning to his roots.
Larson almost came away with the victory. He charged to the front after starting sixth on the grid, and when he caught the car he owns, he made a dramatic pass in heavy traffic on the high side to grab the lead on lap 23.
Two laps later, Larson jumped the cushion in turn two and handed the lead back to Stewart. As the pair raced side by side and sliced through traffic, Larson stole the lead with less than 10 laps remaining, but the slide job he put on Stewart stalled his momentum. They banged wheels hard. Both survived the contact and finished first and second.
"Man, that was blast," Larson said. "I hope [the fans] enjoyed that because that was awesome from my seat. That was one of the most intense sprint car races I've ran.
"It was fun racing against my car owner, definitely a fun race. I always enjoy coming here. The guys gave me a great car; they work endless hours to keep this car fast. I'm just the lucky man that gets to drive it."
Anticipating that Larson will follow Tony Stewart's footsteps and reenter the world of sprint car racing after his distant retirement, Shane Stewart tweeted that he is "glad I will be retired when he runs the full Outlaw schedule."
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/shanestewart_2/status/869421419335208960" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
"I was just out there for a cool drive, until [Larson] came up," Stewart said. "I was shocked when he went by me up [top]; it's Kyle Larson, what can you say?"
Larson said, "I got to lead there and made a mistake in traffic and he got back by. I cut across [the cushion] a little too soon and got in the holes and starting bouncing, that was what allowed Shane to get back by me. I knew I showed him my line and what I was doing so it was going to be tough to get back by him. We had a couple more opportunities at him but we just ran out of time, but that how's racing goes. I can't wait to race sprint cars some more."
Three-time Lawrenceburg winner Donny Schatz took the lead on the opening lap and raced with the leaders throughout the event. Stewart and Larson both overtook him in heavy traffic, and when Larson bobbled late, Schatz had a brief shot at second. Larson got back around and relegated him to third, which was his ninth top five in the past 11 races.
Brad Sweet in fourth and Paul McMahan in fifth rounded out the top five.
Top 10 Finishers
1. Shane Stewart
2. Kyle Larson
3. Donny Schatz
4. Brad Sweet
5. Paul McMahan
6. Rico Abreu
7. Daryn Pittman
8. Jason Johnson
9. Ian Madsen
10. David Gravel
Complete Results
The 35-lap World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, IN, on Monday showcased the talent that still resides under the right foot of Larson. One night after finishing a disappointing 33rd in the Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Larson was looking to put that bad result behind him by returning to his roots.
Larson almost came away with the victory. He charged to the front after starting sixth on the grid, and when he caught the car he owns, he made a dramatic pass in heavy traffic on the high side to grab the lead on lap 23.
Two laps later, Larson jumped the cushion in turn two and handed the lead back to Stewart. As the pair raced side by side and sliced through traffic, Larson stole the lead with less than 10 laps remaining, but the slide job he put on Stewart stalled his momentum. They banged wheels hard. Both survived the contact and finished first and second.
"Man, that was blast," Larson said. "I hope [the fans] enjoyed that because that was awesome from my seat. That was one of the most intense sprint car races I've ran.
"It was fun racing against my car owner, definitely a fun race. I always enjoy coming here. The guys gave me a great car; they work endless hours to keep this car fast. I'm just the lucky man that gets to drive it."
Anticipating that Larson will follow Tony Stewart's footsteps and reenter the world of sprint car racing after his distant retirement, Shane Stewart tweeted that he is "glad I will be retired when he runs the full Outlaw schedule."
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/shanestewart_2/status/869421419335208960" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
"I was just out there for a cool drive, until [Larson] came up," Stewart said. "I was shocked when he went by me up [top]; it's Kyle Larson, what can you say?"
Larson said, "I got to lead there and made a mistake in traffic and he got back by. I cut across [the cushion] a little too soon and got in the holes and starting bouncing, that was what allowed Shane to get back by me. I knew I showed him my line and what I was doing so it was going to be tough to get back by him. We had a couple more opportunities at him but we just ran out of time, but that how's racing goes. I can't wait to race sprint cars some more."
Three-time Lawrenceburg winner Donny Schatz took the lead on the opening lap and raced with the leaders throughout the event. Stewart and Larson both overtook him in heavy traffic, and when Larson bobbled late, Schatz had a brief shot at second. Larson got back around and relegated him to third, which was his ninth top five in the past 11 races.
Brad Sweet in fourth and Paul McMahan in fifth rounded out the top five.
Top 10 Finishers
1. Shane Stewart
2. Kyle Larson
3. Donny Schatz
4. Brad Sweet
5. Paul McMahan
6. Rico Abreu
7. Daryn Pittman
8. Jason Johnson
9. Ian Madsen
10. David Gravel
Complete Results