LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. — Making history is all that Kyle Larson knows how to do.
This weekend, he did just that. He defeated the beat stock car drivers in the world and the best sprint car drivers in the world within a 24-hour span at two tracks 500 miles apart.
Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway and less than 24 later he found victory lane again at Lawrenceburg Speedway.
Only this time it was aboard Paul Silva’s No. 57 for his 21st career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory.
It was the first time in the history of motorsports that a driver has topped both the NASCAR Cup Series and the World of Outlaws sprint cars in consecutive days.
“It’s really cool to win that [NASCAR] Cup race last night and then come here in a totally different race car, totally different atmosphere and get it done again,” Larson spoke on his remarkable accomplishment. “I think it shows that I’m in such great equipment all around from the No. 5 Hendrick Cup car, Paul Silva’s No. 57 right here, and even the late model with Kevin Rumley. It’s been a lot of fun lately.”
Larson’s path to a popular win at the Lawrenceburg three-eighths-mile wasn’t exactly easy.
Yes, the Elk Grove, Calif., native did tear apart dirt racing with 46 total triumphs last year, 12 of those against the World of Outlaws.
However, it’s been much more of a struggle since the 2021 season started. Larson and Silva went 0-for-6 through Bristol, Jacksonville, I-70, and Williams Grove. They didn’t just not win, they didn’t even make it on the podium up to this point.
That all changed in Monday’s Memorial Day Spectacular.
“I’ll be honest, we’ve really been struggling this year in the No. 57,” Larson admitted afterward. “Lawrenceburg is always at the right point in the season for us to get going, though. Hopefully this moves us forward in the right direction.”
Starting outside the front row of the 35-lap NOS Energy Drink Feature, Larson took the green flag with Aaron Reutzel on the pole.
Reutzel bolted to the initial lead and paced the opening 10 circuits aboard the Roth Motorsports No. 83. The duo ran through lap traffic until Larson got the best of him on lap 11 and slid by with an inside move through turns three and four.
Larson led from there to the finish, but it didn’t come without challenges. Reutzel was mighty cutting away at his advantage with less than ten-to-go when one slip on the cushion sent his No. 83 for a wild flip on lap 28 and removed him from the running.
Logan Schuchart, who set Slick Woody’s QuickTime and won his Team Drydene Heat Race, was next in line and got the closest of all to the rear bumper on the No. 57.
Ultimately, Larson beat Schuchart to the line by 0.764 seconds for the $10,000 score.
“I actually snuck a look at the big screen and saw Logan right behind me there at the end, so I changed it up a bit,” Larson mentioned. “I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just tried to take some of his air away. Lawrenceburg is such an awesome track. It’s so technical with all the waves, holes, and a thick cushion. I hope all the fans had as much fun as I had driving.”
Schuchart and Sheldon Haudenschild rounded out the podium.
“We might have to take that big board down soon.” Schuchart joked. “He’s a smart driver, though, I knew he either heard me or saw me coming. My heart said to fly it across the middle, but my brain told me the opposite. We’ve never had a top-ten here, so a second-place run is pretty good too.”
“I don’t know that I even needed much more from the car tonight,” Haudenschild said. “We were good, it was just about surviving this one. I’m just glad we can keep putting this NOS Energy Drink No. 17 up here on the podium.”
Buddy Kofoid drove the Swindell SpeedLab No. 39 to a career-best fourth-place finish from 10th. Closing out the top five and matching his season-best of fifth place was Kerry Madsen in the Tony Stewart Racing No. 14.
To see full results, turn to the next page.