Sentinel photo by MIKE GOSS Kyle Larson watches time trials during the World of Outlaws event at Port Royal on Wednesday.
PORT ROYAL — Reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson ranks Port Royal Speedway as one of his favorite tracks in the country.
It showed Wednesday night as he crushed the World of Outlaws sprint car feature for the $20,000 victory. His eighth win at the track in only 17 starts. It was his 28th career Outlaws win.
“I feel like I did a decent job in traffic for a little while,” Larson said. “Then I got stuck for a few laps and got a little nervous. The bottom was really cleaning off in three and four. I seen Danny (Dietrich) was second on the board and he rolls the bottom here really good.”
“My car was really good all night long,” he said. “I knew we had a good shot in the feature. Hats off to Paul Silva and this whole team. It’s great to be part-timers and win Outlaw races. I could move around. I caught the wall one time. I tried to cheat the corner if I had to go up there.”
Larson, of Elk Grove, Calif. led the field down to start the 30-lap feature. Pennsylvania outlaw Logan Schuchart tipped over after contact on the front stretch bringing out the red before a lap was completed.
He was okay and after some quick repairs, restarted.
Larson grabbed the lead again on the second attempt over 10-time World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz.
Schatz tried a slider in between turns one and two, but Larson was too quick off the cushion and raced into the lead off Larson blasted to a 3-second lead as Danny Dietrich moved by Sheldon Haudenschild and Schatz and into second.
It didn’t take long for Larson to start lapping cars. He maintained a comfortable lead. Larson’s preferred line was right through the center of the corners.
At the half-way point, Larson had four lapped cars between himself and Dietrich and a 3-second lead. Anthony Macri was racing forward from the ninth starting spot. He was into the top five as was King’s Royal winner Brent Marks.
As Larson controlled the race, those Pennsylvania drivers were racing forward. Macri drove into third and peeked under Dietrich for second, but didn’t make the pass. Marks made it all the way into fourth spot.
They needed a caution, but it didn’t come as Larson went onto the win.
Larson’s final margin was 2,799 over Dietrich and Marci.
“I was feeling pretty good,” Dietrich said. “It would have been easy to take off tonight. Hats off to my crew for getting this car on the podium on a night we weren’t planning on racing.”
Marks and Haudenschild completed the top five. Halligan, Lance Dewease, Carson, Macedo, Devon Borden and Brock Zearfoss rounded out the top 10.
Donny Schatz set the fastest lap during qualifying time trials at 16.717. Schatz, Sheldon Haudenschild, Kyle Larson and Danny Dietrich won the eight-lap heat races. Larson came from the fourth starting spot to win the dash earning the feature pole. Port Royal regular Justin Whittall passed Outlaw regular James McFadden to win the Last Chance Showdown.
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