Kyle Larson Takes Checkered Flag at Capitani Classic
Kyle Larson has secured his second win at the Capitani Classic, holding off Rico Abreu to take the checkered flag at the Knoxville Raceway.
After a frustrating end to the day at Iowa Speedway, Larson was able to bounce back and end the day on a high note, winning the Capitani Classic for the second time. Larson finished fourth on Saturday in the 360 Knoxville Nationals, but he was eager to get back behind the wheel of a 410 sprint car, feeling that the 360 cars were "so slow."
Larson started second behind Ryan Blaney in the second NASCAR Cup Series race held at the Iowa Speedway, but his day took a turn for the worse when he got into an accident with teammate Alex Bowman.
Larson's Chevy was knocked out of the race after Bowman's car was hit by Keselowski in a four-wide situation. Just hours later, Larson was back on the track, this time at the Knoxville Raceway, where he was able to hold off Abreu to take the win.
David Gravel started in the pole position after winning the $2,500 K-1 Racegear Pole Shuffle and led early in the 25-lap main event. Larson was able to make his move, using a high line in turn two to take over third from Austin McCarl on lap 11.
Larson gained slowly on Gravel, entering high in turn one and coming down off of turn two under the leader to take the point on lap 19. Abreu continued his momentum, getting by McCarl for fourth and a circuit later passing Brent Marks for third.
Larson would lead the pack the last three laps to secure the win, with Abreu coming home second, ahead of Gravel, Aaron Reutzel, and McCarl.
Larson was happy to get back behind the wheel of a 410 sprint car, feeling that the 360 cars were "so slow." When asked about the win, Larson said, "I wasn’t planning on running this, but after running 360 Nationals, I was just very grumpy just because those cars suck. They’re so slow, so I needed to feel some horsepower and had a big smile on my face."
Gravel, who started in the pole position, felt good early in the race, running the bottom well, but he struggled later on, feeling stale and lapped traffic "whoa-ed" him up. Gravel moved to the top and felt like he was gaining on Larson, but Rico's car came on late in the green flag run, and Abreu was able to pass him for second.
The win is Larson's second at the Capitani Classic, and it comes just hours after a frustrating end to the day at Iowa Speedway. Larson will look to continue his momentum in the coming weeks, but for now, he's just happy to have ended the day on a high note.
Qualifying for the 410 Knoxville Nationals is set to begin on Wednesday night, with hot laps starting at 6:45 p.m.
Source: Yahoo Sports