SprintCarUnlimited.com Staff Report
It must have felt like Kyle Larson was beatable Tuesday night during Ohio Speedweek at Wayne County Speedway.
Of course, Larson did start 20th in the field after a heat-race crash. Still, he had plenty of speed and carved his way through the lineup to finish sixth.
When Larson showed up at the Brushcreek Motorsports Complex Wednesday night for Round 5 of Ohio Speedweek, he had that same speed, if not more. And as for being beatable, there was no chance.
The California driver started sixth on the grid and had the lead by the time Lap 5 was scored. Then, Larson lapped through 12th-place in the running order to dominate the 30-lap main event and add another $5,000 to his 2020 winnings.
“I felt really good,” Larson said. “I kind of found the middle the last lap of the heat race and pretty much committed to that. I felt like I could short-cut three and four a lot, but my car was really good, and I could go where I wanted up until I caught traffic.
“I couldn’t really see where I was going or wherever everyone else was going. There was a lot of dust, and I just tried to stay away from the outside wall. I felt like I was lapping a lot of guys with a good pace early.”
Continued Larson, “I wasn’t sure who was in second. I figured Rico [Abreu] and [Aaron] Reutzel would be there. When you are the leader and can feel the rhythm going where you are going to get the whole race in without a caution, you can’t get comfortable. My car was really good and made it a lot of fun.”
This was a beat down from the time the green flag was thrown until the final car passed under the checkered flag.
Cale Conley got the jump on Cory Eliason and led the first circuit. Larson used the high side to charge into third at the stripe.
While Conley continued to nurse a slight advantage, Eliason and Larson crossed over in Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 2. In the next corner, Larson pulled the slider and was two car-lengths ahead of Eliason at the second corner exit on Lap 3.
Larson wasted little time tracking down the leader. Conley continued to ride the high line around the speedway, but the former NASCAR standout pulled the trigger on a slider in Turns 1 and 2 to take the lead on the fifth circuit.
Once out front, Larson made short work of the backmarkers. While his advantage grew, Aaron Reutzel was making his way to second.
Reutzel disposed of Eliason for third on the 11th circuit. One lap later, he shot under Conley in Turn 4 and took over the runner-up spot. That left Conley and Eliason to battle for the third position.
Rico Abreu continued to pound the high side of the speedway and caught Conley and Eliason. The trio went three-wide through the first and second corner on Lap 21, with Abreu winning the battle two laps later.
As for Larson, it was checkout time. He did have a couple of hiccups in heavy lapped traffic, but it never stopped his progress or gave the rest of the field a chance.
“There were a couple of times where I got stuck with a couple of guys running side-by-side,” Larson said. “There wasn’t really anything I could do. I was stuck running the middle, and I just wanted to stay away from them in case they made a mistake.
“The last five laps or so, I was trying to do what I could, but I wasn’t making up any ground. Greg Wilson poked his nose inside of me a couple of times. Whenever a lapper is putting pressure on you, you never know if second is right there, also. It felt like the while flag was coming out soon, and it did.”
Larson cruised to a 4.793-second victory for his 10th career Ohio Speedweek triumph. It was also his 14th against the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions.
Abreu tracked down Reutzel over the last couple of laps to take second. Conley and Eliason completed the top five.
Sprint Car Feature Finish, 30 Laps: 1. Kyle Larson; 2. Rico Abreu; 3. Aaron Reutzel; 4. Cale Conley; 5. Cory Eliason; 6. Skylar Gee; 7. Paul McMahan; 8. Chad Kemenah; 9. Zeb Wise; 10. Cole Duncan; 11. Hunter Schuerenberg; 12. Greg Wilson; 13. Sye Lynch; 14. Tim Shaffer; 15. Jordan Harble; 16. Brandon Wimmer; 17. Stuart Brubaker; 18. Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 19. Brinton Marvel; 20. Josh Baughman; 21. Nathan Skaggs; 22. Bryan Nuckles; 23. Danny Smith; 24. Max Stambaugh.
Ohio Speedweek Points (Top 10): 1. Aaron Reutzel 718; 2. Cale Conley 702; 3. Paul McMahan 678; 4. Cory Eliason 638; 5. Greg Wilson 608; 6. Skylar Gee 604; 7. Zeb Wise 600; 8. Tim Shaffer 598; 9. Josh Baughman 594; 10. (tie) Buddy Kofoid and Stuart Brubaker 544.