Kyle Larson has said for years that Thunderbowl Raceway is his favorite track. He further proved that this weekend by pulling out all the stops to make sure he competed in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series return to the Tulare, CA facility.
The 29-year-old Elk Grove, CA native hadn’t raced at the technical 1/3-mile since his memorable Trophy Cup title in 2013 and was extra motivated to make it happen with his NASCAR Cup Series obligations only 500 miles away at Phoenix Raceway this weekend.
Larson’s chaotic travel plans (which included four flights in two days) were made possible by Jason Finley’s plane, Paul Silva’s wrench, Kevin Kozlowski’s Sprint Car, and Cliff Daniels’ approval. A quick synopsis of his 48-hour span looks like this:
- FRIDAY – Landed in Tulare in the afternoon, finished third in World of Outlaws Feature, took a plane back to Phoenix.
- SATURDAY – Qualified 7th in Phoenix (12:15 pm), flew to Tulare, wins World of Outlaws Feature (10 pm), back to Phoenix.
- SUNDAY – Starts NASCAR Cup Series race at 12:30 pm in Team Hendrick #5.
He paid them all back by doing what he does best – winning. After starting sixth, Larson drove by Sweet, both Scelzi’s, Eliason, and Bayston to take the lead by Lap 19 and then run off with his 25th career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature win.
It marked his first Sprint Car triumph of the 2022 season and added Kevin Kozlowski to the record books with his first-career World of Outlaws win as a car owner of the Finley Farms, HendrickCars.com, JVI Group #57.
The victory made it a clean sweep of the weekend at Tulare by California natives with Fresno’s Giovanni Scelzi winning on Friday. For Larson, it was his first World of Outlaws triumph at the Thunderbowl and brings him to five Series wins inside his home state.
“Central California fans are some of the best in the country,” Larson told a nearly sold-out crowd at Tulare. “I always love getting to race in front of these people, especially at places I grew up at. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here, but it was technical and kind of old school the way I remember Tulare. This is amazing. I owe a huge thank you to Jason Finley, Kevin Kozlowski, Paul Silva, Cliff Daniels, a lot of people who made this weekend happen. We’ve still got one more win to chase tomorrow.”
Following the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion to the checkered flag was none other than his brother-in-law, Brad Sweet. The Big Cat put together a season-best second-place finish on Saturday in the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49. The Grass Valley, CA native remains winless at Tulare, but the three-time and defending World of Outlaws champion believes they’re trending upward as the California swing continues.
“It was fun to be back,” Sweet said after a three-year hiatus from the Thunderbowl ended this weekend. “It’s especially fun to race against Kyle because he really makes everyone step up and elevate our game to another level. I don’t know how many realize the things he can do in a race car is amazing. I was searching around trying to make something happen when I caught clean air with him ahead, but just couldn’t make up enough ground.”
Current championship leader David Gravel continues to produce unrivaled consistency in 2022, this time finishing third for his fourth podium in seven starts. His drive aboard the Big Game Motorsports #2 is especially impressive when you consider that the Watertown, CT native was as deep as 13th at one point in Saturday’s Feature.
“We really want those wins, but I know if we keep rolling like this the wins will take care of themselves,” Gravel noted. “I almost crashed, hit the infield wall, jumped a tire, just everything happened tonight. I’ll take a third at the end of the day.”
After leading the opening nine laps, Spencer Bayston fell back to finish a season-best fourth in the CJB Motorsports #5. He was followed by Rico Abreu with a second-straight top-five finish since bringing Ricky Warner on as crew chief.
Rounding out the top-10 at Tulare were Californians Cory Eliason, Dominic Scelzi, Carson Macedo, and Giovanni Scelzi, with Sheldon Haudenschild earning KSE Hard Charger honors for a 21st-to-10th run.
THE NOS NOTEBOOK (Thunderbowl Raceway – March 12, 2022)
Kyle Larson’s 25th career World of Outlaws victory (in his 114th start) moves him beyond Ron Shuman & Sheldon Haudenschild into sole possession of 25th on the All-Time Wins List. Larson also reached 50 career podium finishes on Saturday night, making him only the 41st driver in Series history to do so.
Brad Sweet extended the streak to seven different drivers with Slick Woody’s QuickTime Awards through the first seven races. He took the Kasey Kahne Racing #49 around Tulare’s 1/3-mile in 13.256 seconds.
Brad Sweet also scored his 200th career NOS Energy Drink Heat Race Win on Saturday night. Other Heats were split by Giovanni Scelzi (18th career), Jacob Allen (37th career), and Dominic Scelzi (5th career).
Spencer Bayston claimed his third career pole position by winning the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.
Dominic Scelzi led laps 9-18, marking the first time in his career that he’s led a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Feature.
Sheldon Haudenschild won a stout MicroLite Last Chanc Showdown that also transferred Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart & Tanner Thorson.
UP NEXT –
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series has four west
coast swing races remaining with trips to Merced Speedway (March 18),
Ocean Speedway (March 19), Bakersfield Speedway (March 25), and Perris
Auto Speedway (March 26).
NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (35 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [6][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [5][$6,000]; 3. 2-David Gravel [9][$3,500]; 4. 5-Spencer Bayston [1][$2,800]; 5. 24-Rico Abreu [14][$2,500]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [2][$2,300]; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [3][$2,200]; 8. 41-Carson Macedo [12][$2,100]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [4][$2,050]; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [21][$2,000]; 11. 21-Mitchell Faccinto [13][$1,600]; 12. 1S-Logan Schuchart [23][$1,400]; 13. 88-Austin McCarl [16][$1,200]; 14. 17W-Shane Golobic [17][$1,100]; 15. 83-James McFadden [11][$1,050]; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen [7][$1,000]; 17. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [15][$1,000]; 18. 57W-Tyler Courtney [10][$1,000]; 19. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson [24][$1,000]; 20. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18][$1,000]; 21. 83T-Tanner Carrick [19][$1,000]; 22. 20G-Noah Gass [25][$]; 23. 16A-Colby Copeland [8][$1,000]; 24. 15-Donny Schatz [22][$1,000]; 25. 83JR-Kerry Madsen [20][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Spencer Bayston 1-9, Dominic Scelzi 10-18, Kyle Larson 19-20. KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+11]
NEW Championship Standings (After 7/85 Races): 1. 2-David Gravel (1,004); 2. 49-Brad Sweet (-36); 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-42); 4. 41-Carson Macedo (-60); 5. 83-James McFadden (-64); 6. 15-Donny Schatz (-78); 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-104); 8. 26-Cory Eliason (-106); 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi (-114); 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss (-140).
-Brian Walker and Trent Gower Photography