A mere-24 hours after earning the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race victory at Texas Motor Speedway, “Yung Money” Kyle Larson was back behind the wheel of a sprint car, joining the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 for round three of the 39th running of Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio. The quick trip to “Orrville’s Historic Oval” proved victorious for the Elk Grove, California-native, capping the evening with an impressive rally from row five, working by second-year All Star and recent high school graduate, Zeb Wise, on lap 30 of 35 for the $6,000 payday.
Impressive enough, Larson’s Duffy Smith Memorial/Wayne County Speedway victory bumps his career win total to 25 with the Tony Stewart-owned organization, four of which in Orrville. Zeb Wise raced on to finish second to Larson, followed by Paul McMahan, Buddy Kofoid, and Cale Thomas.
“I always have fun at Wayne County. I love this place,” Kyle Larson said in victory lane, driver of Paul Silva’s Folkens Brothers Trucking/Durst/Finley Farms/MAVTV/No. 57 sprint car. “Just an awesome race car tonight. It was a night and day difference between the heat, dash, and feature. Paul Silva works really hard and he figured things out.”
Despite starting tenth on the grid, Larson made his presence known immediately, ultimately using the first five laps to push ahead to fifth before setting aim on the foursome ahead of him which included Jac Haudenschild, Buddy Kofoid, Zeb Wise, and early leader, Paul McMahan.
A series of cautions and red flag incidents between laps 14 and 23 kept the field bunched giving Larson the opportunity to advance further and at a quicker pace. Using each of the ensuing restarts to his advantage, Larson moved around Haudenschild to steal fourth on lap 18, next driving by Buddy Kofoid for third on lap 20. Three circuits later, Larson was second, sliding by Nashville’s Paul McMahan after a lap 23 caution and open red. Meanwhile, Zeb Wise was now in charge of the point, gaining the top spot over Paul McMahan with a slider of his own back on lap 16.
Jumping out to a quick lead after the aforementioned lap 23 restart, Wise did all that he could to outrun Larson’s No. 57, but the Angola, Indiana-native was eventually tracked down. Lap after lap Larson made progress, setting up his bid for the lead during early stages of traffic on lap 30. Pulling even with Wise in turn three, Larson would power through the corner and beat Wise in a drag race back to the start/finish line. Larson was now the man in charge and that is where he stayed.
“This is probably the best I’ve seen this place,” Larson continued. “I was really able to rip the fence in three and four, and I think that’s where I was stronger than Zeb. I was able to show him my nose a little bit in one and two to get him thinking which made him change his line in three and four. He just kinda spun off of the corner and I was able to get a good run.
“I think my pass on Jac Haudenschild really set the tone for the rest of my race. He’s so good here and he’s able to make a lot of momentum in any lane.”