Kyle Larson is on quite a streak, isn’t he? In mid-July, the versatile racing driver secured a $100,000 Joker’s Jackpot victory at Eldora Speedway in the High Limit Racing Series he co-owns. He also took the checkered flag at Southern Iowa Speedway in the Front Row Challenge, winning the prestigious event for the fifth time in his career, and his fourth in five years. So expectations were high going into the World of Outlaws’ Knoxville Nationals.
Predictably, ‘Yung Money’ didn’t disappoint. The 33-year-old driver dominated the sprint car racing scene once again, finishing first at Knoxville Raceway while driving the #57 car for Silva Motorsports Inc.
Kyle Larson is back on the podium
Is there anything Kyle Larson can’t do? Despite the Cup Series playoffs fast approaching and the race at Watkins Glen on the horizon, the driver couldn’t help but take a slight detour to Knoxville Raceway, a 0.5-mile dirt oval track known as the ‘Sprint Car Capital of the World’. The NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals has always been a very prestigious event, where more than 100 sprint car drivers from across the world make their way to the Marion County Fairgrounds for some high-octane action.
The expectations were high for Kyle Larson. After all, he has won 3 of the last 4 Knoxville Nationals, leading all 50 laps of the finale in 2023 and 2024. Starting in 5th place, ‘Yung Money’ proved exactly why he had won nine of his last 19 races at the iconic half mile by steadily gaining track positions, and even climbed to 2nd by Lap 6. However, Spencer Bayston had a significant lead by Lap 10, approximately 10 car lengths, but despite the advantage, the 33-year-old was the faster of the two and managed to take the lead by Lap 13.
From that point on, there was no looking back. Larson maintained his track position, while Logan Schuchart slid into second place on Lap 19 at the expense of Bayston, who lost momentum and rubbed bumpers with Scelzi. But somehow, miraculously, the No. 14 Jason Meyers Racing driver ended up in third place. Meanwhile, High Limit Racing co-owner Brad Sweet ended up in eighth place, a decent result considering he started from 21st but made up track positions in just 25 laps.
KYLE LARSON WINS TOYOTA QUALIFYING NIGHT 2!#NOSvilleNationals pic.twitter.com/aoIy72m58v
— Knoxville Raceway (@knoxvilleraces) August 8, 2025
As for Kyle Larson, he was seen waving the checkered flag while standing atop his No. 57 sprint car, confetti falling all around him. It’s been quite a topsy-turvy season for the racing driver, but he showed his versatility once again by securing his second straight qualifying night victory. Now he’ll shift his attention to the 2025 Go Bowling at The Glen, where he’ll look to carry forward this momentum and break his 11-race winless streak.
Larson is thankful to Rick Hendrick and Cliff Daniels
Kyle Larson is given a lot of leeway at Hendrick Motorsports. After a failed ‘double’ attempt last year, the No. 5 Chevy driver was allowed to attempt the feat once again this year, even though it was unsuccessful. And with the playoffs just around the corner, the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, especially since he’s third in the driver standings and in with a realistic shot for the regular season championship. Still, he’s being allowed to compete in sprint races at the grassroots level.
And Larson couldn’t be more grateful. He said, “It caps off with the most prestigious sprint car race in the world. So yeah, there’s a lot that goes into making the Knoxville Nationals the coolest event in the world. I enjoy getting to run it. I’m thankful that I get to run it ’cause you know, I could easily not. I could have an owner that wouldn’t allow me to run it. But thankfully, Mr. H and Cliff and everybody there let me run. They know how important it is to me, and yeah, it’s cool. We’ve been here since last Wednesday and look forward to the weekend.”
Finishing on top of the standings at Daytona could go a long way in the playoffs, especially with 15 points on the line. Kyle Larson missed out on the regular season championship last year by just one point, and one can’t help but feel he would have finished about Tyler Reddick if it wasn’t for the rain-affected Coca-Cola 600, which he couldn’t participate in. Hendrick Motorsports will be determined not to repeat past mistakes, and with three drivers occupying the top spots, chances are that one of them will get those playoff points going into Darlington.
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