The 19-year-old from Elk Grove, CA, raced by Kevin Ramey for the lead
on the high side on the fifth round and worked traffic flawlessly over
the final ten circuits to post the victory in front of NASCAR Nationwide
champion Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and New Zealand’s Michael Pickens, with
each of the podium finishers locked into Saturday’s 50-lap Chili Bowl
championship feature event.
While youth prevailed in the Qualifying feature event, veteran shoe
Sammy Swindell snared his third Vacuworx International Race of Champions
victory in four years by leading all 20 circuits of the special feature
event. While the five-time Chili Bowl champion was out front all the
way, he had to fend off a late bid from his son Kevin Swindell, two-time
and reigning Chili Bowl champion, to secure the win.
While Larson, who ranked as the nation’s winningest open wheel driver
in 2011 with triumphs across a variety of series, gridded the feature
field outside the second row, it was Ramey and Chili Bowl rookie
contender Matt Ward leading the Warren CAT feature field to the green
flag from the front row.
Ramey gunned into the lead at the drop of the green flag, with Larson
sweeping past Ward on the high side to take second on the third lap,
moments before George White spun in turn three to bring out the first of
three cautions in the initial six circuits.
With Fort Worth, Texas, shoe Ramey working the low side, Larson stuck
to the high side and charged into the lead entering turn one on the
fifth lap. Upon the completion of the fifth round, Thomas Meseraull
caught the berm exiting turn four and went for a wild ride, with the
race’s final caution flying a lap later when Ronnie Burke, Jr., spun to a
stop in turn four.
With Larson out front in the Keith Kunz Motorsports Speedway
Toyota-powered No. 67 Bullet, Ramey tried to mount a charge to regain
the lead as action resumed.
“I could see him on the bottom sometimes in one and two, so I dropped
back down there for a little bit until I felt like it got to slow,”
Larson explained. “I wasn’t sure where Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.) was, and I
figured Ricky’s the type that would be up top so I had to get back up
there as quick as I could.”
Indeed, Stenhouse, Jr., was into second by the eighth round, but
Larson kept his chasers in the distance. Even when lapped traffic came
into play after 15 laps, Larson’s pace was undeterred.
“Lapped traffic was pretty tough,” Larson commented. “They were all
running the top so we had to throw some sliders at them and luckily they
didn’t race us back too hard.”
Larson raced on to the checkered flag without challenge, crossing the
stripe with a 1.573-second advantage over Stenhouse, Jr., in the
CTR-BCI Esslinger-powered No. 39i Spike.
“I kinda wanted a caution to get to his back bumper,” Stenhouse, Jr.,
commented afterward. “But then I knew Michael (Pickens) would be in
third and it would be a battle, so I was kinda glad we just ran it on
out.”
After starting seventh, Pickens battled past Brady Bacon for fourth
on the 12th round and then took third from Ramey the next time around.
Pickens kept the Loyet Motorsports Esslinger-powered Vacuworx
International No. 05p Spike in the show position the rest of the way to
lock into his fourth Chili Bowl finale in as many tries.
“The main thing is to be locked in,” the accomplished Kiwi shoe
explained. “Now we can sit back and relax and don’t have to tear up any
equipment.”
Bacon slipped around Ramey on the final circuit to snare fourth in
the Wilke-Pak Toyota-powered No. 11 Spike, with Ramey rounding out the
top five in the Printplace Motorsports Fontana-powered No. 7m Spike.
Casey Shuman advanced a half-dozen positions to claim sixth, while
Ward crossed the stripe seventh after being the only rookie to make
Tuesday night’s feature cut.
Andrew Felker was eighth, with 17th-starter Jerry Coons, Jr., and Darren Hagen completing the top ten.
After being unable to start his heat race, Jonathan Beason rallied
back with triumphs in both “C” and “B” Main action before climbing to
12th in the feature event. Jimmy Light worked the alphabet as well,
advancing from “C” Main competition to claim 17th in the “A” Main.
Meseraull, Johnathon Henry, Burke, Jr., Ryan Pace, R.J. Johnson,
Ward, Jody Rosenboom and Justin Grant topped heat race action for
Tuesday night’s 66-car field. Cameron Hagin and Beason won the “C”
Mains, with Coons, Jr., and again Beason atop the “B” Mains.
With a stellar 14-car field assembled for VIROC IV, the Fourth Annual
Vacuworx International Race of Champions, Sammy Swindell was the last
one to draw for position. And, the 13 drivers before him left him the
pole position.
That was all Swindell needed, as he jumped ahead of fellow front row
starter Jason Leffler at the outset and led all the way to take the
$2,500 triumph over the field of past Chili Bowl champions and
standouts.
Working forward from fifth though, Kevin Swindell made it interesting
after taking second from Damion Gardner on the 15th lap. Kevin
challenged his father for the point before a caution flew with five laps
to go for a tangle involving Brady Bacon and Leffler.
Sammy kept the younger Swindell at bay on the restart until the final
lap, when Kevin pulled alongside on the backstretch. Sammy worked the
low side of three and four though to retain command and took the
checkered flag with a car-length advantage over Kevin.
Tracy Hines claimed the show position in VIROC IV action behind
Swindell and Swindell, with Gardner and Joey Saldana rounding out the
top five.
A Main (25 laps – Top 3 advance to Saturday Night's Main Event)
“A” Main: 1. #67 Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA; 2. #39i Ricky
Stenhouse, Jr., Olive Branch, MS; 3. #05p Michael Pickens, Auckland, NZ;
4. #11 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK; 5. #7m Kevin Ramey, Ft. Worth,
TX; 6. #2h Casey Shuman, Rattlesnake Bend, AZ; 7. #8L Matt Ward,
Glenpool, OK; 8. #11a Andrew Felker, Carl Junction, MO; 9. #3nz Jerry
Coons, Jr., Tucson, AZ; 10. #3 Darren Hagen, Riverside, CA; 11. #51J
R.J. Johnson, Phoenix, AZ; 12. #36 Jonathan Beason, Broken Arrow, OK;
13. #27s Andy Shouse, Oklahoma City, OK; 14. #35 Justin Grant, Ione, CA;
15. #11c Chett Gehrke, Broken Arrow, OK; 16. #05r Ryan Pace,
Brownsburg, IN; 17. #16 Jimmy Light, Erie, PA; 18. #6r Jody Rosenboom,
Rock Rapids, IA; 19. #88h Johnathon Henry, Stockton, CA; 20. #10w George
White, Ft. Worth, TX; 21. #31 David Budres, Beloit, WI; 22. #23c Tyler
Courtney, Indianapolis, IN; 23. #4b Ronnie Burke, Jr., League City, TX;
24. #2T Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, CA.
Vacuworx International Race of Champions (20 laps)
- VIROC IV: 1. #1 Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN; 2. #39 Kevin Swindell, Germantown, TN; 3. #24 Tracy Hines, Greenfield, IN; 4. #05G Damion Gardner, Concord, CA; 5. #67Z Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN; 6. #39C Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, IN; 7. #14 Tony Stewart, Columbus, IN; 8. #05 Brad Loyet, Sunset Hills MO; 9. #67 Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA; 10. Brad Mosen, Auckland, NZ; 11. #5 (11) Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK; 12. #71 Jason Leffler, Long Beach, CA; 13. #21K Cory Kruseman, Ventura, CA; DNS - #39i Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch, MS