0
0
Alex Nieten
Trent Gower Photo
January 9th, 2025
After struggling at Volusia in the past, the Californian conquered the Florida half mile this week
Volusia Speedway Park can elude Kyle Larson and Paul Silva no more.
The potent pairing rolled into Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals week with no trips to Volusia Victory Lane. Larson had tried and tried and come close but fallen short. He’d been on the podium but not the top step. In a couple short days, “Yung Money” completely changed his narrative at “The World’s Fastest Half Mile.”
After a third and second on Wednesday and Thursday, Larson finally broke through on Friday to wave his first Volusia checkered flag. But he wasn’t done there.
Larson and the Silva Motorsports crew returned just as strong for Saturday. They entered the night needing to finish third or better to secure the coveted Big Gator. They opted for the better option to get the job done. Winning.
The Elk Grove, CA native was unstoppable in the event finale. David Gravel got the initial jump and took the lead from the second starting spot, but it only took Larson five laps to wheel his way from fourth to the top spot. He ripped the cushion around Gravel to claim the lead and drive away. Logan Schuchart looked to challenge him late but ultimately couldn’t make the move. Larson grabbed the win, a $20,000 payday, and the Big Gator.
“This has just been a track that’s historically and statistically been probably our weakest,” Larson admitted. “It’s been great to come here and have speed every time we hit the track, and to cap off the week with a Big Gator is something I’ve honestly dreamt about for a long time just because of how bad we’ve been here. Great to get the win there.”
All it took for Larson to get the advantage was Gravel leaving the door open once. When Gravel chose not to use the top in the early laps, Larson knew he couldn’t be stopped. Once he got the lead, it was simply a matter of taking care of business in lapped traffic.
“I don’t know if he could hear me or maybe thought I was down there, but he peeled down and I was like, ‘You’re done,’” Larson said. “Then I felt like I did a decent job in traffic there. But it got so single file, and the air becomes so bad and your tires are getting hot and losing grip. It’s just tough.”
Larson upped his total to 37 career victories with the World of Outlaws. A day after he added Volusia to his list, he made it the eighth track in which he’s won at multiple times with The Greatest Show on Dirt. He’s also the 12th driver to top at least two World of Outlaws Feature at Volusia. Larson is just the sixth competitor to claim two straight at Volusia, joining Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser, Brad Sweet, Daryn Pittman, and David Gravel.
After passing Gravel late, Logan Schuchart brought the Shark Racing No. 1S home second. He continues an encouraging start to 2025 after a discouraging 2024. The Hanover, PA native leaves Volusia with finishes of fourth, third, eighth, and second. He had only three podiums last season, and he’s already up to a pair with only four races in the books. Schuchart thought he might’ve been the one standing in Victory Lane if not for a late caution.
“I kind of wanted to push the issue there at the end,” Schuchart said. “I was kind of hoping the caution wouldn’t come out because I felt like we were really closing. Kyle was still kind of searching around a little bit, and I felt like maybe I could capitalize. But after the restart, I just wanted to play the tire game. I knew it was important to finish the race. Right there at the end he tried to go around a lapped car on the outside, and I thought I might be able to stick my nose in there, but I wasn’t quite close enough to make that happen.”
Rounding out the podium was David Gravel as he and Big Game Motorsports continue the strong start to their title defense. The Watertown, CT native finished no worse than fourth all week in Florida. He’ll leave as the de facto points leader. While he found himself wishing he could’ve found a way to win once, Gravel left the week happy with his team’s consistency.
“Being the leader there under the red Cody (Jacobs) told me he was kind of running below me and I was running the middle,” Gravel explained. “And on that restart, Kyle started pounding the top and drove around me. Sometimes it’s better running second. I’m kind of disappointed I lost second place there to Logan. I didn’t really have a shot to win the race after that. We had the track position tonight and couldn’t capitalize. Sometimes that’s the way racing goes, but I’m very proud of the week we had.”
Carson Macedo and Tyler Courtney completed the top five.
Ryan Timms claimed his second KSE Racing Hard Charger of the week with a drive from 19th to sixth.
Logan Schuchart claimed his 37th career Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.
NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Two, and Four belonged to Logan Schuchart, Kyle Larson, and Bill Balog. WIX Filters Heat Three went to David Gravel.
The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Tyler Courtney.
Courtney also topped the Toyota Racing Dash.
Garet Williamson won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars take three weeks off before returning to Barberville, FL’s Volusia Speedway Park for the Bike Week Jamboree on March 2-3. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, watch every lap all season long on DIRTVision.
For the entire 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car schedule, CLICK HERE.
FEATURE RESULTS:
NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[4]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart[5]; 3. 2-David Gravel[2]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo[10]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 6. 10-Ryan Timms[19]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz[12]; 8. 83-Michael Kofoid[6]; 9. 71-Parker Price Miller[8]; 10. 26-Justin Peck[11]; 11. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[9]; 12. 24D-Danny Sams III[16]; 13. 48-Danny Dietrich[20]; 14. 49-Brad Sweet[14]; 15. 21-Brian Brown[7]; 16. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[25]; 17. 1A-Jacob Allen[17]; 18. 88-Austin McCarl[24]; 19. 5-Brenham Crouch[15]; 20. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[18]; 21. 7S-Chris Windom[23]; 22. 6-Zach Hampton[26]; 23. 23-Garet Williamson[21]; 24. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[27]; 25. 39M-Anthony Macri[13]; 26. 28-Conner Morrell[22]; 27. 17B-Bill Balog[3]
For complete results, CLICK HERE.
