(Photo by Joe Orth Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 3, 2015) – The final scene for Round 2 of the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown couldn’t have been scripted any better.
NASCAR’s newest sensation – Kyle Larson – outlasted sprint car veterans Stevie Smith and Danny Lasoski in an epic duel on the dirt Saturday at Cocopah Speedway, which hosts the midpoint of the five-race event next Tuesday.
“It ranks right up there mainly because I haven’t been in a sprint car in a long time,” Larson said after securing the $12,000-to-win top prize. “To beat Danny Lasoski and Stevie Smith in a duel like that was pretty amazing. I think it’s a great event. It’s a great race track. The purse is really good. I think this event will grow each year.”
Larson chased polesitter Aaron Reutzel for the first half of the 30-lap feature before misfortune struck in Reutzel’s second career 410ci sprint car event. After powering to the cushion in turn one on a Lap 16 restart, Reutzel’s top wing appeared to buckle, forcing his car out of shape before coming to a stop next to the wall.
That gave Larson the lead, but on the ensuing restart Lasoski executed a slide job in turns one and two to take the top spot. As Larson stayed within striking distance for the next few laps, Smith found grip at the bottom of the track, which started to propel him closer to the front with a dozen laps remaining.
Larson repaid the favor to Lasoski with a slide job for the lead in turns one and two with approximately eight laps remaining. Smith capitalized on Lasoski being slowed down and he vaulted into second place exiting turn two before stealing the lead in turn four.
“I slid (Lasoski) for the lead and I thought if I could clear him I’d be ok and then Stevie was to my inside and slid me in the next corner,” Larson said. “It was kinda game on from there. He was really good on the bottom and I was pretty good up top.”
Smith and Larson nearly touched in turn two the following lap before the final six circuits were tight in traffic.
Larson moved around Smith on the backstretch with six laps remaining before Smith regained the lead in turn four.
Three laps later Larson slid Smith in turns three and four, but the veteran remained within a car length before throwing a last-ditch slide job of his own in turns three and four coming to the checkered flag. Larson stayed in the throttle on the cushion to power around Smith exiting the final turn of the race.
“It was a lot of fun,” Smith said. “We really wanted to win that race, but Kyle just, he didn’t give up and he earned it. We were just going back and forth and kinda just going where the other car wasn’t. When you get down to those last couple of laps and everybody is side by side you’re just going where the opening is and just feeling your way around.”
Lasoski finished third to mark his second straight podium result. He ranks third in the unofficial Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown points standings – only three markers behind Smith and fourth-place finisher Joey Saldana.
“I hope the fans enjoyed it,” Lasoski said. “The track crew did a great job. We had options. If your car was good and your mechanics did their job and the drivers did their job you could put on a great show and I think the fans saw that.”
David Gravel rounded out the top five. Ryan Smith rallied from 19th to a sixth-place result to earn the Hard Charger Award. Christopher Bell ended seventh and Craig Dollansky was eighth. Paul McMahan, the B Main winner and Friday’s inaugural Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown victor, maneuvered from 17th to ninth place with Dale Blaney finishing 10th.
NASCAR star Kasey Kahne missed recording his second straight top-10 result by one position.
Smith, Gravel, Reutzel and Bell won heat races with Kahne, Steve Kinser, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Reutzel picking up qualifier wins.
The Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown continues next Tuesday with Opening Ceremonies at 7 p.m. Fans can order live Pay-Per-View video by visiting http://www.SPEEDSPORT.tv/live.
JAN. 3 RESULTS –
Heat Race 1 (8 laps): 1. 51s-Stevie Smith (2); 2. 7-Craig Dollansky (3); 3. 57-Dale Blaney (6); 4. 42-Kyle Larson (8); 5. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5); 6. 2l-Logan Forler (7); 7. 99-Skylar Gee (4); 8. 21-Brian Brown (1).
Heat Race 2 (8 laps): 1. 83-David Gravel (2); 2. 26-Joey Saldana (4); 3. 51r-Freddie Rahmer (1); 4. 51-Paul McMahan (5); 5. 9-Kasey Kahne (6); 6. 11-Steve Kinser (7); 7. 98-Matt Jensen (8); 8. 77x-Wayne Johnson (DNS).
Heat Race 3 (8 laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel (1); 2. 3c-Willie Croft (3); 3. 1s-Logan Schuchart (4); 4. 11c-Roger Crockett (8); 5. 5h-Dakota Hendrickson (2); 6. 1a-Jacob Allen (5); 7. 9r-Reece Goetz (7); 8. 88n-D.J. Netto (6).
Heat Race 4 (8 laps): 1. 31b-Christopher Bell (2); 2. 94-Ryan Smith (4); 3. 33-Danny Lasoski (7); 4. 82-Dusty Zomer (3); 5. 11k-Kraig Kinser (6); 6. 22-Mason Moore (5); 7. 33v-Henry Van Dam (1).
Qualifier 1 (10 laps): 1. 9-Kasey Kahne (2); 2. 42-Kyle Larson (4); 3. 33-Danny Lasoski (6); 4. 26-Joey Saldana (3); 5. 1s-Logan Schuchart (3); 6. 5h-Dakota Hendrickson (6); 7. Matt Jensen (DNS); 8. D.J. Netto (DNS).
Qualifier 2 (10 laps): 1. 11-Steve Kinser (1); 2. 11k-Kraig Kinser (2); 3. 51-Freddie Rahmer (3); 4. 51s-Stevie Smith (6); 5. 11c-Roger Crockett (4); 6. 94-Ryan Smith (5); 7. 9r-Reece Goetz (7); 8. 21-Brian Brown (DNS).
Qualifier 3 (10 laps): 1. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2); 2. 7-Craig Dollansky (4); 3. 51-Paul McMahan (3); 4. 83-David Gravel (6); 5. 57-Dale Blaney (5); 6. 1a-Jacob Allen (1); 7. 99-Skylar Gee (7).
Qualifier 4 (10 laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel (5); 2. 82-Dusty Zomer (3); 3. 3c-Willie Croft (4); 4. 31b-Christopher Bell (6); 5. 2l-Logan Forler (2); 6. 22-Mason Moore (1); 7. 33v-Henry Van Dam (DNS).
B Main (15 laps/8 transfer): 1. 51-Paul McMahan (3); 2. 11-Steve Kinser (2); 3. 94-Ryan Smith (1); 4. 1s-Logan Schuchart (4); 5. 22-Mason Moore (8); 6. 2l-Logan Forler (5); 7. 1a-Jacob Allen (7); 8. 9r-Reece Goetz (8); 9. 99-Skylar Gee (9); 10. 5h-Dakota Hendrickson (DNS); 11. 98-Matt Jensen (DNS); 12. 33v-Henry Van Dam (DNS); 13. 88n-D.J. Netto (DNS); 14. 21-Brian Brown (DNS).
A Main (30 laps): 1. 42-Kyle Larson (3); 2. 51s-Stevie Smith (5); 3. 33-Danny Lasoski (2); 4. 26-Joey Saldana (9); 5. 83-David Gravel (6); 6. 94-Ryan Smith (19); 7. 31b-Christopher Bell (7); 8. 7-Craig Dollansky (4); 9. 51-Paul McMahan (17); 10. 57-Dale Blaney (13); 11. 9-Kasey Kahne (10); 12. 82-Dusty Zomer (12); 13. 51r-Freddie Rahmer (16); 14. 11c-Roger Crockett (15); 15. 3c-Willie Croft (8); 16. 11k-Kraig Kinser (14); 17. 22-Mason Moore (21); 18. 1s-Logan Schuchart (20); 19. 2l-Logan Forler (22); 20. 9r-Reece Goetz (24); 21. 87-Aaron Reutzel (1); 22. 1a-Jacob Allen (23); 23. 11-Steve Kinser (18); 24. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (11).
(Top 24 in passing and finishing points in the heat races were inverted in the qualifiers. The top 16 in passing and finishing points following the qualifiers locked into the A Main.)
UNOFFICIAL POINTS AFTER ROUND 2 –
T1. 26-Joey Saldana 377; T1. 51s-Stevie Smith 377; 3. 33-Danny Lasoski 374; 4. 51-Paul McMahan 367; 5. 42-Kyle Larson 348; T6. 51r-Freddie Rahmer 335; T6. 11c-Roger Crockett 335; 8. 9-Kasey Kahne 330; 9. 31b-Christopher Bell 323; 10. 7-Craig Dollansky 321; 11. 83-David Gravel 320; 12. 3c-Willie Croft 315; 13. 87-Aaron Reutzel 304; T14. 57-Dale Blaney 301; T14. 1s-Logan Schuchart 301; T14. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 301; 17. 11k-Kraig Kinser 296; 18. 21-Brian Brown 288; 19. 94-Ryan Smith 386; T20. 82-Dusty Zomer 284; T20. 33v-Henry Van Dam 284; T20. 9r-Reece Goetz 284; 23. 5h-Dakota Hendrickson 281; 24. 11-Steve Kinser 280; 25. 2l-Logan Forler 268; 26. 22-Mason Moore 262; 27. 1a-Jacob Allen 252; 28. 99-Skylar Gee 237; 29. 88n-D.J. Netto 230; 30. 98-Matt Jensen 221; 31. 23-Seth Bergman 169; 32. 77x-Wayne Johnson 146; 33. 55-Bud Walberg 107; 34. 74x-Josh Hodges 105.
WINTER HEAT SPRINT CAR SHOWDOWN –
Dates: Jan. 2-3, 6, 9-10, 2015
Track: Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz.
Prize: $12,000-to-win, $1,000-to-start each night (Jan. 2-3, 9-10); $5,000-to-win (Jan. 6); approximately $250,000 total prize money
Type: 410ci sprint cars
Times: Pit gate opens at 11 a.m.; main gates open at 2 p.m.; hot laps at 6:30 p.m.; Opening Ceremonies at 7 p.m.
TICKETS –
Fans can purchase tickets by clicking https://secure.pivotalracing.com/venues/cocopah-speedway.
PAY-PER-VIEW –
SPEED SPORT Productions will be broadcasting live Pay-Per-View video of the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown for $27.95 per night. Visit http://www.SPEEDSPORT.TV/live for more information. The event will also be taped for a pair of one-hour delayed television broadcasts via MAVTV.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.CocopahSpeedway.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CocopahShowdown
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WinterHeatSprintCarShowdown
THE EVENT –
The inaugural Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown will showcase the top sprint car drivers in the world in sunny Southwest Arizona during the first two weekends of January in 2015. The four weekend races pay $12,000 to the winner and at least $1,000 to every driver who advances to the main event with the midweek show paying $5,000 to win.
POINTS FUND –
A $10,000 points fund will be split among the top-five finishers. The champion will receive a $4,000 bonus with drivers finishing second through fifth each offered $1,500. A driver will earn points throughout heat races, qualifying races and main events during the five events. A competitor must attempt to race in all five Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown races to be eligible for the points fund.
COCOPAH SPEEDWAY –
Cocopah Speedway is a semi-banked, 3/8-mile dirt track located in Somerton, Ariz. It has a concrete wall perimeter, television-quality lighting and the pits are located outside turns three and four. There is also dry camping free of charge on the property. For more information, visit http://www.CocopahSpeedway.com.
COMETIC GASKET –
Cometic Gasket, Inc., is a leading worldwide supplier of shelf stock, custom and short-run gaskets for the performance aftermarket, original equipment and motor sports industries. The company, which is located in Concord, Ohio, was created in 1989 and ships out more than 5,000 types of gaskets to customers worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.Cometic.com.
JE PISTONS –
JE Pistons is the leader in high performance forged pistons. Based in Irvine, Calif., the company has more than 60 years of experience and has a history of manufacturing the highest quality pistons and components that professional engine builders, race teams and high-performance enthusiasts trust and rely on. For more information, visit http://www.JEPistons.com.
K1 TECHNOLOGIES –
K1 Technologies, which is located in Mentor, Ohio, has many years in the field of designing, engineering and manufacturing connecting rods and crankshafts. For more information, visit http://www.K1Technologies.com.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Jan 04, 2015
- Article Date: 1/4/2015 by Inside Line Promotions