Kyle Larson dominates Ohio Speedweek opener at Attica Raceway Park
Friday, June 14, 2019
Contact: Brian Liskai
By Brian Liskai
ATTICA, Ohio – There’s just something about Ohio Sprint Speedweek that Kyle Larson loves. The NASCAR Monster Energy Series driver dominated the second half of the 37th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek opener at Attica Raceway Park Friday, June 14 to score his 9th career Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions Presented by Mobil 1 – all coming during speedweek events.
It was the Elk Grove, California driver’s second career win at Attica, his other coming during the 2016 speedweek event. However, it was the misfortune of early leader and defending All Star Aaron Reutzel that handed the lead to Larson on lap 16 of the 40-lap feature. Reutzel got collected when two cars he was about to lap tangled and ended upside down, ending his night and handing the lead to “Young Money” Larson who would drive away to a nearly eight second victory. Larson’s victory was also redemption from the 2018 speedweek event at Attica as he hit the front stretch wall while leading.
“I obviously caught a big break there and not getting collected in that wreck and then it falling in the right time when I slid off the track. A little bit lucky tonight but I felt like my car was really really good there. It’s tough when you are in second, the track’s so dirty. Aaron was a little bit better than me but when I was the leader I felt like I was quite a bit better than I had been behind him. I could see Buddy (Kofoid) keep getting to my inside in the beginning when I was in second. When I was the leader I kept peaking inside every corner waiting for him to show a nose. I felt good through traffic and felt like I did a good job, stayed patient. Either it started to clean off or take a little bit of rubber through three and four up top…it made it pretty technical. I felt like at times I needed to cheat it and run below it to stay in clean track but needed to be in rubber at the same time. It was a fun track. I haven’t ran Attica too much but this is the slickest Attica I’ve been on…pretty neat to get a win,” said Larson.
“Thanks to Chevy, Finley Farms…we had Jason Finley here tonight and we always give him crap that he’s bad luck…so it was cool to get a win with him here. Also McDonald’s and all you fans. Ohio Speedweek is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Obviously getting to race six nights in a row….packed stands at every track and great race tracks we get to go to,” Larson added of his $5,000 victory.
Six time All Star champion Dale Blaney and current Attica point leader Buddy Kofoid had a great battle through much of the race for second with Blaney crossing in the runner-up spot at the checkers.
“Sam and Mike and Kevin have been working really hard and we’ve been coming up with a little bit different stuff and it’s got me feeling really good and where I feel like I can attack cars now instead of being attacked. Tonight was a huge boost for us. I love this place when it gets like this. It was almost back to old school Attica right there. It kind of cleaned off and you could run every where. We needed to start this week like this and hopefully continue on,” said Blaney beside his Mike McGhee and Associates/AL Drivelines/Brilex LLC/Cards to Plaques/NASCAR Low Teams backed #11.
For Kofoid, a Pengrove, California native, it was another podium finish at Attica. In fact, the teenager has only finished out of the top three at Attica once – last week when he was collected in a crash while leading.
“We’ve been really good at Attica and a lot of other places we’ve been getting a lot better. I think we were just as fast as Kyle in the beginning and I was able to move around to judge what I was doing off what he was doing. We were pretty consistent for awhile and then we just fell off. We were just way to free and didn’t have a lot of drive. The last 15 or 20 laps I was just surviving. Thanks to Ed Neumeister Racing, Ray Brooks at Gill Construction, CK Plumbing, the Linders, Linder’s Speed Equipment, AL Driveline, DMI…without them I wouldn’t be standing here,” said Kofoid.
Britton, Michigan’s Devon Shiels, a former Summit Racing Equipment UMP late model champion at Attica, battled with five time former Attica champion Ryan Missler throughout the 25 laps of the feature event before earning his sixth career victory at the track. The feature event went non-stop and took less than eight minutes to complete. The win on a double-points night vaulted Shiels into point lead at Attica and was good for a $2,000 payday.
“We have made some changes to the car lately and it’s a lot better. I was not going to come off that bottom…there was some moisture down there and it came to me,” said Shiels beside his Magic Fountain Auto Wash/Rally’s Hamburgers/Dundee Products/Good Lifts/Performance Machining backed #51.
At the start of the 40-lap All Star feature on Ohio CAT/Kistler Engines/Ferguson Waterworks Night, Larson and Reutzel battled for the lead with Reutzel gaining the advantage. The caution flew on lap four when Tony Stewart slid off the high side of turn four with Reutzel leading Larson, Kofoid, TJ Michael, Blaney and Bill Balog. When the green flew so did Reutzel, pulling away from Larson as the leaders raced into traffic by the eighth circuit just before the caution would fly when Chris Andrews dropped off the high side of turn two.
When the race got back to green, Reutzel and Larson pulled away as Kofoid ran comfortably in third while Blaney, Michael, Spencer Bayston, Justin Peck, DJ Foos and Tim Shaffer put on a show battling for fourth. Disaster struck for Reutzel on lap 15 as he prepared to enter heavy lapped traffic as Balog spun in front of the leader and Reutzel made contact and flipped. Reutzel was okay but done for the night.
On the ensuing restart Larson was able to hold off Kofoid and began pulling away as Blaney started to eat into Kofoid’s advantage while Bayston, Foos, Michael, Shaffer and Peck waged a tremendous battle for fourth. Larson raced into lapped traffic just past the half-way point and made a fantastic move splitting two lapped cars in turn three to maintain a big lead. Blaney would use the traffic to take second on lap 27 but was unable to close on Larson.
Larson just kept pulling away and at the checkers had a nearly eight second advantage. Blaney, Kofoid, last week’s Attica winner Foos and Shaffer rounded out the top five.
Shiels and Missler brought the field to green for the late model feature with Shiels leading the first lap but Missler grabbing the point the next lap. Missler, Shiels, Ryan Markham and Doug Drown ran nose to tail and side by side over the first 15 laps before encountering heavy lapped traffic. That’s when Shiels utilized the bottom line to grab the lead. Missler continued to race to the leader’s outside but could not make the pass as Shiels drove to the narrow win over Missler, Markham, Drown and Eric Spangler.
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, June 28on Kear’s Speed Shop/Carpenter’s Union Local 744 Night. It will be a Kistler Racing Products/All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Attica Fremont Championship Series presented by the Baumann Auto Group point night for the 410 sprints, a KS Sales & Service AFCS presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales point night for the 305 sprints and a point night for the Attica/Oakshade Raceway Late Model Challenge Series. Kear’s Speedshop will celebrate their 50th anniversary with a lot of great prizes to be given away throughout the night.
