|
Engine Woes Derail Larson in Calistoga Civil War
Calistoga, California, August 9, 2008. After a recent string of strong finishes that put himself in contention for the Hoosier Tires California 360 Sprint Car Series championship, Kyle Larson saw misfortune look down upon him last Saturday night. As the series returned to the picturesque half mile Calistoga Speedway for the final time in 2008, a long night spent dealing with a balky engine finally led to the 16 year old driver dropping out of the main event.
With 31 cars on hand Larson qualified 20th fast despite lacking much needed power down Calistoga’s long straightaways. “We made a gear change after hot laps hoping that would help,” offered Larson, “But it was only slightly better.”
After making additional adjustments, Larson lined up outside row one in the fourth heat and promptly dropped to fourth by the time the pack entered turn one. Larson held off fourth fast qualifier Kyle Hirst to take the last transfer spot into the feature race.
With the main event shortened to 20 laps due to dry track conditions that were greatly affecting tire wear Larson started the Dave and Debbie Vertullo CRV Racing Products/Eagle/Kistler in 19th place. Despite the engine continuing to affect his performance, Larson was able to move forward as he passed several cars on the opening lap. By the time the first yellow flag appeared on lap 17 Larson had driven into 12th. However, on the restart, Larson slowed considerably down the frontstretch and pulled into the infield on the back side of the track. As Larson was scored 19th in the final standings, Jason Statler took the win over Brent Kaeding, Ronnie Day, Jeff Parady, with series point leader Sean Becker claiming fifth.
Queried after the race Larson said, “We made some changes to the fuel system and thought there was a good chance it was cured. But I could tell right off I was going to have to do the best I could with what I had. Even though I was slow on the straights I could still pass people in the turns. At the restart I could feel a big change, so I just shut it down because I didn’t want to hurt the engine. It doesn’t appear that there is anything wrong internally with the engine, so now we’re suspecting electrical problems. It doesn’t help my chances for the championship but Sean Becker has had his share of engine problems too. We’ll just regroup and come back strong at the next Civil War race during Gold Cup week at Chico.”
Larson’s racing efforts are sponsored by CRV Racing Products, Starr Real Estate and Property Management, Global ParkerStore, Safety Solutions – LFT Technologies, D & J Towing, RPM Indoor Kart Racing and Conference Center, A.R.T. Ent. Speed Equipment, Wion’s Body Shop and Powdercoating, JW Web Design, Mophead Graphix, SWEPCO Lubricants, Sierra Tire and Wheel, and Wyman Construction.
Check out www.kylelarsonracing.com for video clips, current news and information.
Race Date: August 9, 2008
Photos Courtesy of Steve’s Racing Photos
www.stevesracingphotos.com
|
