Kyle Larson Back In A Midget, Back On Dirt
The best dirt track driver of the past 10 years is going to return to dirt track racing this winter off season. Really glad to have bought Chili Bowl tickets this year. Larson is especially hungry and determined to win the Chili Bowl and I hope we're there to see it!
Larson Planning Winter Dirt Return
CONCORD, N.C. — Fans of NASCAR driver Kyle Larson who are hoping to see him return to his dirt racing roots this offseason are in luck.
Larson confirmed to SPEED SPORT that he will contest a schedule similar to the one he ran last winter, beginning with the 75th annual Turkey Night Grand Prix midget race Nov. 26 at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.
Larson also plans to race his winged sprint car during the early January Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown at Cocopah Speedway in Arizona before turning his attention to the Jan. 12-16 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Okla.
“As soon as our season is done I’ll go to Perris to do the Turkey Night,” Larson confirmed while at Phoenix Int’l Raceway over the weekend. “I’ll do the first three nights at Cocopah Speedway and then I’ll do the Chili Bowl. So that’ll be my open-wheel schedule for the offseason.”
Last year Larson ran the same group of races and was fairly successful. He finished third in the Turkey Night Grand Prix, won a sprint car feature during the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown and won a Chili Bowl preliminary feature after racing his way into the feature from the C main.
Larson’s focus the last few years has been on his career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, so he hasn’t done nearly as much open-wheel racing as he did while climbing the racing ladder. He said in the future he hopes to do more open-wheel racing when his schedule allows, but he said he needs permission from his team owner Chip Ganassi in order to do that.
“I’d like to (run more open-wheel races), but I just don’t know about that. I’d have to get permission,” Larson said.