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Larson Wins Castrol FloRacing Night in America Eldora Opener

$22,022-To-Win Super Late Model Events Set for Brownstown on April 27

ROSSBURG, Ohio (April 26, 2022) — The 2022 Castrol® FloRacing Night in America 2022 season opener was held on Tuesday night at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway, where Kyle Larson picked up the $22,022 victory.

While Larson had yet to win a Dirt Late Model race during the 2022 season entering Tuesday’s Castrol FloRacing Night in America season opener at Eldora Speedway, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion had never ever won in a Dirt Late Model at Tony Stewart’s famed half-mile oval where he’s been quite proficient in everything else he’s driven there.

With $22,022 on the line Tuesday in both the opener for the 13-race series as well as the historic track, Larson went ahead and scratched both items off his bucket list.

Overtaking Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., just before the leaders reached lapped traffic on lap nine, Larson of Elk Grove, Calif., dominated the second half of the 30-lap main event on a chilly Spring night in southwest Ohio.

Larson, who had lapped through the seventh-place finisher when the feature’s third and final caution came out on lap 28, easily held on during the final two circuits following the restart. Perhaps a bit more arduous, however, was surviving a rough and tumble Eldora half-mile that underwent new clay surfacing in the offseason and a dousing from Mother Nature just a few days before the event.

Larson started from the pole position but dropped back to third in the early going before passing both Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., and Davenport and finishing 1.397 seconds ahead of Davenport, the tour’s inaugural season champion last year. Overton finished third, while Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., was fourth and Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz.

Cautions waved on laps one and 10 as drivers struggled to adjust to the heavy surface.

“I didn't get a good restart (following the first caution),” said Larson. “I chose the top, which I thought was good. I just got kind of trapped in (Davenport’s) dirty air into (turn) one and got tight and allowed Brandon (Overton) to get by. I got by (Overton) pretty easily off of (turn) four (on lap four) kind of diamonding across the holes there. It was easier to do in turns three and four than down in one and two but my car was just getting through the holes way better than, it looked like anybody’s.

“But even when I caught Davenport, there, he was starting to bounce up the track and I could turn across and get some more smooth stuff off of (turn) two, so I was able to clear him there and get the lead. It was a lot of fun through traffic. It was super elbows up, really intense.”

Larson was slicing through what few cars remained when sixth-running Kyle Strickler of Mooresville, N.C., slowed with a flat tire with two laps remaining. The final caution erased a monstrous 5.172-second advantage Larson had built over during an 18-lap green-flag run.

“I don't know where (Davenport) was behind me, but whenever he's behind me, I'm running scared,” said Larson. “So I was running as hard as I could and when that caution came out (on lap 28) I realized that we’d lapped a lot of cars there and got up to the top (six). So the car was obviously really good. It got through the holes really well. Like I said, with Jonathan Davenport behind you on a track like this, that he's really strong on, it makes you nervous.”

Davenport said he thought there was little he could do to keep the NASCAR star at bay, whether in traffic or in clean air.

“(Larson) was just a little freer than we was,” said Davenport, whose runner-up finish comes on the heels of last week’s $50,000 XR Super Series triumph at Florida’s All-Tech Raceway. “He could get turned off the top better to the bottom. I could the first of the race and then I got tighter and tighter.

“I think he passed me right before we got lapped traffic actually, but he done a good job, man. It's definitely rough out there and it was tough. It's tough on the cars and tough on our bodies, but Longhorn builds a great car. Obviously with the top three, it was a good night for them.”

Overton was the third Longhorn driver to cross under the checkered flag. But the 2021 Dream and World 100 winner fell wall behind the front duo once Larson raced back by to reclaim the second spot. Overton said it only took him a lap or two at the top of the track to make him realize he was happier in the bottom groove.

“Man, that (track) was rough as hell,” said Overton. “I seen ‘em up there and I went up there and bounced a couple times and I’m, like, ‘Nah, I better get my ass back down there on the bottom. It’s just how it is man. I’ve worked my whole life trying to get good in the slick and you know, every now and then you’ll see this. Congrats to Kyle and J.D., they done good. I just can’t go through that stuff like they can. I kinda know my limits there. I just got down in the bottom and didn’t tear nothing up and we’ll go on to Brownstown (Wednesday).”

Castrol® FloRacing Night in America continues on Wednesday, April 27 at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway with another $22,022-to-win / $1,000-to-start Super Late Model program. DIRTcar Modifieds will accompany the night’s action.

The total purse for the event surpasses the $67,000 mark, including a $22,022-to-win and $1,000-to-start main event payout.

The Super Late Model tire rule for the April 27 is as follows:
Brownstown Speedway (Brownstown, Ind.)
Qualifying, Heat Race, and B-main
Drivers must use the same 4 tires for qualifying, heat race, and B-Main
Fronts and Left Rear: Hoosier 1350
Right Rear: Hoosier 1350, Hoosier LM40

Main Event
Drivers may change one tire for the feature
Fronts and Left Rear: Hoosier 1350
Right Rear: Hoosier 1350, Hoosier LM40

Complete series rules can be found at www.FloSeries.com .

Brownstown Speedway (Brownstown, Ind.) – April 27, 2022
Castrol® FloRacing Night in America Purse
1)$22,022 2)$11,000 3)$5,000 4)$4,000 5)$3,000 6)$2,500 7)$2,250 8)$2,000 9)$1,800 10)$1,500 11)$1,200 12)$1,150 13)$1,100 14)$1,050 15-22)$1,000
TOTAL - $67,572

Entry Fee: $100
Non-Qualifier Money: $50

The pit and grandstand gate at Brownstown Speedway opens at 4 p.m. ET with the driver’s meeting at 6:30 p.m. and hot laps at 7:00 p.m.

Grandstand admission (ages 11-and-up) is $30 with children (ages 10-and-under) free. Pit passes are 45.

Drivers, who plan to compete in any of the 2022 season events, are encouraged to register via the site or directly at https://www.myracepass.com/register/?n=34345 . Advance registration will make check-in on the day of the show easier.

For more information on Castrol® FloRacing Night in America sponsors, visit the company websites at www.castrol.com; www.renegaderacefuel.com; www.integrashocksandsprings.com; www.pitstopusa.com; www.k1racegear.com; www.buzzeracing.com; www.hokertrucking.com; www.rocketchassis.com; www.dirtdraft.com; www.hoosiertire.com; and www.fkrodends.com.

For complete Castrol® FloRacing Night in America details, visit the brand-new series website at www.FloSeries.com. For other questions, contact general manager Ben Shelton at msrmafia@gmail.com or 901-335-3037.

Castrol FloRacing Night in America
Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio)
April 26, 2022

Feature Results (30 Laps)
1)Kyle Larson 2)Jonathan Davenport 3)Brandon Overton 4)Brandon Sheppard 5)Ricky Thornton Jr. 6)Kyle Strickler 7)Hudson O’Neal 8)Ryan Gustin 9)Tyler Courtney 10)Tyler Erb 11)Bobby Pierce 12)Spencer Hughes 13)Ross Robinson 14)Stormy Scott 15)Daulton Wilson 16)Zach Dohm 17)Max Blair 18)Tim McCreadie 19)Ashton Winger 20)Shanon Babb 21)Ryan Missler 22)Mike Marlar

DNS: Austin Kirkpatrick, Brian Shirley, Frank Heckenast Jr., Michael Norris, Tanner English, Jeremy Shaw, Sam Seawright, Rob Anderzack, Terry Rushlow, Nick Fenner, Freddie Carpenter, Jeep Van Wormer, Wil Herrington, Garrett Alberson, Tim Lance, Josh Morton, John Henderson, Kyle Bronson, Jerry Bowersock, Mason Zeigler, Robby Hensley, Steve Casebolt, Ryan King, Dustin Nobbe, Jon Kirby, Chase Osterhoff

Entries: 49
DirtDraft.com Hot Laps Fast Time: Kyle Bronson
Renegade Race Fuels Qualifying Group A (and overall): Kyle Larson (15.167 seconds)
Renegade Race Fuels Qualifying Group B: Jonathan Davenport (15.305 seconds)
Integra Racing Shocks Heat Race #1 Winner: Kyle Larson
Pit Stop USA Heat Race #2 Winner: Brandon Overton
K1 Race Gear Heat Race #3 Winner: Jonathan Davenport
Buzze Racing Heat Race #4 Winner: Brandon Sheppard
B-Main Winner:
Hoosier Tire Drawing Winners: Mason Zeigler, Daulton Wilson
$150 Cash Drawing Winners: Bobby Pierce, Hudson O’Neal

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