Red Bluff, CA – Kyle Larson, the 12 year old driver from Elk Grove, California, drove his ParkerStore QRC Factory Kart to the win in the 125cc division inside the Pauline Davis Pavilion at Red Bluff Saturday night and remained unbeaten in that division since the New Year began. Larson has won the last two events at Red Bluff and also captured a New Year’s Day win at Lakeport. He did not compete in the Open Intermediate division this week as that kart was already prepped and waiting for shipment to the OKS National Championship Outlaw Kart Race inside the brand new Southern Illinois Center located at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin this coming weekend.

Larson’s day at Red Bluff began with him setting third fast time among 24 entries. This was the first time in 11 Red Bluff races that he did not qualify in one of the top two spots. The little ParkerStore pilot began the third heat outside the second row and fell into third on the first lap. On lap two Larson moved by second place Johnathan Hoheisel and began to chase leader Kenny Allen. David Chaves rolled to a stop on the front straight on lap 7 and Larson made a move under Allen exiting turn four and nipped him at the line to take over the lead. The green and white flags appeared on the restart and Larson held the lead to register the win.

In the six kart six lap trophy dash Larson started fourth and found a hole to slide into third entering turn one of the first lap. On lap four second place Riley Gomes bobbled in turn two while Larson moved by and began to pursue leader Andrew Cumpton. Larson was able to close on Cumpton but settled for the runner-up spot.

Larson found himself in an unfamiliar situation for the main event as it was the first time during the Red Bluff Indoor Series season that he would have a front row start. At the drop of the green Larson’s ParkerStore mount used its Banke power to get the jump off turn four over polesitter Colby Copeland. He began to open distance over the rest of the field until a lap 5 yellow for Shane Graham. On the restart hard charger Dillon Silverman moved by Copeland and was able to keep up with Larson’s furious pace until a lap 12 yellow for Kenny Allen. As the field rolled to the restart Silverman’s throttle linkage broke and he brought out the yellow again and exited the race as fast timer Brian Southers inherited second. On the restart Larson powered away from Southers and stayed comfortably ahead until encountering heavy lapped traffic on lap 20. Southers quickly closed in and a classic battle ensued as the hotshoe duo diced in and out of the slower back markers. Southers nearly passed Larson twice before a yellow appeared for Brad Patchen on lap 25. With a clear track ahead of him Larson maintained a slight lead over Southers to the lap 30 checkered while garnering his sixth main event win in 11 tries during the Red Bluff season. The ParkerStore leadfoot also has one open intermediate 500cc win in 3 tries to bring his season win total to seven of 14 at Red Bluff.

After the race Larson stated “My ParkerStore QRC Factory Kart was really fast tonight, especially with my Banke engine on an open track. But the lapped traffic was everywhere during the last half of the race and I had to be really careful. Either way, that was the most fun I have had in a long time. When I saw my buddy Brian next to me I knew it was time to get going and he never went away.” Larson also touched on his upcoming trip to Illinois and said, “I’m going to be running in both the 125cc division and with the Open 500cc karts, where I get to run with the big boys. I hear many of the sprint karts that were at English Creek Speedway during the Knoxville Nationals will be there and I am really looking forward to racing against them inside the brand new building at DuQuoin. I really like going to different tracks and this one should be one of the best for the outlaw karts.”

Race: January 15, 2005
Photo Courtesy of Jack Waterman