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Kyle Larson kicked off his 2023 NASCAR postseason with a bang after securing a victory in his home race, the Hangtown 100, at the Placerville Speedway. The 31-year-old was awarded with a sum of $25,500.
This is Larson's second-ever USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship victory after 2019.
Kyle Larson started the race from the 16th position. He took the lead with seven laps to go in the 100-lap race, ultimately clinching the victory. Logan Seavey and Shane Golobic rounded off the podium.
Kyle Larson reacts to winning his first postseason race
Kyle Larson spoke to the media following the race and expressed his confidence in the performance of his car. He said (via Speedway Digest):
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"I knew my car was going to be good, and I felt really good in the heat race too. I just needed to clean some things up. The track was in- between, and we didn't know what it was going to do with all the rain coming and going and tilling it and all that.
"When they reworked it before the semi, I could tell that the bottom wasn't quite that good early, so I was just going to commit to the top and try and get some momentum built. The car just got through the holes well compared to everybody else. That allowed me to move around."
Larson also highlighted the significance of the win, saying:
"It was a lot of fun and it's cool to get back into victory lane in a midget. Not that I race them a lot, but it's been a couple years since I've won a midget race. I've run 10 or 12 midget races over the last couple of years and that's probably the longest I've gone without winning a midget race."
Dwelling into the challenges he faced throughout the race, the Hendrick Motorsports driver said:
"It was fun to go 30 laps non-stop. That was pretty intense from my seat. Traffic was crazy and I was watching the board and trying to peek back when I could. I felt like I was putting together good laps. You just don't know for sure when you get stuck like that."
