Kyle Larson Wins Ironman 55 Night One In Last Lap Dash

Kyle Larson competing at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, MO (Photo: Trent Gower | World Racing Group)

PEVELY, Mo. — Friday night saw the World of Outlaws sprint cars roll into Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 for the first night of the Ironman 55.

Sheldon Haudenschild and James McFadden led the field to the starting area in Turn 4 to kick off the 30-lap main event. As they raced towards the first corner, “J-Mac” went up high to take the lead away from Haudenschild, but Haudenschild was right there behind him in his dust. 

On Lap 8, McFadden caught up to lap traffic, giving an opportunity to Haudenschild to try and pass for the lead. Haudenschild got right up next to McFadden going into Turn 1, but “J-Mac” split three cars in one go, placing himself way ahead of Haudenschild.

Halfway through the race, veteran Donny Schatz took to the bottom to try and crack the top five. Logan Schuchart was the keeper of the fifth-place position and tried his hardest to hold on to it by blocking Schatz and staying on the bottom to do so.

Schatz knew better and saw Schuchart drifted up ever so slightly, giving him the little bit of leeway needed on the bottom to get past him for the coveted fifth-place spot.

A lap later, Schuchart got past Schatz for fifth by going on the high side, and because he saw Kyle Larson in his peripheral vision. “Yung Money” had come up from 21st and was now riding in seventh.

On Lap 21, Larson shot up past Schatz and Schuchart with no problems and got on the bottom of Carson Macedo to battle it out for third. As they raced side-by-side down the backstretch, Larson slid up in front of Macedo going into Turn 3 to claim third as they exited the corner. 

With four laps remaining, Haudenschild tagged the wall coming off of Turn 4, handing second over to Larson. Haudenschild got next to Larson going into the next set of turns because he drifted up too high and caught the wall a tad bit, but Larson’s car was hooked up and he swept himself by Haudenschild in pursuit of McFadden in the lead.

Kyle Larson and James McFadden on the very last part of the last lap at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, MO (Photo: Trent Gower | World Racing Group)

Larson went down low going into Turn 3 while “J-Mac” stuck to the top side. They stayed like that for a few laps until it came down to the final two turns of the wheel. McFadden came off of Turn 2 on the high side and was not paying close enough attention to what was in front of him because he had to slam on the brakes to avoid rear-ending a lap car that was directly in front of him as he came off the corner. This gave Larson the opportunity that he was looking for to try and take over the lead and that is exactly what he did.

As they hit Turn 3, Larson went to the bottom and raced side-by-side with McFadden throughout the corner and down the straight, but it was Larson who had it at the line because he did a wheelie and drove over into McFadden’s lane, putting his wheels in front of McFadden’s and winning by 53 one-thousandths of a second.

“He got hung up real tight behind the lapper coming off of two and that kind of choked his momentum and forced him to the bottom,” said Larson about McFadden. “I figured his angle was too bad to be able to stick it and he would be cautious of Sheldon [Haudenschild] or somebody coming up top so I figured he’d drive across and I knew that I just needed to square up my corner and just grab this moisture in the middle of the straightaway and I was able to do that to edge him out, so I’m out of breath.”