{"id":6454,"date":"2025-02-09T15:16:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T19:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dirtcarnationals.com\/?p=6454"},"modified":"2025-02-10T15:46:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T19:46:14","slug":"grabbin-gators-kyle-larson-tops-dirtcar-nationals-finale-claims-big-gator-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dirtcarnationals.com\/news\/grabbin-gators-kyle-larson-tops-dirtcar-nationals-finale-claims-big-gator-title\/","title":{"rendered":"GRABBIN\u2019 GATORS: Kyle Larson Tops DIRTcar Nationals Finale, Claims Big Gator Title"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Alex Nieten<\/em><\/p>\n After struggling at Volusia in the past, the Californian conquered the Florida half mile this week<\/em><\/p>\n Volusia Speedway Park can elude Kyle Larson and Paul Silva no more.<\/p>\n The potent pairing rolled into Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals<\/em> week with no trips to Volusia Victory Lane. Larson had tried and tried and come close but fallen short. He\u2019d been on the podium but not the top step. In a couple short days, \u201cYung Money\u201d completely changed his narrative at \u201cThe World\u2019s Fastest Half Mile.\u201d<\/p>\n After a third and second on Wednesday and Thursday, Larson finally broke through on Friday to wave his first Volusia checkered flag. But he wasn\u2019t done there.<\/p>\n Larson and the Silva Motorsports crew returned just as strong for Saturday. They entered the night needing to finish third or better to secure the coveted Big Gator. They opted for the better option to get the job done. Winning.<\/p>\n The Elk Grove, CA native was unstoppable in the event finale. David Gravel got the initial jump and took the lead from the second starting spot, but it only took Larson five laps to wheel his way from fourth to the top spot. He ripped the cushion around Gravel to claim the lead and drive away. Logan Schuchart looked to challenge him late but ultimately couldn\u2019t make the move. Larson grabbed the win, a $20,000 payday, and the Big Gator.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has just been a track that\u2019s historically and statistically been probably our weakest,\u201d Larson admitted. \u201cIt\u2019s been great to come here and have speed every time we hit the track, and to cap off the week with a Big Gator is something I\u2019ve honestly dreamt about for a long time just because of how bad we\u2019ve been here. Great to get the win there.\u201d<\/p>\n All it took for Larson to get the advantage was Gravel leaving the door open once. When Gravel chose not to use the top in the early laps, Larson knew he couldn\u2019t be stopped. Once he got the lead, it was simply a matter of taking care of business in lapped traffic.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if he could hear me or maybe thought I was down there, but he peeled down and I was like, \u2018You\u2019re done,\u2019\u201d Larson said. \u201cThen I felt like I did a decent job in traffic there. But it got so single file, and the air becomes so bad and your tires are getting hot and losing grip. It\u2019s just tough.\u201d<\/p>\n Larson upped his total to 37 career victories with the World of Outlaws. A day after he added Volusia to his list, he made it the eighth track in which he\u2019s won at multiple times with The Greatest Show on Dirt<\/em>. He\u2019s also the 12th<\/sup> driver to top at least two World of Outlaws Feature at Volusia. Larson is just the sixth competitor to claim two straight at Volusia, joining Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser, Brad Sweet, Daryn Pittman, and David Gravel.<\/p>\n After passing Gravel late, Logan Schuchart brought the Shark Racing No. 1S home second. He continues an encouraging start to 2025 after a discouraging 2024. The Hanover, PA native leaves Volusia with finishes of fourth, third, eighth, and second. He had only three podiums last season, and he\u2019s already up to a pair with only four races in the books. Schuchart thought he might\u2019ve been the one standing in Victory Lane if not for a late caution.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of wanted to push the issue there at the end,\u201d Schuchart said. \u201cI was kind of hoping the caution wouldn\u2019t come out because I felt like we were really closing. Kyle was still kind of searching around a little bit, and I felt like maybe I could capitalize. But after the restart, I just wanted to play the tire game. I knew it was important to finish the race. Right there at the end he tried to go around a lapped car on the outside, and I thought I might be able to stick my nose in there, but I wasn\u2019t quite close enough to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Rounding out the podium was David Gravel as he and Big Game Motorsports continue the strong start to their title defense. The Watertown, CT native finished no worse than fourth all week in Florida. He\u2019ll leave as the de facto points leader. While he found himself wishing he could\u2019ve found a way to win once, Gravel left the week happy with his team\u2019s consistency.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing the leader there under the red Cody (Jacobs) told me he was kind of running below me and I was running the middle,\u201d Gravel explained. \u201cAnd on that restart, Kyle started pounding the top and drove around me. Sometimes it\u2019s better running second. I\u2019m kind of disappointed I lost second place there to Logan. I didn\u2019t really have a shot to win the race after that. We had the track position tonight and couldn\u2019t capitalize. Sometimes that\u2019s the way racing goes, but I\u2019m very proud of the week we had.\u201d<\/p>\n Carson Macedo and Tyler Courtney completed the top five.<\/p>\n Ryan Timms claimed his second KSE Racing Hard Charger of the week with a drive from 19th<\/sup> to sixth.<\/p>\n Logan Schuchart claimed his 37th<\/sup> career Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.<\/p>\n NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Two, and Four belonged to Logan Schuchart, Kyle Larson, and Bill Balog. WIX Filters Heat Three went to David Gravel.<\/p>\n The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Tyler Courtney.<\/p>\n Courtney also topped the Toyota Racing Dash.<\/p>\n Garet Williamson won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.<\/p>\n UP NEXT: <\/strong>The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars take three weeks off before returning to Barberville, FL\u2019s Volusia Speedway Park for the Bike Week Jamboree<\/em> on March 2-3. For tickets, CLICK HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t make it to the track, watch every lap all season long on DIRTVision<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the entire 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car schedule, CLICK HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n FEATURE RESULTS: For complete results, CLICK HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Alex Nieten After struggling at Volusia in the past, the Californian conquered the Florida half mile this week Volusia Speedway Park can elude Kyle Larson and Paul Silva no more. The potent pairing rolled into Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals week with no trips to Volusia Victory Lane. Larson had tried and tried and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":6455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,251],"tags":[104,9,193,117,12],"class_list":["post-6454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-sprint-cars","tag-david-gravel","tag-dirtcar-nationals","tag-kyle-larson","tag-logan-schuchart","tag-volusia-speedway-park"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/strong>NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[4]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart[5]; 3. 2-David Gravel[2]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo[10]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 6. 10-Ryan Timms[19]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz[12]; 8. 83-Michael Kofoid[6]; 9. 71-Parker Price Miller[8]; 10. 26-Justin Peck[11]; 11. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[9]; 12. 24D-Danny Sams III[16]; 13. 48-Danny Dietrich[20]; 14. 49-Brad Sweet[14]; 15. 21-Brian Brown[7]; 16. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[25]; 17. 1A-Jacob Allen[17]; 18. 88-Austin McCarl[24]; 19. 5-Brenham Crouch[15]; 20. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[18]; 21. 7S-Chris Windom[23]; 22. 6-Zach Hampton[26]; 23. 23-Garet Williamson[21]; 24. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[27]; 25. 39M-Anthony Macri[13]; 26. 28-Conner Morrell[22]; 27. 17B-Bill Balog[3]<\/p>\n