Summer (By Tyson Graves)
In January Kyle Larson won what he considered the biggest win of his racing career at the Chili Bowl Nationals. In April during an online race Kyle let a racial slur escape from his lips that cost him his NASCAR ride with Chip Ganassi Racing. Kyle took what could have been the worst time of his life and put together a summer run that will not be forgotten for many years to come.
Kyle would put together some stats this summer that left us shaking our heads. On May 23rd just a little over a month after being let go from NASCAR, Kyle broke the track record at I-55 Speedway in a World of Outlaw Sprint Car event. He went on to win that night and pocket a big $20,000 payday. This was the start of a streak where he won ten features in a fourteen-race stretch. What made it even more impressive was winning on three different tours and two different kinds of cars. He won three World of Outlaw Sprint car events, three All Star Circuit of Champions events, and four of the six USAC Midget races during Indiana Midget Week.
Kyle would go on to win 42 feature events on dirt in the 2020 race season. These wins came in 83 races making a 50% winning percentage for the year. This included 60 podium or top 3 finishes, an average finish of 3.5, and over half a million dollars in earnings. It has been quite impressive to see what Kyle has accomplished this year despite what could have been a career breaking season. It will be a long time before we see another feat like we saw in 2020.
In October Kyle was reinstated to NASCAR and will drive the #5 Hendrick Motorsports machine in the 2021 season. We all, as dirt racing fans hope he still comes and plays in the dirt as much as possible next year. Kyle’s epic open wheel success this year must be one, if not the top moment of the 2020 season.