Riding dirty: Kyle Larson looking for big win at Eldora Speedway
When the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rolls into Eldora Speedway for Wednesday's 1-800 CarCash Mudsummer Classic, one of the favorites to win will be NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie Kyle Larson.
Last year in the inaugural Truck Series race on the half-mile dirt track, Larson finished second to Austin Dillon, the driver he's battling for rookie-of-the-year honors in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Larson currently leads Dillon by 28 points in the rookie standings.
On Wednesday, Larson will be racing in the No. 32 Glad Chevrolet Silverado for Turner Scott Motorsports, one of the top teams in the sport.
The return to a dirt track also will mark a return to Larson's roots, as he started racing on dirt at age 7 in his native Northern California. He continued to enjoy tremendous success on dirt tracks campaigning midgets and sprint cars.
So far this season, Larson has already raced in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and K&N Pro Series West Series along with ARCA. Larson has won races in three of those series and has a best Sprint Cup finish of second at Auto Club Speedway in March.
At Eldora, two-time Truck Series champion crew chief Mike Hillman will turn the wrenches on Larson's truck. Hillman also worked with Larson when he captured the K&N Pro Series West race at Sonoma Raceway last month.
Larson said he's excited at the prospect of heading back onto the Eldora dirt.
"Last year at Eldora was a blast, so I'm really looking forward to running the truck race again this year," he said. "It was a race that I looked forward to right when it was announced last year, and then to get to race it and see how well the show was run and how great the racing was has made me even more excited for this year. I don't get to do a whole lot of dirt racing anymore, so that makes it fun, too."
