SALISBURY, N.C. – For the second year in a row, taking the Back Row Bonus Challenge at Millbridge Speedway ultimately led to misfortune for Kyle Larson, as he ended up in a multi-car crash during the QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport once again.
Larson started off the night with a huge bang. Though his car number was drawn for the opening pair of the Pole Shuffle, Larson showcased his mastery of the Millbridge sixth-mile, defeating 11 other competitors in a row to earn the top starting spot for the night’s headlining 51-lap Open division A main.
After all that work just to earn the top spot, Larson then gave it up almost immediately, dropping back to 24th in an attempt to pocket a $25,000 bonus for coming back through the field to take the victory.
“I said I was going to do it (go to the back), so we’ll see what happens,” Larson remarked after climbing out of his No. 1 Stock Car Steel/SRI Performance/ProMoly QRC kart following the Pole Shuffle.
When the race began, Larson’s quest to get to the front looked like it had promise. He charged from 24th to 16th in the first eight laps, getting through a third of the field before a caution for Ryan Israel’s spinning kart slowed his torrid pace.
On the restart, Larson quickly picked off three more karts before his race came unraveled.
Working lap 11, Larson caught a piece of a seven-kart crash that more resembled a parking lot on the backstretch, involving former Millbridge track champions Carson Kvapil and Tom Hubert, Kyle Craker and Blake Carrick in addition to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series star.
Larson pulled into the work area and his crew began thrashing in an effort to get his kart repaired and back on the track, but it was quickly apparent that the damage to his left-front suspension and wheel was too extensive to repair sufficiently.
At that point, the Elk Grove, Calif., native exited his wounded kart, took his helmet off and shook his head. His quest for a $30,000 payday was over for the second straight year.
“I tried to be more patient this year as I was moving forward than I was last year, but (trouble) still managed to find us,” said Larson. “I thought I had it missed, but we just got enough damage to put us out. It’s unfortunate; this kart was super fast tonight.”
