CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Larson led wire-to-wire in the 2023 Knoxville Nationals to score his second victory in the prestigious race in the "sprint car capital of the world."
Starting from the pole position, Larson led all 50 laps in the 62nd edition of the Knoxville Nationals. The 31-year-old driver consistently pulled away on restart after restart in the No. 57 Silva Motorsports entry. Larson won this event in 2021 and is now the eighth driver to win multiple Knoxville Nationals. He is also only the second competitor to lead every lap since the feature was raised to 50 laps.
"To win another Knoxville Nationals feels amazing," Larson said, per Knoxville Raceway’s official site. "… I feel like I ran about as good a race as I could. I kept my eyes open for crumbs in the middle. It started latching a little rubber there with 15 or 17 to go. It was helping me on entry. It all just worked out."
HendrickCars.com serves as a sponsor for Larson’s dirt racing endeavors. The victory also comes a day before the NASCAR Cup Series takes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, where the Elk Grove, California, native will line up sixth.
It has been a busy week for Larson. Sunday saw the reveal of his rides for both the 2024 Indianapolis 500 and the 2024 Coca-Cola 600. "The Double" is being dubbed the #Hendrick1100.
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The 2021 Cup Series champion is going to compete with Arrow McLaren in the biggest open-wheel race in the world with car owner Rick Hendrick and sponsorship from HendrickCars.com. With the running of the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 in the Cup Series with Hendrick Motorsports on the same day, he will look to complete 1,100 miles of racing in approximately 12 hours.
Larson will be the fifth driver to run "The Double." John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch are the others. Busch is the most recent to do in 2014, while Stewart (in 2001) is the only driver to complete all 1,100 miles of "The Double." No driver to attempt it has won either leg.
MORE: Larson spends day getting acclimated for next year's Indy 500