Spencer Bayston was dominating the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race at Bristol on Saturday night, coming to the white flag with a half-second lead.
He had made it halfway around the track, when the lone caution flag of the race slowed the cars down to set up a green-white-checkered finish.
“Well, I could breathe for once. I was just going through what do I need to be doing, what do I need to be prepared for. I thought I just hit my marks and my car was unbelievably good for it.”
Bayston took the high line off of the restart, opting to not protect the low-side round the corner and run the tail end of his car higher.
He said that was what prevented Larson from getting the momentum to launch him into the ensuing turn.
“I was afraid to protect on the restart, because then someone circles you around the top and has a big run into turn three,” Bayston said. “I feel like I did the right thing.”
And he did – Bayston used his run out of turn two to keep the speed that Larson had on the bottom. The pair were wheel-to-wheel as the white flag flew.
However, it was Bayston taking the trip to victory lane, beating the fan favorite for his first World of Outlaws victory of the season.
“Lots of progress was made in the CJB 5 camp this week,” Bayston said following his victory. “From our first session to tonight, in terms of balance, my comfort level and everything that went into tonight.”
. @dirtvision REPLAY: @spencerbayston survives a late caution, restart, and intense pressure from @KyleLarsonRacin to claim the win and $25k @BMSupdates!!!! pic.twitter.com/GGkwZeclVj
— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) May 1, 2022
It’s the Indiana native’s third career World of Outlaws win and stands as the highest paying victory of the young gun’s career.
Bayston went as far as saying this was his biggest win so far.
“I would say yeah, it’s definitely the biggest win of my career,” Bayston said. “The most special one is always the first one – I don’t think I can forget that day. I never will, but this is big shift in our momentum in the speed that we have in the car right now. I really wanted to get that win out of the way when we were still on the West Coast, but it had to wait.
“This one makes it a little bit more sweet and a little more rewarding,” Bayston said. “This one’s a good paying race, in front of a good crowd of fans. It’s one of those places.”
Bayston continued on his talk of the track at Bristol.
As a NASCAR fan growing up, the CJB Motorsports driver appreciates the novelty of the event and the history behind, ‘The Last Great Colosseum.’
“It’s incredible,” Bayston said. “Just to think about all of the races I watched as a kid – as a NASCAR fan, as a Jeff Gordon fan and a Tony Stewart fan – I remember the first time we rolled up here last year. It kind of takes your breath away. It’s this massive colosseum.”
“The fact that we get to race here is really, really cool,” Bayston continued. “I know there’s lots of people that may not agree that we should be racing here, but we’re all racers – we’re all here trying to do the same thing. We’re all just as competitive as the next guy, so given this opportunity to come here – it’s really cool.”
Bayston will take his momentum with the rest of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series to another iconic venue in Eldora Speedway. The World of Outlaws sprint cars and USAC non-wing sprint cars will take to the rack May 6-7 for a two-day, two-race show. All of the action can be seen live on DirtVision.
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Results
Bristol Bash Night 2
Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, Tenn.
Saturday, April 30, 2022
1. Spencer Bayston
2. Kyle Larson
3. Logan Schuchart
4. Rico Abreu
5. David Gravel
6. Kerry Madsen
7. Carson Macedo
8. Donny Schatz
9. Anthony Macri
10. Aaron Reutzel
11. Jacob Allen
12. Brock Zearfoss
13. Brad Sweet
14. Sheldon Haudenschild
15. Kraig Kinser
16. Bill Rose
17. James McFadden
18. John Carney
19. Noah Gass
20. Jason Sides
21. Landon Meyers
22. Matt Frisbie
23. Brian Paulus
24. Jake Spoon
