Any doubts that Kyle Larson didn’t have his sprint car program down pat were put to rest Monday night in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
The defending Knoxville Nationals champion rebounded from his P11 finish in the 360 sprint car nationals last weekend, blistering to the victory at Terry McCarl’s annual Front Row Challenge one-off race at Southern Iowa Speedway.
The event serves as the final 410 sprint car race before the Knoxville Nationals and awarded $21,o00 to its winner this year.
Due to the tire shortage that has riddled the sport in recent years, McCarl elected to hold a different type of race in place of the usual King of the Hill that sets the first four rows of the night’s A-Main lineup.
Drivers competed in 40-yard dash races on foot, taking the top two finishers from each ‘heat race’ to the final round.
Carson Macedo and Anthony Macri impressed in what was an extremely unique way to set the starting order up front:
The pair of drivers used their premium starting positions to take home podium finishes on the night. Meanwhile Larson overcame his first round exit.
Behind them in the field, California’s Corey Day showed a plethora of speed during the action.
He was battling with Buddy Kofoid for seventh at one point before his nose wing malfunctioned and forced him back in the field.
Austin McCarl brought home the hard charger award going 11 spots forward after transferring from the B-Main.
The 61st running of the Knoxville Nationals kick off on Wednesday. Tuesday serves as the welcome day for fans arriving in the city – with a bar crawl and concert both planned.
2022 Sage Fruit Front Row Challenge
Southern Iowa Speedway
Oskaloosa, Iowa
Mon. August 8, 2022
1. Kyle Larson
2. Carson Macedo
3. Anthony Macri
4. Brian Brown
5. Daryn Pittman
6. Gio Scelzi
7. Marcus Dumesny
8. Buddy Kofoid
9. Austin McCarl
10. Parker Price-Miller
11. Corey Day
12. Ayrton Gennetten
13. JJ Hickle
14. Sawyer Phillips
15. Aaron Reutzel
16. Rusty Hickman
17. Blake Hahn
18. Justin Sanders
19. Ian Madsen
20. Carson Short
21. Kyle Reinhardt
22. Riley Goodno
23. Jack Dover
24. Colby Copeland
