Kyle Larson won Night 3 of High Limit International at Perth Motorplex and pocketed the largest check in Australian dirt track history. His winnings of $100,000 Australian is the equivalent of about $62,000 in the United States.
“It’s cool to bring a little cash back to America,” Larson said after winning his first race in Australia. “What a race. That was a lot of fun.”
Larson was off to a strong start in the High Limit International with a fourth-place finish on Night 1. He appeared to be on his way to victory in the second night of competition before slapping the wall and being forced into the work area. Larson was continued, but his damaged sprint car finished ninth that night.
On Night 3, Australian James McFadden was attempting to sweep the weekend. He won the first night convincingly and was the beneficiary of Larson’s problems on Night 2. Larson stalked him during the finale and passed McFadden for the lead in traffic with nine laps remaining.
“One of the restarts didn’t work out for me and thankfully the next one did and I got right to second,” Larson continued. “I felt like I needed to pace James until he got into traffic. It’s tough being the leader. It’s tough being in second because the track is changing so quick, but he started to run lower and I thought this was my chance to build some momentum.”
After throwing a couple of sliders at one another, Larson snapped McFadden’s two race winning streak. The Australian held on to finish second.
Another local driver, Callum Williamson, finished third and denied Brad Sweet a spot on the podium. Sweet was fourth with Dayne Kingshott rounding out the top five.
Larson is not done racing during the holiday. He grabbed his check, headed to the airport, and with a short layover in Los Angeles make his way to the Tulsa Shootout that begins New Years Eve and runs through January 4. Larson is entered in four divisions for the weeklong race and his son Owen Larson will race in two.
Kyle and Brexton Bush will compete in the event as well for another father-son, NASCAR pairing.
Larson and Bush will return to Tulsa on January 12 to race in the Chili Bowl Nationals. They will be joined by Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as NASCAR representatives.