Up-and-coming racer Kyle Larson went for a nasty tumble during Saturday night’s sprint car race at Eldora Speedway – part of the track’s Four Crown Nationals – but walked away from the crash under his own power.
VIDEO: Kyle Larson Survives Terrible Crash At Eldora Speedway
Larson, one of NASCAR’s “Next 9” (a group of future star drivers), won the K&N East Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday morning and then jetted off to Eldora to participate in USAC’s portion of the Four Crown Nationals (midget, sprint and Silver Crown races on one night).
Since Larson swept the USAC races at last year’s Four Crown, he was a heavy favorite to win one or all of the events again on Saturday night. Sure enough, he won the midget feature again – but then he crashed in the sprint race (video below via @andrewbarmandtk with a hat-tip to @just_ap).
It’s unclear what caused the initial contact with the wall, but Larson got airborne at one point and was nailed by another car, which sent him flipping and rolling down the track as the vehicle basically disintegrated.
Fortunately, Larson was OK (he reportedly walked to the ambulance and later RT’d his own crash video from the hospital while getting checked out), but he was forced to miss the Silver Crown race, where he was going to drive Tony Stewart’s car.
Larson drew high praise from Stewart last week, and the Eldora Speedway owner said he was impressed with Larson’s ability.
“I’ve spent some time with the kid,” Stewart said. “I really like him and I think he’s going to be really good.”
Between his dirt car and NASCAR schedules, Larson has already driven in more than 100 races this year alone. In NASCAR, the 20-year-old is a development driver for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.
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