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WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 01: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet looks on prior to practice for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 01, 2025 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Kyle Larson heads back to dirt racing only days after winning his third NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> title in Phoenix<\/a>. The title became official less than two weeks ago. Now Larson is preparing for the Hangtown 100 at Placerville Speedway in California. The event begins a nine-race USAC swing across California and Arizona.<\/p>\n Placerville Speedway shaped Larson during his teenage years. His parents worked at the pit gate. He chased veteran racers and learned aggressive short-track habits. He returns as a two-time Cup champion and also a co-promoter of the Hangtown 100.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really special to me to be part of an event that means so much to me. Placerville Speedway is a place where my family and I grew up going to, not as fans, but to race. Larson told Floracing.<\/a> Teaming up with Scott and Kami to continue growing this event is incredibly important to me, and I\u2019m excited to not only help promote, but also to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n Placerville Speedway co-promoter Scott Russell also spoke about the partnership. \u201cWe are excited to continue growing the Hangtown 100 and working with Kyle Larson to make that happen,\u201d commented Placerville Speedway Scott Russell<\/a>. \u201cMatt Wood had the original vision of getting the Hangtown 100 going, and I want to thank him for making it possible, because without Matt, it wouldn\u2019t have even happened. Moving into the future, he is allowing us to take things over by partnering with Kyle.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hangtown 100: A Big Event on a Small Track<\/p>\n The Hangtown 100 follows USAC National Midget rules<\/a>. The format places a premium on quick reactions. Drivers race on a tight quarter-mile dirt oval. Limited space forces aggressive moves. A hundred laps decide the winner.<\/p>\n Short track dirt racing demands clean entry points, strong exits, and constant focus on grip. The surface changes throughout each run. Ruts form. The cushion beats down. Every lap requires a new decision. A strong start matters. A driver who gains track position early protects tires and stays out of traffic.<\/p>\n The field includes drivers from different backgrounds. Ty Gibbs<\/a> enters select West Coast events while adding dirt experience during the offseason. Corey Day<\/a> enters as one of the strongest young sprint car drivers in the region. Each driver studies track changes and commits to quick decisions. USAC midget racing rewards precision and constant movement.<\/p>\n Why Larson Chooses Dirt Racing After a Long NASCAR Season<\/p>\n Kyle Larson runs a heavy race load during each season<\/a>. His 2025 calendar included 38 NASCAR Cup starts.\u00a0The approach reflects a trend taken by manufacturers.<\/p>\n Chevrolet and Toyota encourage young drivers to race multiple types of vehicles. More surfaces produce stronger reflexes. Each surface requires a different driving approach.<\/p>\n Several young drivers follow this plan. Connor Zilisch <\/a>and Brent Crews<\/a> run pavement events and dirt events. They train by taking laps on road courses, short ovals, and dirt sprint car tracks. They build skill by working through wheel hop under braking and fast weight shifts. The goal stays simple. More seat time produces a sharper reading of every situation.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 01: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet looks on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-272207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nascar","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}