Auto racing: Larson wins way to the pole at Knoxville

KNOXVILLE — Kyle Larson knew this weekend was coming for nearly a year. That didn't stop one of NASCAR's top stars to bring his best to the Sprint Car Capital of the World. As a result, Larson has created one of the most unique situations in the history of the Knoxville Nationals. The three-time Nationals champion found himself back in a familiar position on Thursday night, finding Victory Lane at the Knoxville Raceway for the third year in a row on a qualifying night and second time in five nights after winning the Capitani Classic on Sunday. Larson crossed pass Garet Williamson to the front of Thursday's 25-lap A-Main race with just over five laps left and pulled away to win the feature race on the second night of qualifying for the 65th edition of sprint car's crown jewel event. The win secured 485 total points for Larson on Thursday, four more points than Wednesday night's top point-getter Sheldon Haudenschild. As such, Larson earned the right to lead 24 cars to the green flag for Saturday night's 50-lap feature. The only problem, however, is that Larson is scheduled to be racing on Saturday night in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Speedway in Virginia. In what may end up being an unprecedented start to a Knoxville Nationals feature, the pole sitter's car is likely to be sitting in the pits when that green flag flies. "It's always fun to be here at this time of the year. I hope that, somehow and some way, I can be back here for one more day," Larson said. "Whenever you win here at Knoxville, even if it's a weekly race, you still have the same intent that you would for a prelim night. It just means a lot every time that you are here. When you pull into Victory Lane, make that right hand turn, it's really special. "I've been lucky enough to make that trip a couple of times now this week. If things work out, maybe I'll get another chance this weekend. Otherwise, somebody will win a massive race on Saturday."