NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Practice and Qualifying Mar 4, 2023 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson 5 during qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Las Vegas Las Vegas Motor Speedway Nevada USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xGaryxA.xVasquezx 20230304_gav_sv5_017 ©IMAGO/USA TODAY Network Kyle Larson finished sixth in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night. The moment he crossed the finish line at 10:17 PM, he bypassed all media obligations, ran straight from his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car to board a waiting plane. By the time most drivers were still on pit road, Larson was already in the air. His private jet, tail number N501KL, lifted off from Richmond and headed toward Pella, Iowa, the nearest airport to Knoxville. Within minutes, Flightradar24 was flooded with users logging on to follow his route. By late Saturday night, N501KL was the number one tracked flight on the platform, topping the world aviation charts. 7,705 global users were watching a private jet cross from Virginia to Iowa in real time. At Knoxville, the crowd was doing the same. The raceway put the live flight tracker on its giant video board. Fans in the grandstands watched the plane close in during track preparation and hot laps. They cheered every time it moved closer. Get the EssentiallySports Daily Newsletter. Stay ahead of the game with daily updates, exclusive stories, expert takes, and the biggest moments from the world's most popular sports. “Knoxville Raceway just put pole sitter Kyle Larson’s flight tracker on the big screen,” journalist Matt Weaver posted from the venue. “Fans going wild at the Sprint Car Capital of the World.” What was pulling him to Iowa made the whole thing worth it. As the Richmond race wrapped up its final laps, crew chief Cliff Daniels came over the radio. “Knoxville has not even started hot laps yet. Big delay for the race. We’re working on plans for ya.” Kyle Larson’s response was one word. “Okay.” The clash between Richmond and the Knoxville Nationals was on the calendar a year in advance. For 2026, Knoxville shifted its date back a week and landed directly on top of Richmond’s Saturday night race. Kyle Larson accepted it early. On Friday, he told media he was at peace with missing Knoxville’s A-Main. “It’s fine, it shouldn’t revolve around me anyway.” He still showed up earlier in the week, though. Running preliminary events in his Paul Silva No. 57 sprint car, he won Thursday night’s feature. That locked him into the pole for the $200,000-to-win A-Main. He had the starting spot. The race itself, he assumed, was not his to run. Then the rain happened. Severe late-summer storms hit Knoxville and kept pushing the Saturday schedule back. The delay grew long enough that a window opened. Before the green flag even dropped at Richmond, the Hendrick team had already mapped out a plan. If the gap held, they were getting Kyle Larson out of that car and onto a plane. It held. Kyle Larson is a three-time Knoxville Nationals champion, winning in 2021, 2023, and 2024. This race belongs on his resume more than almost anyone else’s. If he lands in time, he is not easing in from the back. He starts from the inside of row one on the pole he earned Thursday with a real shot at a fourth title. The plane is still in the air. The race is still waiting. Trending Articles
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