After Monday turned out to be a wash midway through the prelim portion of the High Limit season opener at East Bay Raceway Park, Tuesday delivered.
Kyle Larson took hold of the first A-Main of the day, the make-up from Monday, from the drop of the flag. He would escape the grasp of the field for the first 13 laps before Justin Peck would give Larson his first challenge of the afternoon. That challenge wouldn’t last long, however, as Peck would make contact with Chris Windom, who was going a lap down, giving Peck a flat tire. Larson would attempt to dispatch the field yet again on the restart, though Tanner Thorson was up to the task. Thorson would spend the next 10 laps trying to run down Larson with a brilliant battle shaking out between the two. Until, with 6 laps to go, Larson made a bold move to split two lappers down the middle in turns 3 & 4, which would ultimately prove to be the winning move as Larson would hold on to win.
Later on in the night, however, things would not go as smoothly for Yung Money. Larson would get caught up in an incident at the start of the second A-Main of the night. On the restart, 5-time World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Champion Brad Sweet would pull out to an early lead. By lap 6, Tyler “Sunshine” Courtney would run down Sweet and pass him for the lead. Courtney and Sweet continued to fight for the lead as Corey Day and Zeb Wise ran them both down, which led to an incredible battle amongst the four of them for the next 8 laps or so, which saw Wise take the lead for a moment down the backstretch. Courtney would immediately take the lead back with an impressive move into Turn 3, in which Courtney went around the outside of Wise and put a sly block on him in the inside line. Then, coming out of Turn 4, Day would slip around the outside of the two to take the lead. Larson’s rough night would continue as he spun with 18 laps to go, putting a pause to the dramatic battle between Sweet, Day, Wise, and Courtney, who was the leader for the subsequent restart. Courtney drove off on the restart as the battle commenced between Day and Wise for second, a battle Day would win and begin to set his sights on Courtney. As things settled for a couple of laps, Kyle Larson’s bad night worsened, as he and Kasey Kahne got into an incident off of Turn 2 that would end Larson’s night. On the restart with 15 laps to go, Courtney would pull away again while Day and Wise reignited their bout for second spot. Kasey Kahne would get caught up in a second incident, setting up a 10-lap shootout for the win with Courtney leading, Wise in 2nd, and Day in 3rd.
Courtney pulled away again on the restart, and Rico Abreu sent it as hard as he could into the outside of Turn 1; he then pulled alongside Wise and Day, making it 3-wide for second place. Abreu and Wise made contact, sending Abreu airborne. Miraculously, he landed safely on the ground, and the racing continued. Abreu and Wise continued to battle while Day and Courtney drove off into the night to settle it amongst themselves. Day would run down Courtney for the second time tonight and was within striking distance with 4 laps to go. With 2 laps to go, Anthony Macri would spin on the backstretch, setting up a 2-lap dash for the win. Courtney stuck to the inside line on the restart, and Day continued working the high line. Day managed to get alongside Courtney, coming to the white flag. Day would go to the inside of Turns 1 & 2 and tuck in right behind Courtney, and Courtney got the drive off the corner and managed to hold on for a hard-fought win at East Bay.
Image Sourced: High Limit Racing Facebook
