Kyle Larson Turns Right On Victory Lane In Sonoma NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Race

Kyle Larson proves he can turn the number 42 Clorox Chevrolet right during the Carneros 200 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Sonoma Raceway

It didn’t take long for Kyle Larson to find his comfort zone again on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.

Kyle Larson had the fast qualifying time in the Clorox Chevrolet and led every lap of the Carneros 200 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Sonoma Raceway

He won the K&N Pro Series West race at Sonoma Raceway, leading every lap and starting from the pole. He was making his first start in more than a year on the K&N Pro Series. He was a regular on the K&N Pro Series East before making the move to the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series.

“It’s always fun racing the K&N cars,” Larson said. “I miss running them. I got to run the East Series a couple years ago and had a blast with that. I was really excited about coming here and running the West Series at home.”

It was his first win in the K&N Pro Series West. He won two races and the championship in the K&N Pro Series East in 2012. Winning at Sonoma Raceway wasn’t as easy as it looked though, Larson said after the race.

Coming in second was the leader of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings Greg Pursley, followed by number two in points, Dylan Lupton in his Sunrise Ford of Fontana race car

“It seemed like they would always stay with me on a restart until I got to turn 7,” Larson said. “I was able to gap them a little bit there. I just struggled with choosing the right lines in the beginning of the race.”

Larson, from Elk Grove, Calif., is a rookie on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. After winning the Carneros 200 at Sonoma Raceway, the driver for Chip Ganassi Racing qualified third for the Sprint Cup Series race.

“I thought I would be OK when I came here,” Larson said. “I didn’t think I would be that good. I still don’t really think I’m that good. We just qualified good. Looking back, I was a little bit frustrated after the qualifying run. I gave up a lot of time I thought out on the track, could’ve had a shot at the pole.”

A representative from K&N Performance Air filters was on site to congratulate Kyle Larson on his win in the Carneros 200 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Sonoma Raceway

Larson wasn’t the only Sprint Cup Series driver in the K&N Pro Series West field. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who drives for Roush Fenway Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, was fourth in the K&N Pro Series West race.

Justin Allgaier, also a Sprint Cup Series regular, was 14th in the K&N Pro Series West race.

Greg Pursley, who leads the K&N Pro Series West standings, was second in the race at Sonoma. He increased his lead to 21 points over Dylan Lupton, was who third in the race.

The race ended with a green-white-checkered flag finish. There were five caution periods for 16 laps in the race.

“We had a top five car,” Lupton said. “I just knew I had to get a little bit of a gap on him to hold them off. Luckily I was able to do that on the green-white-checker. That first lap, I was able to get about a 20-car gap on Stenhouse behind me. That just opened me up to cruise to a third-place finish. Larson and Pursley were very fast all day long. It was hard to keep up with them.

Pursley has six top-five finishes in six K&N Pro Series races this year. He won the K&N Pro Series West Race at Kern County Raceway Park in California on May 24.

“Happy to come home second today,” Pursley said. “I think that’s our best finish here. Got another top five and that’s a good day for the points.”

Brandon McReynolds rounded out the top five with a fifth-place finish.

The next race on the K&N Pro Series West is the Stateline Speedway in Idaho on July 12. 2