WATCH: Kyle Larson wins the Wild West Shootout at Vado after ‘pretty miserable couple of weeks’ costing rival Bobby Pierce a $100K bonus

Kyle Larson has wanted to win the Vado event for a long time.

WATCH: Kyle Larson wins the Wild West Shootout at Vado after ‘pretty miserable couple of weeks’ costing rival Bobby Pierce a $100K bonus

Bobby Pierce and Kyle Larson (Via IMAGO)

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson is one of the most versatile racers on the NASCAR grid. The 2021 Cup Series champion has won races in multiple disciplines in both dirt and asphalt over the years. His love for dirt racing is well known, and the NASCAR champion plans to retire from stock car racing in his prime to compete in dirt.

On Sunday, he ticked off another prestigious dirt race from his to-do list after winning the Wild West Shootout at Wild West Shootout at Vado Speedway Park. He won the event, defeating reigning World of Outlaws champion Bobby Pierce after he got flat tier later in the race. It was a morale-boosting victory for the champion drivers struggling the whole weekend.

This will also help Larson move on from the disappointment of the Chilly Bowl, where he crashed twice and failed to qualify for the main event while attempting a double dirt. A better tire selection and an impressive push in the race’s final stages helped him get the lead with six laps left. He finished the race unchallenged after Pierce’s tires went flat.

I started peeking at the board to see how many laps were left. Just pushing too hard. He’d get away, but I’d get right back to him. I think our tire selection was just better than his. That’s all. My car was good against the cushion. It wasn’t good on the bottom early, but up top…It’s been a pretty miserable couple of weeks. A lot of work went into Victory Lane and it’s cool to get in Victory Lane here.
Larson said, as reported by Sportnaut.

Kyle Larson’s win cost Bobby Pierce $100K

The Vado Wild West Shootout is a unique event that lasts six nights. Eight separate races in the min-series have their own prize money. Larson, who raced in all of the events, failed to win a single race till the last race of the series, as seasoned World of Outlaw racers got the best out of him.

Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larson
Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larson (Via IMAGO)

On the other hand, Bobby Pierce had won three of the six races combined and had the opportunity to win a $100,000 bonus if he had secured a 4th race win. So, losing the race to Larson after the first tier cost him a huge payday.

Regardless, the four-race win was enough to earn Pierce over $33,000 for the three events, as winning a race earned him $11,000 each. On the other hand, Larson left with a hefty paycheck as well. Winning the main and final event helped him to earn $26,000.

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