Kyle Larson took the lead on lap 93 on the way to winning the 100-lap USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series’ Hangtown 100 at Placerville Speedway, Sunday.
With a 16-car inverted field to start the race, it was Keith Kunz Motorsports Toyota driver Ryan Timms who led the early going, moving to the lead on the opening lap. Timms would stay comfortably upfront in leading the first 14 laps and was closing in on lapped traffic when three cars got together in front of him, collecting the 17-year-old Timms and dropping him to the back of the field.
Mitchell Moles would assume the lead with RMS Racing Toyota driver Justin Grant restarting in second, ahead of Shane Golobic, Jade Avedisian and Spencer Bayston. Grant would quickly reel Moles in and take over the top spot on lap 18. He would dominate much of the race, leading 40 laps before Seavey was able to drive around him on lap 58.
Grant’s strong night would continue as he ran second to Seavey through lap 87 before Larson was able to overtake him. He would eventually slip back to fourth on lap 92 after a pair of late-race cautions.
Upfront, Larson would overtake Seavey after a late race restart and go on to the victory with Seavey finishing second and Golobic placing third.
Grant, who ran in the top two for 74 laps on the night, eventually finishing fourth with Carson Macedo charging through the field from 21st to fifth to give Toyota three of the top-five finishers on the night. Emerson Axsom placed sixth, with Buddy Kofoid seventh and Jacob Denney in tenth as Toyota-powered drivers captured six of the top 10.
Tonight’s victory marked the 38th national midget feature win by a Toyota-powered driver in 2023.
The USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series closes out the 2023 season with three more races this week, kicking off with a pair of events at Merced Speedway on Nov. 21-22 and culminating in the 82nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway, November 25.
Toyota-Powered Drivers USAC Placerville Speedway Sunday Feature Results
Kyle Larson – 1st
Justin Grant – 4th
Carson Macedo – 5th
Emerson Axsom – 6th
Buddy Kofoid – 7th
Jacob Denney – 10th
Jade Avedisian – 13th
Spencer Bayston – 14th
Tanner Carrick – 16th
Ryan Timms – 17th
Chris Windom – 18th
Gavin Miller – 19th
Bryant Wiedeman – 20th
Cannon McIntosh – 22nd
Taylor Reimer – 23rd
Jesse Love – 28th
USAC PR