Kyle Larson wins Saturday night Knoxville National Sprint Car Race

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 15, 2026) – Kyle Larson began his evening with a NASCAR Cup race in Richmond, Virginia. Despite a three-hour rain delay, he managed to reach Knoxville Raceway early Sunday morning via a quick flight, securing the $200,000 top prize in the 65th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s. The Elk Grove, California native led all 50 laps, marking his fourth Nationals victory in six years. Including his preliminary win, the SprintCarUnlimited.com $2,000 for winning the pole, and the Beaver Drill & Tool/MPV Express/Mike & Kathy Hulbert Jesse Hockett “Mr. Sprint Car” Award worth $10,000, his total earnings for the week exceeded $212,000. This win was his sixteenth career victory at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.”

Larson missed the A main hot laps but arrived from Richmond before the 22-lap B main began. He surged from the pole position in the 50-lap race, ahead of Sheldon Haudenschild, Kasey Kahne, James McFadden, and Buddy Kofoid. Kahne overtook Haudenschild for second place on the second lap.

By the eighth lap, Larson was navigating lapped traffic and had a 3.8-second lead by lap 15. On the same lap, Chase Dietz moved into the top five.

At the mandatory fuel stop on lap 25, Larson had lapped all but the top thirteen cars and maintained a 4.5-second lead. Kahne, Haudenschild, McFadden, and Dietz followed, with Logan Schuchart, Kofoid, David Gravel, Parker Price-Miller, and B main transfers Carson Macedo and Tanner Holmes trailing.

Once the race resumed, Schuchart passed Dietz for fifth, with Kofoid close behind. Brian Brown stopped with 23 laps remaining, prompting another caution. Schuchart overtook McFadden for fourth when the green flag waved.

Larson encountered traffic again with Kahne in pursuit, but he extended his lead to 1.8 seconds with ten laps left as Haudenschild passed Kahne for second. The lead diminished when Macedo’s strong ninth-place run ended in smoke.

Larson led the final ten laps to victory, securing his fourth Nationals win with car owner Paul Silva, ahead of Haudenschild, Kahne, Schuchart, and McFadden. Schuchart briefly took second place from Kahne on lap 43, but Kahne reclaimed it with three laps to go. Larson returned to traffic with two laps left and pulled away for the win.

Haudenschild finished second, followed by Kahne, McFadden, and Schuchart. Gravel, Kofoid, Price-Miller, Brent Marks, and Dietz completed the top ten. Darin Naida won the D main, Ryan Timms claimed the C main, and Tyler Courtney took the 22-lap B main.

Larson won the Jesse Hockett “Mr. Sprint Car” Award, ahead of McFadden ($6,000) and Corey Day ($4,000).

Landon Crawley secured the Skagit Speedway Best Appearing Car Award ($2,500), followed by Sheldon Haudenschild ($1,500) and Parker Price-Miller ($1,000).

The Think N Ink Best Appearing Helmet Awards were given to Sheldon Haudenschild ($500), Danny Sams III ($300), and Sye Lynch ($200).

The Avanti Windows & Doors Best Appearing Crews awards went to Shark Racing 1s ($500), Fischer Motorsports 23 ($250), and Jason Johnson Racing 41 ($150).

The JETCO Rookie of the Year was awarded to Jy Corbet ($1,000).

“It’s extremely surreal,” said Larson in Victory Lane. “I experienced a range of emotions. Just a few days ago, I had no emotions, thinking I wouldn’t race. But there was a glimmer of hope with the rain forecast. When I got in the Cup car, there was only a 10% chance of rain at 6 or so. I felt disappointed for a moment. Then Cliff announced a rain delay here, and they hadn’t started hot laps yet. That gave me a surge of emotion, and it’s incredible that I’m here tonight talking to you. Huge thanks to Hendrick Motorsports. I couldn’t have done this without them. I felt really good early on. I was a bit nervous, feeling too free and loose. I was anxious in traffic, but I managed to navigate through it. Judging myself on the lappers, it would be tough for anyone to catch up and make a move. (Paul Silva) doesn’t talk much. He’s incredibly smart. For someone who’s never driven a racecar, he’s an unreal crew chief. He can read the car better than I can feel it. I think having that combination helps me run the sprint car as needed. I hope those questioning our preliminary night participation understand why. This was the best-case scenario.”

“(Larson and Kahne) both had a good pace,” said Haudenschild. “Kasey passed me early, and I followed him for a while. Kyle was obviously farther ahead. Hats off to my team. I’m glad Kyle got back, because if I win, I want to beat Kyle. He’s the best. We had a great time this week, and all our partners are here. I thought I might have a chance on that last restart, but I couldn’t quite nail one and two. I felt like I kept pace fine after that, but it’s hard to catch him when we’re running that fast.”

“It was great,” said Kahne of his performance. “We quickly moved to second, and I was determined to keep up with Kyle. I knew we were in a good spot. We made some adjustments under the red. I was still in the hunt. I was really happy with my car. I was up a bit on my left front, so I had to push it down. I did that a few too many times. That’s when I got sideways, and Sheldon got by. Overall, it was a great race and a fantastic Knoxville Nationals for our team.