review in PICTURES Photos: Travis Branch
ONE OF THE MOST HISTORIC seasons anyone has ever put together behind the wheel of a race car (or in the case of Kyle Larson, multiple race cars) got another huge boost when Kyle Larson held off Donny Schatz to score his first Knoxville Nationals in the 60th edition of the Granddaddy of Them All. Larson claimed a record winner’s purse for the event and cashed $176,000 in winnings and lap money for the largest purse of the 2021 season. Schatz was back in prime form and nearly took the lead before the mandatory halfway point and again nearly chased Larson down in the waning laps but settled for second, his best finish since 2018. Brad Sweet, polesitter Gio Scelzi and Logan Schuchart rounded out the top five spots. A year removed from the One and Only in the COVID summer of 2020, the Knoxville Nationals roared back in 2021 with an excellent and quality car count, a sellout crowd on Saturday and a first time winner for the third straight Nationals.
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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE • ISSUE 05 - 2021
Jac Haudenschild (22) led them to the green in the Friday Night Hard Knox program in his final Nationals. Photo: Paul Arch
