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| Orlando’s Victory Lane Is Justin Larson’s “Happiest Place on Earth” | Orlando’s Victory Lane Is Justin Larson’s “Happiest Place on Earth”
Young Racer Makes His Own Magic for First Career Goodyear Challenge Series Win
SAFETY HARBOR, FL (April 30, 2007) – Orlando, Florida, is a tourist’s dream, boasting plenty of theme parks, resorts and fun places to see for the entire family. Youngsters can be seen running around the city with their “mouse ears” and all kinds of souvenirs in hand. Adults, acting like kids themselves, are often seen having fun in warm Central Florida.
Orlando is known for its fun and magical appeal, but on Friday night, April 20th, Orlando became young Justin Larson’s magic kingdom.
The 18-year-old driver scored his first-career Goodyear Challenge Series victory at Orlando SpeedWorld in the Skinner Nurseries #88 Chevrolet. The win came at just the right time for the young driver, who had been consistently running up front but unable to capture that elusive first victory of 2007. But nothing was going to stop Larson at Orlando, and he carried that magical moment with him throughout the weekend after taking the checkered flag.
“It was an awesome weekend,” said Larson. “It was one of the best weekends for us to get our first win. Skinner Nurseries, my primary sponsor, had about 50 employees and customers there. We put on a real good show for them. After that, we flew to Talladega for the Cup race on Sunday with the CEO of Skinner’s, and we hung out with him all day. That was a lot of fun.
“It was a long-time coming. This is our first win and it feels great. It really hasn’t even sunk in yet. It’s a great feeling. The car was flawless. It was right where it needed to be.”
Larson qualified third for the 100-lap event but started on the pole after the three-car invert. Having such a strong starting position was key for Larson’s shot at victory, but just having a car good enough to qualify up front was a piece of work in itself.
“We qualified third, but the car was missing a little bit in qualifying. We came back in the pits and figured out that the distributor cap was going bad. We put a new one on it for the race and we figured we’d be okay.
“AJ Curelli was on the outside at the start and he got a real good jump on me, and he took off in the lead. I was content riding in second and letting him burn his stuff up and keep mine under me so I could be there at the end. My car was a little tight, and I was just dropping the left-front tire down on the apron to see what the car did and it loosened it up just enough. I just hit my marks every lap I could, and it paid off.”
Larson made the move for the lead on a restart shortly before the halfway mark, using the trickiest way around Orlando SpeedWorld.
“I just put it in high gear on a restart and jumped on the outside of (Curelli) and I rode on the outside of him for a couple corners and took the lead.
“Then there was a long green run and I saw halfway and was kind of relieved to see that. At halfway, since there were only 50 laps to go, I could start pushing the car a little bit harder.”
Even with a good racecar that could be pushed to the limits late, the win certainly was not handed over to Larson on a platter.
“The win was definitely hard-earned. There was a caution with 27 to go, with 10 to go, with seven to go, with five to go and with three to go. Late in the race, there were a few two-lap runs, and I had some veterans behind me. I had to hold them off for about a lap each time, but I was able to hang on. The car was so good that I could pull away from them after about a lap.”
Now that Larson has his first Goodyear Challenge Series victory under his belt, don’t expect him or his Skinner Nurseries #88 team to lay down now.
“We’re going to enjoy the win while we can and then get back to work in the shop and get the car ready for Bronson in a couple weeks.”
The Goodyear Challenge Series event at Bronson Motor Speedway on May 12th will be Larson’s chance to make it two-straight series victories with loyal sponsors including Skinner Nurseries, Woods ‘N Water Magazine, Suwannee River Mulch, DiscoverTec, Edgewater Financial and Ware Oil of Panama City.
For more information on Justin Larson, contact Matt Kentfield at (704) 788-2134 and be sure to check out the all-new JustinLarsonRacing.com. For marketing information with Justin Larson Racing, contact Brian Faircloth at (850) 838-5407.
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