NASCAR champion Kyle Larson erupts with a sarcastic reaction after a violent midget car wreck in USAC

Kyle Larson saw a homecoming night at Placerville Speedway turn painful and frustrating from the front row. After he flipped out of the Hangtown 100 with five laps remaining, the Hendrick Motorsports driver responded with a sarcastic double-thumbs-up to Daison Pursley, as the contact ended his race.

The USAC National Midget feature had been Larson’s to control until the late miscue that sent him tumbling and left the two-time champion walking away in disbelief. He entered the Hangtown 100 fresh off his second NASCAR title earlier this month and returned to his home region for celebrations. Saturday’s feature was shaping up as a perfect ending to the year.

Larson led the majority of the 100-lap race while fending off pressure from Pursley and Steven Snyder Jr. But the night turned when Pursley charged into Turn 1 with a big run off Turn 4 and misjudged his entry. His car ran on uneven banking, slid up the track, and collected Larson’s No. 1 midget, sending him onto the barriers.

As the crowd reacted, Kyle Larson climbed from his overturned car, walked toward the infield, and responded with a slow, exaggerated clap and a double thumbs-up as Pursley drove by under caution. The 2025 Cup Series champion has used the reaction before when frustration found him on dirt.

The race continued without him, and Pursley, shock broken on the right rear, somehow kept control through the final laps and held off Snyder to take the checkered flag.

---

Kyle Larson reflects on his home tracks and pushes for the Hangtown 100’s growth

Kyle Larson with fans before the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350. Source: Getty

Kyle Larson had entered the weekend in the middle of a celebratory stretch back in Northern California. Elk Grove honored him with a parade through Old Town. Sonoma Raceway joined in. Fans lined the sidewalks. The city declared November 14 “Kyle Miyata Larson Day” as family, friends, and long-time supporters took photos and shared stories from his earliest years in outlaw karts.

Larson stayed close to his roots throughout the visit, spending time at the same short tracks that shaped him. He spoke about Placerville, Chico, Tulare, Marysville, Watsonville, and Petaluma as touchpoints in his development. Friday’s portion of the Hangtown 100 was rained out, but Saturday gave him the chance to return to the quarter-mile bullring that raised him.

“I just want it to continue,” Larson said of Placerville’s crown-jewel event, via FloRacing. “I want to see it be a part of the schedule and hopefully grow along the way. It’s such a cool race track and such a cool event. A 100-lap midget race. It’s got a great purse. It’s one of the—if not the highest paying midget races of this season.”

The Hendrick Motorsports driver added that the Hangtown 100 deserved a place where fans and competitors could rely on it year after year.

“So it deserves to be on the schedule. It deserves to be an event that competitors and fans want to go to. I was able to compete in it this year, so I wanted to be a part of it to help regain that momentum it had probably lost the last couple years and especially lost last year with completely raining out.”

Kyle Larson will now continue his typical winter stretch in sprint cars and midgets before shifting back toward the NASCAR Cup Series in February.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam