NASCAR champ Kyle Larson rallies to win dirt track race in Western Pa.

Brent Marks chased down Kyle Larson and passed him for the win twice during PA Speedweek last week in Central Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday, it was Larson who was the hunter, and he was able to get by Marks on his way to a $25,000 payday at the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway in Buffalo Township.

Larson, the reigning NASCAR cup series champion, ripped past Marks on the high side of Turn 2 on Lap 7 to secure his second Silver Cup win.

“I really like Lernerville a lot,” Larson said. “Tonight was a little different track conditions than normal. It’s usually slick starting in hot laps, and that carries all the way through the night. Tonight was different. It was really heavy. I feel like that benefited me. You can catch traffic quick and keep your pace up.

“I had a lot of fun. My heart rate is definitely high, but it’s nice to get another win here and a big check at that.”

Congrats to now two-time Silver Cup Champion @KyleLarsonRacin! pic.twitter.com/brvRzj7kwz

— Lernerville Speedway (@Lernerville) July 7, 2022

Wednesday marked the first time the race was sanctioned by the All-Star Circuit of Champions after a long relationship with the World of Outlaws ended at the conclusion of last season.

Larson started sixth and quickly moved up to fourth before Tyler Courtney and Sye Lynch collided to bring out the caution on Lap 3. He then moved up to second before the caution came out again for a trio of cars that suffered flat right rear tires on Lap 5.

On the restart, Larson made his move around the outside of Marks and led the rest of the way, adding to his win in 2018.

???? @KyleLarsonRacin rips the top to win the @tezos @ASCoC Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at @Lernerville! pic.twitter.com/tAZVRJIfYu

— FloRacing (@FloRacing) July 7, 2022

“Once I got by, I just tried to run some really hard laps out front,” Larson said. “I didn’t know how good he was behind me or if he could run the same line as me. I just didn’t want to get stuck in traffic. My car was really good throughout the feature. We made it better throughout the night.”

Marks led the first six laps from the pole and settled for second to continue an impressive stretch. He won five of the nine PA Speedweek races over the last week-and-a-half and has finished on the podium in the last 13 races he’s entered.

“We had a really good car, but I didn’t know the top was there until Kyle got by us,” Marks said. “I was going to move to the top once I hit lapped traffic, but every time I got close, the yellow came out. I checked it out under yellow, and it still looked a little dirty to me.

“I stuck to my gameplan, but it didn’t work out. We can’t hang our heads about second because our car has been really fast lately.”

Justin Peck finished third, Chris Windom was fourth and Hunter Schurenberg placed fifth.

Aliquippa native Tim Shaffer was the hard charger, driving from 23rd to 11th. AJ Flick was the top Lernerville regular in 12th. Brandon Spithaler (15th), Darin Gallagher (18th), Coda Bova (19th), Logan McCandless (20th), Brandon Matus (23rd) and Lynch (25th) were other local drivers who qualified for the A-Main.

Marks set fast time in the 37-car field with a time of 12.642. Wagner went from third to first to win Heat 1. Chris Windom held off Larson to take Heat 2. Hunter Schurenberg led the entire way in Heat 3, holding off a charge from Flick. Rico Abreu cruised to a win from the pole in Heat 3.

Marks won the dash from second to earn the pole for the feature. Carson Short won the B-Main.

Related:

• 2018: NASCAR driver Kyle Larson nabs Silver Cup win at Lernerville
• 2019: David Gravel pulls away from Kyle Larson to win Silver Cup at Lernerville