Kyle Larson gets his gator at Volusia. Could Daytona 500 Harley J. Earl Trophy be next?

From third place on Wednesday to runner-up Thursday, there was just one higher rung remaining for Kyle Larson, and Friday night he took it.

The NASCAR star, who adds a slew of dirt-track racing to his yearly schedule, cashed in on his “hobby” Friday night, west of Daytona Beach in Barberville, holding off his current dirt rival to finally win a gator trophy at Volusia Speedway Park’s annual DIRTcar Nationals.

After finishing behind fellow NASCAR racer Christopher Bell in Thursday’s World of Outlaws main event, Larson returned the favor Friday night in his No. 57 winged sprint car, leading all 25 laps after also comfortably winning his heat race.

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As he’d done after a few other cautions, and after one final yellow for a spin on Lap 23 of the 25-lap final, Larson dashed to the lead on the restart and left no doubt about this one after losing to Bell by a whisker Thursday night.

Kyle Larson has big trophy case for his dirt-track exploits

It’s Larson’s 36th career win in the World of Outlaws but his first gator trophy at Volusia, which is the 18th different track where he has won. Maybe it’s a sign of things to come. He’s also never won a NASCAR Cup Series race at a track 23 miles east of Volusia — Daytona International Speedway, host to next Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Saturday night is the final night at Volusia for the WoO, and the final night to earn points over the four-night run and possibly win something similar yet larger than individual race trophies — the famed Big Gator trophy that goes to the driver who tops the week’s point standings.

Larson has his eyes on that one, too.

“It’s a place that I feel like I’ve raced well,” Larson said of the half-mile Barberville layout. “I just always start so far back. I haven’t felt like that gator has been close enough. It’s cool to win here at Volusia. It’s cool to have a lot of our supporters here this weekend and great to see a packed house, too.”

More info: VolusiaSpeedwayPark.com, DIRTcar.com, or WorldOfOutlaws.com.

David Gravel, Brad Sweet and Ryan Timms rounded out the top five in Friday’s feature.

Volusia, New Smyrna continue as Daytona 500 approaches

Volusia’s annual DIRTcar Nationals continues Monday through next Saturday with the following series and cars scheduled: DIRTcar Late Models (Monday-Wednesday), USAC Non-Wing Sprint Cars (Monday, Tuesday), Super DIRTcar Series (Wednesday-Saturday), and World of Outlaws Late Models (Thursday-Saturday).

Also on the local short-track menu, the nine-night World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing began Friday and runs through next Saturday at New Smyrna Speedway. More info: NewSmyrnaSpeedway.org.

After Saturday’s Volusia action, Larson and Bell have a few idle days before the start to Daytona’s annual NASCAR Speedweek, with begins with Wednesday’s pole qualifying and wraps up with the 67th running of the Daytona 500 next Sunday.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Kyle Larson wins (near) Daytona on the Barberville dirt. Gets a gator