Kyle Larson

Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 17 Chevrolet SS for the same team and the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for JR Motorsports. He also competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports, and part-time in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 17 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren.

Before and throughout his stock car racing career, Larson has been highly successful in dirt track racing, with wins in several prestigious events including the Kings Royal, Knoxville Nationals, and the Chili Bowl Nationals. He also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2015 with CGR. Larson was named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.

Racing career

Early career

Born on July 31, 1992, in Elk Grove, California, Kyle Miyata Larson attended his first race with his parents a week after his birth. He began racing at the age of seven in outlaw karts in Northern California. As a teenager, he raced open-wheel cars, including the United States Auto Club (USAC) midget, Silver Crown and sprint cars, competing for Keith Kunz Motorsports and Hoffman Racing with Toyota backing; During his early career in USAC, a series official gave Larson the nickname "Yung Money" in recognition of his talent. Larson also raced in the World of Outlaws sprint cars and his first sprint car race win came at Placerville Speedway where he was one of the youngest drivers to ever compete. Larson won the 2011 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway, winning in all three types of USAC cars in a single night, only the second driver in history to accomplish the feat. He won two silver crown races that season and was named the 2011 Rookie of the Year. Larson holds the sprint car track record at Ocean Speedway in 2010. In 2012, Larson won six USAC National Midget races including the Turkey Night Grand Prix. Even during his stock car career, Larson continued racing open-wheel cars for midweek races in addition to going to New Zealand in some off-seasons to race.

Stock cars

NASCAR K&N Pro Series and ARCA

While Larson expressed some interest in IndyCar racing, he was signed for the 2012 racing season by Earnhardt Ganassi Racing (EGR) as part of the team's driver development program. In February 2012, Larson won his first race in a full bodied stock car in the Pete Orr Memorial Orange Blossom 100 at New Smyrna Speedway. A week later, he won again at the speedway during the World Series of Asphalt.

Larson competed full-time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2012 with Rev Racing. On June 9, Larson scored his first career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East win at Gresham Motorsports Park. Larson scored his second K&N Pro Series East win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. On June 15, Larson finished 13th in his ARCA Racing Series debut at Michigan International Speedway.

On November 3, Larson won the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship with 2 wins and 12 top tens in 14 races, overcoming the five wins of Corey LaJoie (son of two-time Busch Series champion Randy). He was also named the K&N Pro Series East Rookie of the Year. On June 7, 2014, Larson scored his first ARCA win at Pocono Raceway.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

On June 28, 2012, Larson made his Camping World Truck Series debut at Kentucky Speedway in the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado for Turner Motorsports where he finished 10th.

On April 14, 2013, Larson scored his first career Truck Series win at Rockingham Speedway after he held off Joey Logano. During the celebration, Larson performed donuts without his steering wheel on, a practice he had acquired when racing go-karts. The celebration prompted NASCAR to request him to keep it attached, regarding safety concerns as Larson would not have much control of the truck without the steering wheel.

In 2016, Larson drove the No. 24 truck for GMS Racing at Martinsville Speedway where he finished 4th. On July 20, Larson won at Eldora Speedway.

On February 28, 2020, Larson announced he would be re-joining GMS Racing to drive the No. 24 truck at Homestead-Miami Speedway to pursue a bounty offered by Kevin Harvick to full-time Cup drivers to beat Kyle Busch. Following his suspension from NASCAR, Larson was released from the team.

On March 17, 2021, it was announced that Larson will drive the No. 44 truck for Niece Motorsports at the inaugural Bristol dirt race. He finished 35th in the race.

In 2023, Larson drove the No. 7 truck for Spire Motorsports at North Wilkesboro where he won the race.

On March 4, 2025, it was announced that Larson would compete two races in the No. 07 truck for Spire Motorsports. Larson won at Homestead after he overcame a late race spin.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

In February 2013, it was announced that Larson would compete full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013, driving the No. 32 Chevrolet for Turner Scott Motorsports. On the last lap in the season opener at Daytona, Larson was involved in a violent crash when his car got caught onto the right side of Brad Keselowski's car and then hit the outside wall. At the same time, he was hit in the right rear by Brian Scott which sent his car airborne and hit a crossover gate, pierced off the catch fence and completely ripped off the front end of his car. Larson came across the start-finish line in 13th. He was unharmed, but the debris hurt 28 spectators in the grandstands, two of whom were in critical condition. However, there were no deaths. In the season finale at Homestead, Larson led the most laps but lost the lead to eventual winner Brad Keselowski with 3 laps remaining and finished 2nd. Larson won the Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year award, becoming the first Asian-American and first Drive for Diversity participant to win a Rookie of the Year Award in one of NASCAR's national touring series.

Larson returned in the Nationwide Series to drive the No. 42 car part-time in 2014. On March 22, Larson scored his first career Nationwide Series win at Auto Club Speedway. Larson once again celebrated by doing burnouts in the infield without a steering wheel. In victory lane, he stated, "Those last 11, 12 laps were the longest laps of my life. I've been so close to winning so many times, but the fashion we did it in was extra special." Two months later, Larson won at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

In 2015, Larson ran part-time again in the No. 42 car for HScott Motorsports. He won the season finale at Homestead and the first win for HScott Motorsports.

In 2016, Larson continued to compete part-time for CGR. He scored 2 wins at Pocono and Texas.

In 2022, Larson drove the No. 17 car for HMS at Road America where he finished 2nd to eventual winner Ty Gibbs. On August 20, Larson won at Watkins Glen.

In 2023, Larson won at Darlington after a last lap pass on John Hunter Nemechek.

In 2024, Larson won at Circuit of the Americas after overtaking a dueling Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill on the final lap.

In 2025, Larson won at Bristol. On May 3, Larson substituted for Connor Zilisch at Texas where he scored his second Xfinity Series win of the season.

NASCAR Cup Series

=2013: Phoenix Racing

=
On August 27, 2013, ''The Charlotte Observer'' reported that Larson will drive the No. 42 car for Chip Ganassi Racing starting in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The deal was officially announced on August 30. On October 1, it was announced that Larson would make his Sprint Cup Series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing to prepare for his rookie season. In his first Cup Series race, Larson's engine blew up on lap 247 and he finished in 37th. Larson made his second Cup Series start at Martinsville Speedway where he finished 42nd after another engine failure.

=Chip Ganassi Racing

=

2014: Rookie season

At the 2014 Daytona 500, Larson got into the wall twice and came down pit road. Despite the car being fixed, Larson spun out on lap 22. On lap 163, he got wrecked by another rookie contender Austin Dillon who triggered a 7-car wreck and finished 38th. Larson scored his first career top-10 finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. A week later, Larson finished 2nd to Kyle Busch at Auto Club Speedway, his career-best finish in the Cup Series. At Richmond Raceway, Larson recorded a speed of . After qualifying was rained out, he earned the pole based on being the fastest in practice. On the first lap, Larson got spun out by Clint Bowyer into turn 1 and later finished in 16th.

At Michigan, Larson spun out off turn 2 on lap 7. Later in the race, he made a block on one of his strong supporters Tony Stewart while trying to go for the lead and the block damaged Stewart's grille. In response, Stewart tried to retaliate during a yellow-flag period. When told that Stewart was mad at him for the block, Larson shrugged it off replying "Tony being Tony, I guess. I was pretty tight on whoever was inside of me on the restart and I was looking in my mirror and saw him juke to the right so I juked to the right and he hit me and I don't know, he was just trying to teach me a lesson, I'm guessing." Before the Sonoma race, Stewart warned Larson, angrily saying "He'll learn not to block me anytime soon."

Larson won his first Cup Series pole for the Gobowling.com 400 where he set the track record with a lap speed of . He finished 11th in the race. Larson earned the Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year award with 8 top fives and 16 top tens. His statistics being higher than other rookie seasons in history, such as those of Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon.

2015

Larson began the season with a DNF at the 2015 Daytona 500. During an autograph session at Martinsville, Larson fainted and was hospitalized. He was replaced by Regan Smith. Two days later, Larson was released from the hospital with a diagnosis of dehydration as being the cause of the faint. During the Bank of America 500, Larson and Kyle Busch both collided on the pit road entrance while under the caution and Larson finished 21st. After a disappointing season, he finished 19th in the points standings.

2016

Larson began the season with a seventh-place finish at the 2016 Daytona 500, his first top-10 and first non-DNF. On May 21, 2016, Larson won the Sprint Showdown after edging out rookie contender Chase Elliott to earn a spot into the All-Star Race. At the 2016 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Larson took the lead on the final restart but was caught by Joey Logano and Larson hit the outside wall with two laps to go and finished 16th.

On August 28, Larson scored his first ever Sprint Cup Series win at Michigan. Larson's win qualified him into the Chase for the first time in his career. In his first Chase appearance, Larson finished 18th at Chicagoland and finished 10th at New Hampshire. Larson's dismal 25th-place finish at Dover eliminated him from the Chase.

2017

At the 2017 Daytona 500, Larson was leading late only to run out of fuel on the final lap and finished in 12th. After three consecutive second-place finishes at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix, Larson moved up to 1st in the points standings. On March 26, Larson scored his second career Cup Series win at Auto Club Speedway from the pole. Larson scored his second win of the season at Michigan.

At Kentucky, Larson started at the rear of the field after he was unable to set a qualifying time as he was stuck in an inspection and finished second. On July 12, Larson lost his points lead in the standings when he was penalized 35 points for an improper rear brake cooling assembly. Crew chief Chad Johnston was suspended for three races and Tony Lunders took his place. A week later, Larson won the pole for the Loudon's Overton's 301, but was forced to surrender it to Martin Truex Jr. after failing post-qualifying inspection for an unapproved rear deck fin lid. He finished second in the race after starting 39th.

On the final restart in the Pure Michigan 400, Larson restarted 4th and took the lead after he made a four-wide pass and went on to score his third straight Michigan win. In the final race of the regular season at Richmond, Larson scored his fourth win of the season (and his first win that is not a two-mile track).

In the playoffs, Larson made it to the Round of 12 after he scored top-5 finishes at Chicagoland, New Hampshire, and Dover. At Kansas, Larson's championship hopes ended after his engine blew up on lap 78 and finished 39th. After being eliminated from the playoffs, Larson's bad luck continued as he finished 37th at Texas and Martinsville, both due to crashes and a last-place finish at Phoenix from an expired engine, his 4th straight DNF. Larson ended the season eighth in the points standings.

2018

Despite being winless throughout the 2018 season, Larson made it to the playoffs by staying consistent with five second-place finishes, eight top 5's, and 13 top 10's. At the Charlotte Roval, Larson led 47 laps and was in contention for the win until he was involved in a multi-car wreck on a late restart that also included playoff contenders Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Despite the car being damaged, Larson passed Jeffrey Earnhardt who was stalled on the track to advance into the Round of 12 after he limped across the finish line in 25th.

Larson experienced further bad luck at the Talladega fall race when he blew a right front tire and spun out on lap 105. He finished 11th but the No. 42 team was docked 10 driver and 10 owner points after the team violated the damaged vehicle policy by using metal tabs instead of fasteners and/or tape to repair the torn right front fender. Larson finished 3rd at the Kansas fall race but was eliminated from the Round of 12. He finished the season ninth in the points standings, the highest of the winless drivers in 2018 along with a third consecutive top-10 points finish.

2019

Before the start of the 2019 season, Larson lost his primary sponsor DC Solar, whose headquarters had been raided by the FBI on December 18, 2018. Larson started the season with a 7th-place finish at the 2019 Daytona 500. At Atlanta, Larson led over 100 laps before he was penalized for speeding on pit road which sent him to the back of the field and finished in 12th. On February 26, 2019, Larson sparked controversy on the NBC Sports segment ''Splash & Go!'' with host Rick Allen when he jokingly implied that Hendrick Motorsports starts "cheating and finding some speed" a couple of months into the start of a season. Larson later apologized to Rick Hendrick for his comments.

On the final lap at the Talladega spring race, Larson was involved in a major accident when his car went airborne and rolled over multiple times. He was uninjured. On May 18, Larson won the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. After a 2nd-place finish at Darlington, Larson clinched his spot in the playoffs for the fourth straight year despite no wins.

On October 6, Larson won at Dover, snapped a 75-race winless streak and advanced into the Round of 8. During the Talladega fall race, Larson was involved in a multi-car wreck on lap 108 that left him with a fractured lower rib. Despite a 4th-place finish at Phoenix, Larson failed to advance to the Championship 4. He finished the season sixth in the points standings, his career-best to date.

2020 and suspension

Larson began the season with a 10th-place finish at the 2020 Daytona 500. During the Auto Club 400, Larson got turned into the turn 1 wall by Denny Hamlin, relegating him to a 21st-place finish. When the season was placed on hold after four races due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Larson was seventh in the points standings with 1 top five and 2 top tens.

On April 13, 2020, Larson was indefinitely suspended by Chip Ganassi Racing without pay after he used a racial slur during an ''iRacing'' event the day before. Shortly after Ganassi's announcement, NASCAR also suspended Larson indefinitely and ordered him to complete sensitivity training before he is allowed to race again. Larson would also be suspended by the World of Outlaws, but his suspension had lifted prior to their return to racing. Multiple corporations such as McDonald's, Credit One Bank, and Chevrolet also terminated their sponsorship of Larson. The following day, CGR fired Larson. On April 27, Matt Kenseth took over the No. 42 car for the rest of the 2020 season.

In October 2020, after months of inactivity on social media, Larson posted an essay on his website, apologizing for using the slur and denying that it was representative of who he was. In the statement, Larson said that when racing overseas, he encountered people who used the word regularly. He accepted accountability for his actions, including his suspension and dismissal from CGR, and said that although he finished the sensitivity training, he did more than what was required of him to change his behavior; for instance, he went to Minnesota after George Floyd was murdered and participated in a variety of classes to learn more on the African-American community.

The statement also said that some of the people in his career, including Ganassi, kept in touch with him during his rehabilitation which convinced him to have hope in saving his career. Larson also said that he hopes his setback "was a lesson for everyone," and was in the process of seeking reinstatement to the Cup Series. In mid-October, it was reported that Larson officially applied for reinstatement. On the same month, it was announced that NASCAR had reinstated Larson's competition privileges effective on January 1, 2021.

=Hendrick Motorsports

=

2021: Championship year

On October 28, 2020, it was announced that Hendrick Motorsports signed Larson to a multi-year deal to drive the No. 5 car beginning in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. At the time of the announcement, it was also announced that the No. 5 car was not sponsored yet, though Hendrick announced that he would self-sponsor the car through his HendrickCars.com and NationsGuard companies until they found long-term sponsors. It was also announced later on that, although Hendrick normally did not allow their drivers to race anywhere other than their NASCAR team, the team negotiated a clause in the contract allowing Larson to continue racing dirt races, provided that he focused primarily on the Cup program.

Larson began his 2021 season with a 10th-place finish at the 2021 Daytona 500. Three weeks later, Larson scored his first win with HMS at Las Vegas. He had finished second nine times on 1.5-mile tracks prior to his victory.

On May 30, Larson won the Coca-Cola 600. Larson's victory was also the 269th career Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports, surpassing Petty Enterprises for the most Cup victories as a race team in NASCAR history. A week later, Larson scored his first road course win at Sonoma. On June 13, Larson won the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race, becoming the 9th driver to win the All-Star Race more than once. He also became the 8th driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star race in the same season. At Nashville, Larson scored his third consecutive win (All-Star races, as they are not points-paying, are not included).

At the Pocono doubleheader race 1, Larson took the lead from his teammate Alex Bowman with 4 laps to go and was on the verge of a fourth consecutive win until he blew a left front tire into turn 3 on the final lap and Bowman claimed the win while Larson finished 9th. The next day, despite resorting to a backup car as a result of the incident, Larson rebounded to finish 2nd to eventual winner Kyle Busch after a fuel gamble.

At Watkins Glen, Larson scored his fifth victory of the 2021 season, a career-high. After the Watkins Glen race, Larson and Denny Hamlin were tied for the points lead in the regular season standings. Following the Coke Zero Sugar 400, Larson clinched the regular season championship.

At Darlington, Larson led 156 laps but finished 2nd to Hamlin. During the Federated Auto Parts 400, Larson secured enough points to advance to the Round of 12. At the Bristol night race, Larson won his sixth race of the season over Kevin Harvick. His win would somewhat be overshadowed by an altercation between Harvick and Chase Elliott after the race due to an on-track incident.

At the Charlotte Roval, Larson scored his seventh win of the season after he overcame electrical issues. He became the first driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win three different road courses in the same season and also became the first driver since Kasey Kahne in 2006 to sweep both Charlotte races.

In the Round of 8, Larson scored his eighth win of the season at Texas to secure a spot into the Championship 4. A week later at Kansas, he scored his ninth win of the season and became the first driver since Dale Earnhardt in 1987 to win three straight races twice in the same season.

In the season finale at Phoenix, Larson started on the pole and led 107 laps en route to his tenth win of the season and clinched his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. He became the first driver to have 10 wins and a championship in the same season since Jimmie Johnson did it in 2007 season. Larson ended his 2021 championship season with 10 wins, 18 stage wins, 20 top fives, 26 top tens, 2,581 laps led, and an average finish of 9.1.

2022

Larson began the season by starting on the pole at the 2022 Daytona 500 and finished 32nd after he was involved in a crash on lap 192. The following week, Larson rebounded with a win at Auto Club Speedway. At Sonoma, Larson's No. 5 car lost a wheel on lap 84. Two days later, crew chief Cliff Daniels was suspended for four races. Kevin Meendering, who served as a crew chief for Jimmie Johnson during the 2019 season, filled in for Cliff. On August 21, 2022, Larson scored his second win of the season at Watkins Glen. In the final race of the regular season at Daytona, Larson started 1st but his day ended early when his engine blew up on lap 15 and finished in 37th.

At Darlington, Larson experienced another engine issues earlier in the race and spun out on lap 193. He finished 12th. On September 16, HMS announced that Larson had signed a multi-year contract extension to remain with the team through 2026. Larson was eliminated from the Round of 12 after he finished 35th at the Charlotte Roval.

On lap 94 at Las Vegas, Larson and Bubba Wallace wrecked down the frontstretch after the two made contact off turn 4 and Christopher Bell was also involved in the crash. During the caution, Wallace confronted Larson in a shoving match. The incident led to Wallace's one race suspension. A week later, Larson scored his third win of the season at Homestead. He finished the season seventh in the points standings.

2023

Larson began the season with a DNF at the 2023 Daytona 500. On March 15, 2023, the No. 5 was served an L2 penalty after an unapproved hood louver was found installed on the car during a pre-race inspection at Phoenix. As a result, the team was docked 100 driver and owner points and 10 playoff points. In addition, crew chief Cliff Daniels was suspended for four races and fined 100,000. On March 29, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the penalty, upholding the fine and Daniels' suspension, but the No. 5 team has restored the owner, driver, and playoff points.

Larson scored his 20th career Cup Series win at Richmond. Two weeks later, he won at Martinsville and it was also the first win for the No. 5 car at that track since 1984. On May 21, Larson scored his third career All-Star win at the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race which tied him with Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon as a three-time All-Star winner and the only driver to win the All-Star race on 3 different race tracks (Charlotte, Texas & North Wilkesboro).

In the first round of the playoffs, Larson won the Southern 500 to clinch a spot into the Round of 12. It is also the 500th overall win by Hendrick Motorsports' engine department. Larson won at Las Vegas to make the Championship 4. During the 4EVER 400, Larson crashed into the sand barrels while entering pit road on lap 214 and finished in 34th. Following the season, he finished second in the points standings.

2024

Larson started the season with an 11th-place finish at the 2024 Daytona 500. Two weeks later, Larson scored his first win of the season at Las Vegas. At the Kansas spring race, Larson won by 0.001 seconds over Chris Buescher, the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history. Larson attempted to run both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, but the rain delayed the Indy 500 caused him to miss the start of the Coke 600 and was substituted by Justin Allgaier who finished 13th. Despite missing the Coke 600 race, Larson was granted a waiver to maintain his playoff eligibility.

At Sonoma, Larson scored his third win of the season and his 26th career win tied him with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Fred Lorenzen on the all-time wins record list in the Cup Series. The victory also made Larson the 10th driver in NASCAR Cup history to win five road course races. On July 21, Larson won the Brickyard 400.

At the Bristol night race, Larson picked up his fifth victory of the season. Three weeks later, Larson scored his sixth win of the season at the Charlotte Roval. Larson finished 3rd at Martinsville but not enough to advance to the Championship 4 and he finished the season sixth in the points standings.

2025

Larson started the 2025 season with a 20th-place finish at the 2025 Daytona 500. A month later, he scored his 30th career win at Homestead which placed him at 30th on the all-time wins list in the Cup Series. Larson scored his second win of the season at the Bristol spring race. At Kansas, Larson scored his third win of the season.

Open-wheel career

Dirt car racing

Larson owned a World of Outlaws sprint car team named Kyle Larson Racing that fielded a car for Carson Macedo. He acquired full ownership of the team, formerly named Larson Marks Racing after the 2017 season. The team closed following the 2020 season due to COVID-19 pandemic and other issues. He drives for his own team (midgets) and Paul Silva (winged sprint car) on a limited schedule.

On January 18, 2020, Larson won his first Chili Bowl nationals. On May 5, It was announced that Larson will compete in the World of Outlaws at Knoxville Raceway beginning in the spring after a suspension and subsequent reinstatement to the series. At Knoxville, he finished 10th. Two weeks later at Federated Auto Parts Raceway, Larson set a qualifying lap time of 9.995 seconds, the first sub-ten-second time in track history. After finishing second to brother-in-law Brad Sweet in the friday feature, Larson held off Brent Marks and Sweet in the saturday event to score his first World of Outlaws victory since suspension.

In June, Larson joined the USAC series for the 2020 Indiana Midget Week. He won all six races in the Hoosier state, including the championship. Larson continued to win nine straight sprint car features. On June 25, Larson will compete in the full Pennsylvania Speedweek for 410 sprint cars. Larson won at Grandview Speedway after passing Freddie Rahmer with two laps remaining. Larson picked up his second win that same week after leading the entire race at Hagerstown.

On July 3, Larson won the Mitch Smith Memorial at Williams Grove Speedway. The following night, he won again in the final event at Port Royal Speedway. Larson won the Pennsylvania Speedweek title with four wins and three podiums. Larson competed in the All Star Circuit of Champions sprint cars at Knoxville Raceway where he scored his seventh consecutive win. Following the 2020 season, Larson was named the 410 Sprint Car Driver of the Year.

Following a test at Cherokee Speedway in August 2020, Larson announced he would be making his debut in a dirt late model at Port Royal Speedway in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for owner Kevin Rumley. After finishing 5th in the first night of the event, Larson led flag-to-flag in the second night's race to win in his second dirt late model start.

Larson won the USAC Silver Crown Series finale at Springfield Mile. On October 27, it was announced that Larson would make his World of Outlaws Late Model Series debut at Charlotte. Larson competed the final two races of the season on The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway where he set a new track record in qualifying and finished 8th.

Following his reinstatement by NASCAR and signing with Hendrick Motorsports in October 2020, Larson noted in an interview with '' The Dale Jr. Download'' that he would be permitted to continue dirt racing, in addition to the Cup Series, provided the latter be his primary commitment.

On January 16, 2021, Larson won his second consecutive Chili Bowl Nationals. A week later, he won the first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race of the season at All-Tech Raceway. Larson won the third annual BC39 race against 74 USAC National Midgets on the dirt track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Larson won the Knoxville Nationals three times in 2021, 2023, and 2024, becoming the eighth multi-time winner as well as the eighth back-to-back winner of the event.

On January 18, 2025, Larson won his third Chili Bowl Nationals after starting from the pole and leading the 40 lap race flag-to-flag.

IndyCar

On January 12, 2023, it was announced that Larson would attempt to qualify for the 2024 Indianapolis 500 with Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports and would try to become the fifth driver to attempt the double. After a rain-delayed start of the Indy 500, Larson started fifth and ran among the leading cars until he was penalized for speeding on pit lane and finished in 18th. The rain delay impacted Larson's tight schedule, causing him to miss the start of the Coca-Cola 600. Larson was named the 2024 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.

On September 10, 2024, it was announced that Larson would return to the 2025 Indianapolis 500 with McLaren agreeing to pick up the second-year option. At Indianapolis, Larson lost control and crashed in turn two on lap 91 that also collected Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb. Larson finished 27th but was later credited with a 24th-place finish after Marcus Ericsson, Kyle Kirkwood, and Callum Ilott's cars failed post-race inspection due to technical infractions.

Other racing

On January 4, 2014, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Larson would enter the 24 Hours of Daytona in the No. 02 car alongside Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Marino Franchitti. During the press conference, Larson stated, "You grow up watching the NASCAR guys then you're like, ‘wow’ when you meet them. And then watching the guys in different series there's a 'wow' factor to meeting them and working with them." In his Rolex 24 debut, Larson's car stalled and received a speeding penalty, but finished his stint with a fifth-place finish.

Larson returned in the No. 02 Ford Daytona Prototype for the 2015 event along with Chip Ganassi Racing teammates from IndyCar Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan and NASCAR Jamie McMurray. The team ultimately won the race.

In 2016, Larson once again returned for the 24 Hours of Daytona in the Ford EcoBoost Daytona Prototype for Chip Ganassi Racing. The team consisted of the same drivers from the 2015 winning car but ran into issues with brake failures plaguing the team throughout the race.

In popular media

Larson made a cameo appearance as a limo driver in the 2017 film '' Logan Lucky''.

Personal life

Larson is a native of Elk Grove, California. His mother is Japanese American and her parents spent time in a Japanese internment camp. Larson's wife is Katelyn Sweet, the sister of former World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series driver and NASCAR driver Brad Sweet. Larson announced on June 13, 2014, that he and his girlfriend were expecting their first child. On July 16, Larson announced that the baby was a boy. Owen Miyata Larson was born on December 22, 2014. On November 8, 2017, Larson announced on social media that he and Katelyn were expecting a second child, due in May 2018. Audrey Layne Larson was born in 2018. On December 22, 2017, Larson and Sweet became engaged, and they were married on September 26, 2018. On December 31, 2022, Larson and Katelyn’s third child Cooper Donald Larson was born.

Racing record

Career summary

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Cup Series

Daytona 500

Xfinity Series

Craftsman Truck Series

Season still in progress

Ineligible for series points

ARCA Racing Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

K&N Pro Series East

K&N Pro Series West

CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Daytona

American open-wheel results

IndyCar Series

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Indianapolis 500

References

External links

*

Official profile at Hendrick Motorsports
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Kyle

1992 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Elk Grove, California
Racing drivers from California
NASCAR drivers
NASCAR Cup Series champions
American sportspeople of Japanese descent
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
World of Outlaws drivers
NASCAR controversies
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
Hendrick Motorsports drivers
USAC Silver Crown Series drivers
NASCAR Cup Series regular season champions
JR Motorsports drivers
Motorsport team owners
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year
IndyCar Series drivers
Arrow McLaren SP drivers