Kyle Larson: 365 Days Later
10/01/2013
Jim Fitzgerald
One year ago, I had the opportunity and pleasure to interview a young man who many are calling part of the future of our sport. On September 28th, 2013, Kyle Larson was gracious enough to grant me about fifteen minutes of his time, and we sat in his team hauler and had the conversation you will see below. We talked about his history and what he had accomplished as well as his future and his goals.
That was one year ago. So much has changed for Larson in the time which has passed from then until now. Here is the interview I had with him then, followed by what has transpired in the next 365 days…
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At Dover this past weekend, I had the pleasure of sitting down with K&N Pro East Series driver Kyle Larson. Larson, driver of the No. 6 Rev Racing team Toyota, is currently in second place in the K&N Pro Series East points standings, three behind leader Brett Moffitt. Rev Racing CEO Max Siegel was formerly the President of Global Operations at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and also manages the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program.
I sat with Kyle in the back of his hauler, and we talked about everything from his thoughts on Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, to what he does in his spare time, to his plans for the 2013 season.
Jim Fitzgerald: Kyle, first of all, thank you for your time. I would like to go back to how you became interested in racing. Tell us a little bit about Kyle Larson, and how he got bitten by the racing bug.
Kyle Larson: Well, I have always been into racing. My parents took me to my first race when I was a week old, so I have been kind of born into racing and have always been a fan of it. I didn’t start racing go karts until I was seven. My dad built me a fun kart when I was 4, and I kind of played around in that, until I was seven, but I didn’t start racing until I was seven. So, I’d say from the first time I started racing, that’s when I knew that’s what I wanted to do for a career. I played baseball, when I was young, during racing, and it wasn’t as much fun as racing, and I had to make a choice between baseball and racing, and I chose racing, so I think it was a good career choice for me.
JBF: Your racing resume reads like a Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon road to NASCAR, laden with open wheel success. Silver Crown, Midgets, and last week you won a race at Eldora. Why have you selected NASCAR for your career path?
Kyle Larson: Just because I get to race with Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, you know, that would be a cool dream, something I have wanted to do since I was young. When I first started racing go karts, I was interested in Indy car and it seems like over the years, that’s kind of fizzled off, and that series isn’t near as big as NASCAR, so, I want to race where the best drivers are, and it’s nice that NASCAR guys make a lot of money, too, because I want to own a Sprint Car team like Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne. So that’s my main goal for racing, is to own a team somewhere down the road.
JBF: Have you been able to connect with Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart to get any information from them, or any kind of mentoring?
Kyle Larson: Yeah, for sure. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart both have been a big help. I talk to Tony quite a bit and I was actually going to race his Silver Crown car before I wrecked the Sprint Car, so I didn’t get to run, but Tony has been a big help, and I got to race the World of Outlaws a few weeks ago, at Chico, and Jeff Gordon was sponsoring it with his Kick-It Foundation, and actually won, so it was really cool to be able to win with Jeff Gordon’s name on the side of the car.
JBF: Can you tell us who the biggest influences in your life have been, both personally and professionally?
Kyle Larson: My dad, for sure. He definitely helps out with keeping me on the right track, and he takes care of my schedules, and that stuff gets you stressed out, so it’s good to have my dad do that stuff for me. Tony Stewart’s been quite a bit of a help with the stock car stuff, really this whole year he’s been a help with guiding me. Shane Hmiel’s been helpful whenever I run the Truck Series because he has a lot of experience there. There are a lot of guys that offer advice, so I have a lot of people I can lean on.
JBF: You’re a member of the 2012 NASCAR Drive for Diversity program. How do you feel this program has helped your racing career?
Kyle Larson: It definitely helped, giving me a lot of track time on tracks that hopefully someday I’ll be racing on, like Dover and Loudon, and Bristol, tracks like that, so it has definitely gotten me experience, to take my next step in hopefully trucks or Nationwide. It’s helped me get my name out there quite a bit. They show these races on TV, and they get on SpeedCenter and Wind Tunnel each week, so it’s definitely been big for me, I think.
JBF: If you had to pick a hero in racing, would it be someone like Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon, or was there someone else that you watched growing up, someone you cheered on, like an average fan?
Kyle Larson: Yeah, I grew up cheering for Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, J.J. Yeley, all those guys that had run Sprint Cars and Midgets, like I’m doing. I’m just really a fan of all the dirt racers. If I had to choose one, I would probably pick Tony Stewart just because my schedule is a lot like his, I guess. I don’t really have a “hero,” but Tony is a guy I look up to.
JBF: What do you like to do in your spare time? Are you a typical 20 year old who plays video game and hangs out with friends, or does racing take up the bulk of your time?
Kyle Larson: Well, I don’t have many free days. The most days I go without a race is like two or three, so sometimes I’ll watch TV or play video games. When I was in Indiana, during the summer a lot, during off days, I stayed at my crew chief’s house, and he has a pond out back, so we went fishing a lot. For the most part, though, I’m a racer…I don’t have much free time, and it doesn’t bother me at all.
JBF: 2012 has been a good year for you in the K&N Pro East Series. You have scored nine top ten finishes in eleven starts. You have two wins, one at Gresham earlier in the year, and then last week at New Hampshire. You’re currently three points behind series leader Brett Moffitt. You’re in your rookie season in the series, but how do you rate your championship chances this year?
Kyle Larson: I think it’s pretty good now that we’re only three behind. Going into Loudon, it was going to be tough, but luckily, Brett had a bad race, and we capitalized on it with a win, so we’re right back in it now. We keep chipping away at the point lead, I think we can get it done at Rockingham. We have a good car here(Dover), as long as we can get through Greenville without losing too many points, I think we’ll have a really good shot at Rockingham.
JBF: You have two Camping World Truck Series starts this season, and you finished both races in the top ten. When will we see you in that series again?
Kyle Larson: I’m going to run Phoenix and Homestead, and they are working on a deal for me maybe to run full time next year, so hopefully that’s where my 2013 is going to be because I have a lot of fun racing in trucks. The aero is really different and it’s a lot of fun. You get to race guys like Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Aric Almirola ran at Atlanta, too, so it’s pretty cool to get to race with guys that you watch on TV on Sunday.
JBF: Kyle, I appreciate your time, and wish you the best of luck today and the rest of the season.
Kyle Larson: Yep, I appreciate it, thank you!
After the race ended on Friday evening, Larson and the Rev Racing team found themselves atop the K&N Pro Series East point standings by a single point over Dover race winner Corey LaJoie. Larson started the race in the rear of the field due to a transmission change, but quickly worked his way to the front and a fifth place finish.
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Kyle Larson did indeed go onto win the K&N Pro Series East Championship by 15 points over Brett Moffitt. When I asked Larson about his future plans, there was nothing that was 100 percent assured. He was hoping to run a full Camping World Truck Series schedule, but instead was tapped to run the No. 32 Chevrolet for Turner-Scott Motorsports. Many fans will remember the remarkable debut Larson made at Daytona in that car in February. As the field came to the finish, a large crash occurred, and by the time it was over, Kyle Larson crawled from a car with most of the front and rear ends missing, and his engine was on the other side of the catch fence.
Determination unhindered, Larson moved past that wreck and eventually did get a great opportunity to drive in the Truck Series in Rockingham. Larson survived a late race caution green-white-checkered finish to take his first win in NASCAR national series. As the year continues, Larson finds himself in 9th place in the Nationwide Series standings.
During all of this, Larson’s main affiliation did not change. He has been a developmental driver for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, which had loaned Larson and his talents to those other opportunities. When it was announced that Juan Pablo Montoya would not return as the driver of the EGR No. 42, Larson was an early speculated candidate for the seat.
On August 30th of this year, Larson was confirmed as the replacement for Montoya, and at the age of 21, will attempt his first Daytona 500 in February of 2014.
I wish this young man all the best. He was very nice and accommodating in the short time we shared last year, and he has a tremendous amount of talent. I hope he will be given an appropriate amount of time to develop as a Cup Series driver, and is not shown the door too early if immediate success is not achieved. As a fan of the sport, I am very excited to see what Kyle Larson can offer this series.
Twelve months ago, Kyle Larson sat on the back of his hauler with me and didn’t really know what his immediate future held as far as career development. Now, he will soon begin his career as a Sprint Cup Series driver. What a difference a year makes!
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