From USAC midgets and sprint cars to Hendrick Motorsports, a driver who won Cup titles in 2021 and 2025 and kept racing dirt cars throughout.
Kyle Larson is an American racing driver born in Elk Grove, California, on 31 July 1992. He drives the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series and won the Cup championship in 2021 and 2025. He has also won the Chili Bowl Nationals and the Knoxville Nationals several times.
Kyle Larson is an American racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet. He won the Cup championship in 2021 and again in 2025, and he has kept racing dirt cars and midgets throughout his stock car career, winning several of the sport's biggest dirt events.
How did Larson get into racing?
Larson was born in Elk Grove, California, on 31 July 1992, and he went to his first race with his parents a week after he was born. He began racing at seven in outlaw karts in Northern California. As a teenager he moved into open-wheel cars, including USAC midgets, Silver Crown cars and sprint cars, driving for Keith Kunz Motorsports and Hoffman Racing with Toyota backing.
A USAC official gave him the nickname Yung Money in recognition of his talent. His first sprint car win came at Placerville Speedway, where he was one of the youngest drivers ever to compete. In 2011 he won the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway, winning in all three types of USAC car in a single night, the second driver in history to manage that feat.
A dirt track prodigy who became a two-time Cup champion after a difficult 2020, and kept racing sprint cars and midgets alongside.
How did Larson move into stock cars?
In 2012 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing signed him as part of its driver development programme, and on 11 February 2012 he won his first race in a full-bodied stock car at New Smyrna Speedway. He then moved full-time into the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East with Rev Racing. He won at Gresham Motorsports Park in June, and he made his ARCA debut at Michigan International Speedway, finishing 13th.
That first season ended with the K&N Pro Series East championship, won with two wins and 12 top-tens in 14 races. He was also named the series' Rookie of the Year. His first ARCA win came at Pocono Raceway on 7 June 2014.
What were his early Truck and Xfinity seasons?
He made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Kentucky Speedway on 28 June 2012, finishing 10th. His first Truck win came on 14 April 2013 at Rockingham Speedway, where he held off Joey Logano. He celebrated by doing donuts without his steering wheel on, a habit from his go-kart days, and NASCAR asked him to keep the wheel attached for safety reasons.
In February 2013 he joined Turner Scott Motorsports for a full Xfinity Series season, driving the No. 32 car. In the season opener at Daytona he was caught in a violent last-lap crash, in which his car was airborne and hit a catch fence, but he came across the line in 13th. In the finale at Homestead he led the most laps before losing the lead to Brad Keselowski, finishing second.
That season also gave him the Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year title. He became the first Asian-American, and the first Drive for Diversity driver, to take that honour in NASCAR's national touring series. He returned in 2014 for part-time races, winning at Auto Club Speedway on 22 March and at Charlotte Motor Speedway later that year.
What happened in his first Cup seasons?
In August 2013 it was reported that Larson would drive the No. 42 car for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2014. He made his Cup debut that year at Charlotte in the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing, finishing 37th after a blown engine. Once he joined the full-time team in 2014, he scored his first Cup top-ten at Bristol and his best finish to that point, second at Auto Club Speedway.
He also took his first Cup pole at the Gobowling.com 400, setting a track record at 183.438 mph (295.215 km/h). The season brought eight top-fives and 17 top-tens, and it earned him the Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year award. In 2015 he fainted during an autograph session at Martinsville, was hospitalised with dehydration, and finished 19th in the points.
When did Larson first win a Cup race?
His first Cup win came at Michigan on 28 August 2016. It qualified him for the Chase for the first time, and he was eliminated after finishing 25th at Dover. The 2017 season brought a second win at Auto Club Speedway, a third straight Michigan win and a regular season finale win at Richmond.
He was penalised 35 points that year for an improper rear brake cooling assembly, which cost him the points lead. He finished eighth in the standings. In 2018 he won no race but earned five second places and 13 top-tens, and he finished ninth.
What led to his 2020 suspension?
On 13 April 2020 Chip Ganassi Racing suspended him indefinitely, with no pay, after a racial slur used during an iRacing event the day before. NASCAR then also suspended him and ordered sensitivity training, and the team fired him the next day. Matt Kenseth took over the No. 42 car from 27 April for the rest of the season.
On 4 October 2020 he published an essay on his website, apologising for the slur and saying it did not represent who he was. NASCAR reinstated his competition privileges effective 1 January 2021.
How did the Hendrick years produce a title?
On 28 October 2020 Hendrick Motorsports signed Larson for the No. 5 car from 2021, with a clause that allowed him to continue dirt racing as long as the Cup programme remained his main commitment. He won his first Hendrick race at Las Vegas on 7 March 2021, and he took the Coca-Cola 600 on 30 May, Hendrick's 269th Cup victory.
The 2021 season was extraordinary. He won the Sonoma road course, the All-Star Race, and then Watkins Glen, Bristol and the Charlotte Roval, becoming the first driver to win three different road courses in one season. He then won Texas to reach the Championship 4, and at Phoenix he started on pole, led 107 laps and clinched his first Cup title. The season produced ten wins, 18 stage wins, 20 top-fives and 26 top-tens. He also led 2,581 laps and averaged a finish of 9.1.
| Season | Points result | Notable results |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Eighth | Second Cup win at Auto Club Speedway; Michigan and Richmond wins |
| 2018 | Ninth | No wins; five second places and 13 top-tens |
| 2019 | Sixth | Dover win ending a 75-race winless streak |
| 2021 | Champion | 10 wins, 2,581 laps led, average finish of 9.1 |
| 2022 | Seventh | Auto Club, Watkins Glen and Homestead wins |
| 2023 | Second | Richmond and Martinsville wins; Southern 500 victory |
| 2024 | Sixth | Sonoma, Brickyard 400, Bristol night and Charlotte Roval |
| 2025 | Champion | 30th career win at Homestead; Bristol and Kansas spring wins |
What happened from 2022 to 2024?
In 2022 Larson started from pole at the Daytona 500 but finished 32nd after a crash. He then won at Auto Club Speedway and Watkins Glen, and at Homestead he won a third time to finish seventh in the standings. In September that year Hendrick announced a contract extension to keep him with the team through 2026.
In 2023 he won the Southern 500 on 3 September, clinching a place in the Round of 12, and he went on to win the Richmond race and Martinsville, where the car's first win since 1984 came. He finished second in the championship behind Ryan Blaney, who won the title. In 2024 he won at Las Vegas, won at Kansas by 0.001 seconds, which is the closest finish in Cup history, and won at Sonoma, his 26th career Cup win.
How did Larson win his second title in 2025?
Larson started the 2025 season with a 20th-place finish at the Daytona 500, then won at Homestead, where he recorded his 30th career Cup win. Three weeks later he won the Bristol spring race, and he added a win at Kansas. He did not win in the playoffs, but he made the Championship 4 after a fifth at Martinsville.
In the season finale at Phoenix he was a lap down after a right front tyre problem, but a caution gave him the wave-around. On the final restart he started fifth and finished third, which was enough to win his second Cup title.
Does Larson still race dirt cars?
Yes. He won the Chili Bowl Nationals in 2020 over three-time champion Christopher Bell, then won it again in January 2021 and for a third time in January 2025, starting from pole and leading the 40-lap race flag to flag. He won back-to-back Knoxville Nationals in 2023 and 2024, and he won the event again in 2026, his fourth Knoxville win.
In 2020 he won all six races in Indiana Midget Week and the Pennsylvania Speedweek title with four wins and three podiums. He was named 410 Sprint Car Driver of the Year after that season, and he also won the USAC Silver Crown finale at Springfield Mile.
What about IndyCar and sports cars?
Larson attempted the Indianapolis 500 in 2024 with Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports, qualifying for the race, and he finished 18th after a speeding penalty. The rain delay at Indianapolis that day meant he missed the start of the Coca-Cola 600, and he was named the 2024 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. He returned in 2025 and crashed on lap 91, finishing 27th and later credited with 24th.
He first raced at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2014 for Chip Ganassi Racing and then won the 2015 race with Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Jamie McMurray. He returned in 2016, when brake failures plagued the team.
What were his 2016 and 2019 highlights?
In 2016 Larson opened with a seventh-place finish at the Daytona 500, his first top-ten and his first race without a DNF. On 21 May he won the Sprint Showdown, which earned him a place in the All-Star Race. In 2019 he began with seventh at Daytona, and on 18 May he won the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race.
The 2019 season also brought controversy. On 26 February he made jokey comments on the NBC Sports segment Splash and Go! that suggested Hendrick Motorsports cheated to find speed, and he later apologised to Rick Hendrick. That spring he was involved in a major accident at Talladega, where his car went airborne and rolled over several times, and he was uninjured.
Did the No. 5 team face penalties?
Yes. In March 2023 the car was penalised after unapproved hood louvers were found at Phoenix. The team lost 100 driver and owner points and 10 playoff points, and crew chief Cliff Daniels was suspended for four races and fined US$100,000. On appeal the National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld the fine and the suspension but restored the points.
Larson's 2024 calendar was also unusually tight. He tried to run the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, but rain delayed the Indianapolis race and Justin Allgaier drove the Coca-Cola 600 in his place, finishing 13th. NASCAR granted him a waiver to keep his playoff eligibility.
