Kyle Larson Made A Name For Himself At Daytona

Daytona Beach, Fla. – Every year at the Daytona International Speedway, young drivers arrive brimming with energy, high aspirations and impressive credentials. For Speedweeks 2013, Kyle Larson was among the field of hopefuls and although relatively unknown, he emerged as a headliner by the time the action had ended. The Californian made headlines for wins, a highly controversial finish and a vicious crash that at the end of the DRIVE4COPD 300, a Nationwide Series race.

Although only 20-years old, Larson has been racing and winning for years. To open-wheel fans, he is a crowd favorite and a racer’s racer, as he competes often and frequently goes home with the first-place trophy. A year ago, he raced 123 times, winning 30 of them. In addition to his dirt-track exploits, he joined the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East as a member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, winning twice and capturing the championship. He also made a mark in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races with a handful of races.

“It was a year I will never forget,” said the young charger. “By far, it was my most successful year and my goal for 2013 is to run in 100 races, including sprints, midgets and stock cars. I love open wheel and want to do a lot of it.”

The talent scouts couldn’t help but take notice of Larson and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing signed him as a development driver in 2012. “Being in the Drive for Diversity program was beneficial and got me experience with a stock car,” he noted. “Winning championships and races helped me and Chip Ganassi thought I was ready. My success has helped me.”

And recently with the endorsement of the Ganassi team, Larson signed on with Turner Scott Motorsports for a full season of Nationwide Series competition, starting with the DRIVE4COPD 300.

A year ago Larson made his stock car debut at the nearby New Smyrna Speedway and shocked onlookers by winning the first time out. After a week’s worth of racing, he was hooked. “Stock car racing is a different form of racing,” he commented during media day at DIS. “You have to work and work a car, and you have to be perfect. I like it.”

During the 2012 and 2013 seasons, the quiet-spoken driver barnstormed across the country winning more races and making headlines along the way. His exploits made championship driver Tony Stewart take notice, indicating Larson’s spiraling career paralleled that of his. “He reminds me of myself, but he’s a lot better than me,” Stewart said. “When he got into a stock car for the first time, he was a natural. Going from the lightweight car to a heavy car is a hard adjustment for a lot of drivers. Watching him for the first couple of stock car races shows you the kind of natural driving ability he has. He’s good in whatever he gets in, and I guaranty he is the next generation star. You can bet the farm on it.”

Larson enjoys the compliments but won’t let them go to his head. “I haven’t felt any more pressure but it has been beneficial to get my name mentioned by Tony (Stewart) and Jeff Gordon and getting my name on SPEED,” the driver said.

He made it on SPEED not only for his accomplishments but for a vicious sprint-crash at Stewart’s Eldora Speedway on a day he will long remember. Winning a K&N race in September at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Larson flew to Eldora on Stewart’s jet with the thrill of victory dancing in his head. “It was really cool to win at New Hampshire then fly to Eldora, but I crashed and ended up in a hospital.” While Larson wasn’t intimidated by the outcome, his mentors were.

The Ganassi organization suggested he take it easy with his sprint-car driving. “Sprint cars are one of the more scary cars I have driven,” Larson stated. “The risk factor is big, but I enjoy running them.” To make a point about risk, Ganassi showed Larson films of his scary crash in an IndyCar at the Michigan International Speedway years ago. “Chip showed me his wreck, and it was a bad one.”

Larson’s most ardent fans are his parents, Mike and Janet Larson, who follow him around the country. “Last year, he ran 120 and we saw 75 of them, most of them open-wheel races,” his proud father said. “We are race fans and enjoy watching from the stands; we want to be where we can see all around the track.” They go to races even when their son isn’t racing as they did in Daytona when they ventured to Volusia Speedway Park for action on the dirt.

Janet Larson keeps busy at her son’s races by filming his every move. And she has miles of video to show family and friends.

The Larson’s put their young son in a low-powered go kart when he was five, and working with friends, they carved out a track in a field near their home in the suburbs of Sacramento. The youngster took thousands of laps in the small car before starting his forward progression. “Our sprint-car friends built us a track, and Kyle would pack the track down, so the rest of us could race,” his dad said.

“When Kyle was 10 or 12, he would say to me, ‘Dad, I’m going to make it.’ And I would say that’s good but there are 1,000 kids saying the same thing,” Mike Larson said. “It all took off when he was about seven when we put him in a look-alike sprint car.”

While Larson’s parents accompany their son to most races, they admit they don’t know a whole lot about stock-car racing, but are willing to learn.

For their son’s ARCA debut a few days ago, Mike and Janet watched from the stands, cheering for their son while getting accustomed to the big time. Finishing second, Larson needed to complete at least 60 laps and stay out of trouble, to be approved to race in the Nationwide Series opener on the high banks.

He did as instructed and before his next race at DIS, he returned to the New Smyrna Speedway, coming away with a victory in a USAC National Midget Series race.

The next day he returned to DIS to race in the UNOH Battle at the Beach, a new event on a narrow .4-mile track erected on the backstretch. The races were intended to give fans a place to go when no action was scheduled on the big track. And the three races drew a large number of entries and plenty of banging and wrecking took place and even more controversy.

In the opener, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race, Larson was one of the front-runners and garnered the win by punting the leader out of the way at the finish line. His action unleashed a firestorm of controversy from competitors, the media and fans. Even though the next two races had more or less the same outcome, Larson’s maneuver continued to rank in first place on the controversy charts.

“I just wanted to win at Daytona,” Larson said. “But I guess I will have to work at regaining respect from the other drivers.”

And he did just that in the Nationwide race. He qualified 21st and steadily worked his way through the field to run with the leaders. At one point, he drafted with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the two blazed their way to the front with Larson even leading a lap. But his sterling effort became a mere footnote owing to his harrowing crash on the last lap.

Running in the lead pack, Larson got caught up in a wreck ignited by two of the leaders. Larson’s car got hit multiple times and his mount vaulted into the catch fencing, ripping the engine from its moorings where it penetrated the protective fence and landed on the walkway in front of the grandstands. Car parts, including a wheel, subsequently flew into the stands, injuring some 28 spectators.

Larson’s demolished car came to a stop past the finish line and the dazed driver climbed out wondering what had happened. Films of the wreck have been seen shown repeatedly on national television networks and Larson’s name is noted with each showing.

Credited with an unlucky 13th place finish, Larson was fortunate to walk away from the crash. “I took a couple of big hits and noticed the engine was gone,” the driver said. “I was getting pushed from behind and by the time my spotter told me to life, it was too late. I had flames in the cockpit, but I got out okay.” When his stricken Chevrolet came to a stop, the car was missing the front and rear ends.

Larson’s efforts in Florida thrust him into the headlines and made him a household name among the racing community. Looking ahead, the young driver aspires to succeed but would like to leave the controversy in his mirror and go about climbing the ladder of success.

As Stewart has affirmed, Larson is guaranteed to succeed and the quiet-spoken driver fully intends to do so. And also guaranteed is that Mike and Janet Larson will be in the stands cheering for their son.

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