Back in 2018, Kyle Larson got himself in a bit of trouble with the NASCAR community when he expressed a desire to retire from the Cup Series to pursue a full-time winged Sprint Car championship at some point before his 40th birthday.
He first teased the timeline during an interview on the Open Red podcast and then followed it up with this exchange on social media.
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Naturally, there was a subset of fans of NASCAR only that did not take too kindly to Larson wanting to return his racing roots. They claimed that NASCAR was merely a job Larson engaged in before retiring to the form of racing he cares most about.
Larson addressed it in a subsequent interview (when the author was at Autoweek) by explaining how much he valued the NASCAR community and enjoyed this kind of racing.
“Look, the money is great,” Larson said at the time. “But I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love NASCAR and have fun every week. Sprint cars are extremely fun and high horsepower, but I want to be here. The NASCAR lifestyle and the camaraderie you have with the fans is something that is really unique and special.
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“The fans who think I don’t like this are crazy.”
This was before Larson joined Hendrick Motorsports and back when Chip Ganassi Racing has him on a very strict dirt racing limit of somewhere around 30 races a year and none during the playoffs.
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Since that year, Larson has went on to win 27 of his 32 races, including two Cup Series championships, and Hendrick Motorsports has allowed him to pursue no shortage of dirt track endeavors.
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He’s won three Knoxville Nationals and the Kings Royal while co-founding a challenger tour to the World of Outlaws in the form of High Limit Racing. Larson also signed a multiyear contract extension with Rick Hendrick even saying he would have signed Larson to a lifetime contract if the now 33-year-old was open to it.
Does Larson still want to chase a Sprint Car championship before he turns 40?
“I started saying this last year, but 40 is my next milestone,” Larson told Motorsport.com. “I want to get there and then evaluate if I want to keep going or be done. It all depends on where my kids are in their lives and interests.
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“As far as competing for a Sprint Car championship, I would say right now in 2026, that I have changed my mind on that. I feel like I have accomplished a lot since I made those comments. I’ve been able to win three Knoxville Nationals, three Chili Bowls and a Kings Royal. All the other races.
“I just don’t know what a championship would add to my career so I’m just not into the idea now. And like I said, I think my kids are going to be busy doing their own racing by that time, so do I really want to commit to an 80-to-90 race schedule?
“That’s way busier than I am now.”
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Owen Larson is 12. Audrey Larson is 8. Cooper is approaching 4. What they want to do will ultimately determine how much racing Larson commits to, in NASCAR or otherwise.
“I just feel like I have a really good balance in my schedule this year and I’m enjoying that,” Larson said. But you never know, and six or seven years down the road, things might change.”
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