Kyle Larsons family and friends rejoice in his first NASCAR Cup championship
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Larson’s closest supporters filed up the stairs of the NASCAR Cup Series championship stage, taking up nearly the entire length of the platform.
There were Larson’s parents, Mike and Janet, who went from devoted sprint car fans to seeing their own son become the country’s best race car driver.
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There was Danica Patrick, the former driver who has remained close with the Larson family after leaving NASCAR.
There was Paul Silva, the mastermind behind Larson’s sprint car. There was dirt racer Tyler Courtney — better known as “Sunshine” — who flew from Charlotte in hopes of seeing his good friend win the Cup Series title.
Along with a dozen or so others, they crowded together in a victory pose — enough people that a wide-angle lens may have been needed to capture the photo — and smiled as one.
The moment surprised no one, but they all wanted to be there in person to witness it.
“Unfortunately, I feel bad for the NASCAR guys because I think he’s just getting started,” Courtney said. “They’re going to have to deal with what we’ve been dealing with for the last 10 years in sprint car and midget racing.”
Kyle Larson and his family have celebrated many wins. Sunday’s was by far the biggest. (Chris Graythen / Getty Images)To Larson’s family and friends, he’s Just Kyle: a low-key guy who doesn’t call much attention to himself and can blend into practically any scene.
But just beyond the barrier of victory lane, hundreds of fans stood on their tiptoes and held their camera phones as high as they could reach to capture images of a driver who just completed a legendary racing season.
Larson is the first NASCAR driver to win 10 Cup Series races in a single year since Jimmie Johnson in 2007. He also won the All-Star Race and the regular-season championship. He won five of the 10 NASCAR playoff races, matching Tony Stewart’s run from a decade ago. He won the world’s biggest sprint car race — the Knoxville Nationals — as well as the Kings Royal, another sprint car crown jewel. He won the biggest midget race — the Chili Bowl — and even won a top dirt late model race despite having little experience in those cars.
There may have never been an American race car driver who put a year together like that. But those close to him, like wife Katelyn, can’t even begin to process the surreal nature of what he’s accomplishing.
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After all, he’s Just Kyle.
“I drive in the car with him every day, I see him be dad, I see him give the kids a bath, lay next to him at night,” she said. “He’s so humble about it. He is not one of those guys that says ‘I’m good.’ He still has room for improvement, always — and he talks about the room for improvement in everything in life. So, no, I don’t wrap my head around it, actually.”
Katelyn began to describe Kyle as a “normal guy,” but then took the words back. Why? Because she figured a “normal guy” would be the one to change a flat tire on their family car or repair something that was broken around the house — but she’s the one who does those things, not him.
“I’m like, ‘Kyle, I guess I’ll get the ladder out and fix it,'” she said. “So when he goes and gets in a race car, I’m like, ‘I don’t understand.’ It’s crazy to me that he’s just so aware of everything going on around him.”
Larson’s otherworldly natural skill has carried him for much of his career, and those who have watched him up close marvel at how easy he makes it seem. But this year in particular, Larson has added frequent study sessions and workouts with coach Josh Wise to elevate himself to the next level.
It’s made for a dangerous combination.
“Yeah, he’s one of the most talented guys you’ve ever gotten to race against,” Courtney said. “But at the same time, he’s worked his ass off to be that good.”
Katelyn hasn’t gone to many NASCAR races this fall because son Owen is more interested in baseball than racing these days. So she ends up watching many of the races on the couch instead of in person.
That means when moments happen like standing on the championship stage with Jeff Gordon, the Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman, and hearing him jokingly chide Larson for breaking his records, it all just leaves Katelyn shaking her head.
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“He’s like, ‘Gosh, you’re beating my records. Stop it,'” she said. “And I’m like, ‘This is weird.’ It’s amazing — but it’s weird.”
(Top photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
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