Why Kyle Larson Still Sticks to Dirt Roots Despite NASCAR Stardom
Kyle Larson is not one of those celebrities in NASCAR who ignores the fans and walks away, leaving them waiting and disappointed with their uncapped pens. Rather, he does his absolute best and gives out autographs whenever possible. Surely, it gets a little overwhelming at times but the HMS star feels like it’s important to stay close to his fans and the root cause of this mentality dates back to his childhood days, when Larson was merely a little race fan, always doting on his favorite drivers.
“I remember being a kid, going to the pit area and wanting autographs from drivers and stuff,” he recently recalled. “They always took the time for me, so I try my best to take my time for every fan that stops by my hauler.”
Catering to the demands of every fan is indeed difficult, especially considering how famous the Elk Grove native is. There are times when Larson is there for 20 minutes; sometimes he is there for as long as two hours, just signing fan merchandise. Nevertheless, the #5 driver admitted that he enjoys it thoroughly.
“I enjoy feeling like I’m making an impact on the event and the promotion and just the sport in general. It’s cool, it gets overwhelming during the night sometimes but I try my best for sure,” he smiled.
Could this year’s race at Richmond be a 2023 repeat for Kyle Larson?
Kyle Larson emerged victorious in the first race on last year’s Cup Series schedule at Richmond and looking at how fast he was this year at practice, he appears to be in contention of bagging the win yet again at the 0.75-mile short-track. Running in the first 20-minute session, the 2021 Cup Series champion flaunted an average lap speed of a blistering 121.332 mph.
Surprisingly, it’s not something he had expected. “It’s a tough place for me, so I don’t ever really come here with the highest of expectations, more so just because of me,” he said as per Motorsport. However, what Larson did while running the qualifying laps speaks evidently of the fact that Larson was just being humble.
Good day for the 5 team. Pole at Richmond! pic.twitter.com/oeeAPXIzjJ
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) March 30, 2024
Larson snatched the 17th career Cup pole and also his first of this season. He will be leading the field on race day, followed by teammate Chase Elliott, who qualified second with a lap of 120.321 mph.
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![The RCR team had a challenging day during the third race of the Cup season. Although Kyle Busch crossed the finish line in 5th place and had been a frontrunner, having led for 43 laps, the disappointing 35th-place finish of Austin Dillon only compounded the team's frustrating results. While Busch maintained his composure, Dillon was visibly upset with the on-track incident involving Denny Hamlin. During the race at Circuit of the Americas, on lap 78, Austin Dillon and Denny Hamlin were vying for the P20 position when Hamlin, after locking his #11 Toyota's tires, unexpectedly collided with the driver's side of Dillon's #3 car, hurtling it into the gravel and triggering a caution. Television replays captured a trail of dust from the Joe Gibbs Racing car just moments before it seemingly lost braking power and instigated the crash. However, the situation escalated when NASCAR shared the video of the incident with the caption, "The Nos. 3 and 11 make contact and the yellow flag flies." Unable to contain his frustration, Dillon responded sharply, "Correction. The No. 11 made contact with the No. 3." The sentiment among fans largely favored Dillon's perspective. One spectator commented, "And then his teammate wins. They knew what they were doing!" while another lamented, "Sadly if this didn't happen there a good chance @KyleBusch could have won today." Yet another chimed in, "Yep! Always cover Gibbs/Toyota/Hamlin. It’s all headline semantics. He drove into your side, video supports no attempt to steer away." Due to the caution, Bell was able to have fresher tires, which helped him pass Busch with five laps remaining. Otherwise, the old tires would have most likely slowed down the #20 car. That's why the fans blamed Hamlin for instigating a deliberate wreck that helped Bell to outpace the #8 RCR driver. However, one fan referenced a past incident to needle Dillon, recalling when he maneuvered the #11 driver into the wall at Richmond last year to secure his playoff position [which ultimately did not pan out due to NASCAR's decision], remarking, "Remember when you right rear hooked the 11 into the wall to win?" Nevertheless, the replay footage seemed to clearly show it was Hamlin who initiated the collision with the #3 driver. Dillon's frustration was quite visible during his post-race interview as well, where he expressed, "Our car handled well, and we were just trying to be patient until the end. With 18 laps to go, we were running inside the top 20, and the #11 locked up his front tires and wiped us out." "My team did a great job trying to make the repairs, but the damage in the rear was too much to fix, and we had to go to the garage." He voiced disappointment on behalf of his RCR team, lamenting that they had a car capable of finishing in the top 15, and it was unfortunate they couldn't demonstrate the same at COTA. Nevertheless, Dillon appeared optimistic about the upcoming race in Phoenix, hinting at a rebound from the setback.](https://thesportsrush.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/d8fc8a02-austin-dillon-300x300.png)
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