More Cup Series drivers are participating in dirt races this season than ever before, discarding their reluctance to try this racing discipline. And Kyle Larson, who has raced on dirt tracks more than any other current NASCAR driver, deserves the credit for inspiring his fellow competitors.
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The Hendrick Motorsports icon was the one who first proved that a driver can handle more in a week, in addition to their Sunday racetrack duty. And drivers benefit from the dirt outings as well.
It was on dirt tracks that Larson shaped himself into the current well-rounded racer he is. It’s intriguing, though, that people began to seriously consider him as a contender in Sprint Cars only after he joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2021. Why so?
The biggest reason is that his Cup Series performances with his former team, Chip Ganassi Racing, were not up to the mark. This also created an impression that his pursuits on the dirt track were distracting him from his primary duties as a racer in the top tier. Of course, he never had a performing car either.
“I loved my time at Ganassi, but we just didn’t have the equipment on Sundays to really showcase that the dirt racing wasn’t hindering me,” Larson told NASCAR.com in an interview.
“So, I think there was always that conversation that, ‘Oh! Kyle Larson isn’t focused enough. He needs to put all his eggs into one basket, and you know this dirt racing extracurricular stuff is hurting him on Sundays’,” added the 2021 Cup Series champion.
The narrative flipped when he got to the Hendrick camp and began racing with better equipment. He started winning races, and people began fawning over his incredible work ethic and unparalleled skill levels.
The No. 5 driver finds it all rather amusing now. But Larson is also happy that he played a role in getting other drivers into dirt racing.
How Larson has balanced his NASCAR and dirt racing careers
Since 2021, Larson has secured 19 wins in the Cup Series. He won the 2021 championship and is regarded as one of the best racers in NASCAR right now.
He has won crown jewel events such as the Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500 alongside other significant achievements. There are very few boxes left for Larson to tick in stock car racing.
He hasn’t taken his focus off dirt tracks either. Larson won the Knoxville Nationals thrice in 2021, 2023, and 2024. In January 2025, he won his third Chili Bowl Nationals to add to the consecutive events he won in 2020 and 2021.
Larson entered unprecedented territory in 2022 when he co-founded the High Limit Racing Series along with Brad Sweet. The World of Outlaws competitor is quickly growing to be the most followed sprint car racing series.
Larson is indeed setting the bar high for future generations, not just with his exploits on the track but also with other enterprises in the sport.
