‘I Would Have Cried’: Kyle Larson Shares Emotional Moment After Daughter Audrey’s First Racing Victory

Neha Dwivedi | 11/09/2025
Kyle Larson with children Cooper Larson (left), Owen Larson (center) and Audrey Larson during the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

While Kyle Larson battles through the playoffs, sharpening his results after Darlington and Gateway and now eyeing Bristol to close the Round of 16 on a high note, his children are not far off the racing line. His son Owen already showed the makings of a driver cut from his father’s cloth, and now even his seven-year-old daughter Audrey has joined the fray. She recently claimed her first career win at Millbridge, the 1/6-mile dirt oval in Salisbury, North Carolina.

It was the same track where Owen celebrated his maiden victory, and Larson, seeing his daughter follow in those footsteps, brought him close to tears. Audrey’s triumph came in Millbridge’s “Cadet” division, the entry-level outlaw kart class. Larson admitted he didn’t tear up right away, but later had a moment with her that nearly opened the floodgates.

On a Zoom teleconference, Larson said, “It was really cool. Obviously, you don’t ever forget a first win. I remember being at Millbridge for (son) Owen’s first win, and then lucky enough to be able to be there for Audrey’s first-ever win as well last night.

“It was really neat. She’s been doing a really good job. She’s only been racing for about a year and she’s really competitive, and she’s driven and works at it.”

 

“It was a cool moment for sure. You could see she was happy, and she was getting choked up a little bit in her interviews, so it was cool… I had moments, and then when she told me that she was getting ready to cry afterwards in the trailer, that’s probably when I mostly got choked up,” Larson confessed.

He said he was the typical dad with his phone up, video-taping the race. He said, maybe, “If I’d had my phone down and I really was absorbing the moment, I probably would have cried.” Feeling overwhelmed, he admitted, “She’s my only daughter, so she’s got a soft spot in my heart.”

Larson added that both Audrey and Owen compete consistently, but he isn’t yet ready to devote the kind of time that fellow racing dads Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick pour into their children’s programs. Still, he noted Audrey may already have the sharper competitive edge compared to her older brother.

Post Edited By: Abhishek Ramesh
Audrey Larson Kyle Larson

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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