Team owners in the Cup Series are largely hesitant to let their drivers participate in dirt races. This is out of the fear that they might hurt themselves in a way that would make it impossible for them to fulfill their NASCAR duties. Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson recently proved at Wisconsin how valid and reasonable this fear is.
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While competing in a World of Outlaws winged sprint car race at the Plymouth Dirt Track, Larson was involved in a horrific crash on the seventh lap of the 35-lap event. He was racing in second place at the time and trying to hunt down Rico Abreu for the lead. A wheel disconnected or broke as he entered Turn 1 at breakneck speed.
This immediately sent his car flying and slammed into the catch fence surrounding the track. Fortunately, Larson was able to climb out of his car without major injuries. Larson later told Dirt Vision, “I think the right rear axle or something broke, so it just kind of launched me, and I was along for the ride.”
“Bummer, but I felt really good pacing Rico there and just finally catching traffic and getting racing there. Glad I’m okay, big hit but all-in-all, feel fine,” he added.
If you saw the Kyle Larson flip from World of Outlaws race last night, Larson said his axle broke. He is fine. pic.twitter.com/GPAN1FQSvE
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 7, 2025
He is now at Michigan for the 15th round of the 2025 Cup Series season. Notably, his first Cup Series win came at Michigan back in 2016. With any luck, he’ll bounce back from the wreck and return to Victory Lane on Sunday.
Larson’s ability to recover from wrecks quickly
Larson secured his third victory of the season at Kansas last month. The win came in the aftermath of consecutive wrecks in an IndyCar Series practice session and a High Limit Racing Series race. When questioned how he managed to bounce back so quickly and win, he said, “I don’t know. Maybe I’ve hit stuff enough, I have a short memory. My memory has faded.”
He continued, “I do think it’s because I race a lot, I’m guessing. I would say that that’s a big part of me being able to move on quickly from things, whether it’s a good race or a bad race or a wreck or good result, bad result, whatever.” It remains to be seen if he will stay true to this character and achieve a notable result at Michigan.
