Kyle Larson made the most of his trip to Kansas by taking a brief detour to visit the Kansas City Chiefs before the second race of the Round of 12. With Patrick Mahomes steering the offense and Andy Reid calling the shots, the Chiefs have hoisted three Lombardi Trophies in the Mahomes era.
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A devoted NFL fan, Larson relished the chance to see how a championship-caliber team prepares behind closed doors.
Reflecting on what he witnessed, Larson admitted the visit opened his eyes. “Well, I think what I didn’t quite realize, just being a casual fan of football, was how much work it actually is. I just look at big buff football players, and I’m like, ‘Oh, they just probably have a couple meetings during the week, a couple practices, and just lift and get big and strong.”
He added, “But it sounds like their weeks are really long. There’s a lot of prep work; sounds like a lot of meetings. I would say by game day, they’re extremely prepared. So, that was really neat to see, and just how much effort goes into prepping for a single game. Like I said, that was just eye-opening and really cool to see. It’s neat to see the culture and leadership that goes on there, and it makes sense why they’re so successful.”
The appreciation wasn’t one-sided. The Chiefs shared photos on their official X (formerly Twitter) account showing Larson posing with Mahomes and Travis Kelce, as well as shaking hands with Reid
“We had a special visitor on site today! Thanks for stopping by, @KyleLarsonRacin , and good luck this weekend️,” the team captioned. Larson, in return, called it an honor to meet Mahomes and Kelce.
Interestingly, the connection that brought him to Arrowhead didn’t stem directly from the star players but from Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, a longtime Larson fan.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver explained that Veach had hosted him earlier in the season and arranged the return visit. This time, Larson also brought along his own crew chief, Cliff Daniels, as well as William Byron’s crew chief, Rudy Fugle, the latter being a diehard Chiefs supporter.
For Larson, the visit was more than just a morale boost as he managed to finish the race and bag a second consecutive top-10 in the playoffs after a disappointing first round. It now remains to be seen how well he can go at the always unpredictable Charlotte Roval this coming weekend as the Round of 12 closes out.
