Kyle Larson’s kids have followed the familiar path carved by the sons of Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, dipping their toes into go-karts and the Junior Sprint ranks. Yet Larson refuses to play the hard-charging, hyper-hands-on racing dad.
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While other parents saturate their children’s days with lap times, coaching cues, and technical debriefs, Larson deliberately gives Owen, Audrey, and Cooper the space to find their footing at their own pace. In Larson’s world, childhood is not a development program.
That approach has led both kids to sample a variety of sports rather than lock into racing alone. Larson has shared that Owen leans toward baseball and flag football, preferring team dynamics over throttle work. Audrey, meanwhile, carries what Larson calls a fiercer competitive spark and has split her energy between chasing checkered flags and sharpening her hockey instincts. She seems just as comfortable gripping a stick as she is strapping into a kart.
“I would say I’m not as hands-on as who I guess I could compare myself to, like a Kyle Bush or Kevin Harvick or somebody like that,” Larson said in an interview with THE RACER. “They’re pretty hands-on and probably more intense with it than I would be. But I also think their kids are a little bit more intense with it, too. But… it’s fun to go there and see them enjoy it, have a good time, hopefully do a good job.”
For Larson, the joy lies in watching them enjoy the moment, find small improvements, and discover their own drive rather than inherit his.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver emphasized that the true source of pride comes from seeing them work hard at whatever they choose. With his children homeschooled while traveling, Larson sees motivation and memory-making as the real trophies. He wants them to collect experiences, not pressure. “Seeing them build memories that Larson knows they’ll have forever is always cool,” he said.
Larson’s philosophy stands in sharp contrast to the regimens shaping the sons of Busch and Harvick. For example, Rodney Childers recently detailed how Harvick has Keelan running every morning before school, instilling discipline with the same edge that defined Harvick’s career.
Feedback sessions often come with blunt honesty, mirroring the intensity that made the elder Harvick one of NASCAR’s fiercest competitors.
Larson doesn’t criticize that model but wants to choose another lane. While Busch and Harvick are preparing their children for the next rung on the racing ladder, Larson is committed to letting his kids choose whether that ladder is even theirs to climb.
If racing captures their hearts, he’ll back them fully. If life steers them elsewhere, he’ll stand in their corner just the same. To him, supporting their happiness outweighs shaping their racing instincts.
