Why Kyle Larson Still Sticks to Dirt Roots Despite NASCAR Stardom

Kyle Larson is not one of those celebrities in NASCAR who ignores the fans and walks away, leaving them waiting and disappointed with their uncapped pens. Rather, he does his absolute best and gives out autographs whenever possible. Surely, it gets a little overwhelming at times but the HMS star feels like it’s important to stay close to his fans and the root cause of this mentality dates back to his childhood days, when Larson was merely a little race fan, always doting on his favorite drivers.

“I remember being a kid, going to the pit area and wanting autographs from drivers and stuff,” he recently recalled. “They always took the time for me, so I try my best to take my time for every fan that stops by my hauler.”

Catering to the demands of every fan is indeed difficult, especially considering how famous the Elk Grove native is. There are times when Larson is there for 20 minutes; sometimes he is there for as long as two hours, just signing fan merchandise. Nevertheless, the #5 driver admitted that he enjoys it thoroughly.

“I enjoy feeling like I’m making an impact on the event and the promotion and just the sport in general. It’s cool, it gets overwhelming during the night sometimes but I try my best for sure,” he smiled.

Could this year’s race at Richmond be a 2023 repeat for Kyle Larson?

Kyle Larson emerged victorious in the first race on last year’s Cup Series schedule at Richmond and looking at how fast he was this year at practice, he appears to be in contention of bagging the win yet again at the 0.75-mile short-track. Running in the first 20-minute session, the 2021 Cup Series champion flaunted an average lap speed of a blistering 121.332 mph.

Surprisingly, it’s not something he had expected. “It’s a tough place for me, so I don’t ever really come here with the highest of expectations, more so just because of me,” he said as per Motorsport. However, what Larson did while running the qualifying laps speaks evidently of the fact that Larson was just being humble.

Larson snatched the 17th career Cup pole and also his first of this season. He will be leading the field on race day, followed by teammate Chase Elliott, who qualified second with a lap of 120.321 mph.