The Larson name is synonymous with one thing – winning. Checkered flags, shot-gunned beers, and confetti on Victory Lane are the things we usually see when Kyle Larson is at a racetrack. Over the last few years, the Hendrick Motorsports driver won everything from a NASCAR Cup series title to the Knoxville Nationals. However, even such a legendary racer can harbor doubts about his life choices.

Larson has a son with his wife, Katelyn Sweet – Owen Larson. The 9-year-old kiddo is already a champ at sprint car racing events. He picked up victories both in 2023 and 2024 to prove his growing mettle. Yet Owen’s interest is not just in racing – leaving his father thinking about his own childhood.

Kyle Larson looks longingly at a ‘normal’ life

Well, the legendary racer has a big arsenal of trophies. For the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson clinched 6 race wins – double that of any of his competitors. He achieved this feat even while following an active dirt racing career alongside. Recently, Larson and his High Limit Racing people visited Perth Motorplex to compete in the biggest Australian sprint car event. He won Night 3 of the event and pocketed the largest check – $100,000 Australian, equivalent to $62,000 in the USA. Now his son Owen is all set to make his Tulsa Shootout debut, competing in the Restricted A-Class and Junior Sprints.

Yet he fondly regards his son’s off-racing interests. On an episode of ‘SpeedFreaks’ uploaded nine months ago, Kyle Larson reflected on the difference between him and his son. “Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, Owen’s 9 and he’s definitely not into racing as much as I was… At that age, all I cared about was racing. And it doesn’t upset me at all that he doesn’t like. He likes to race when he wants to race and all that. But I was racing video games all day long, playing with my race cars on the ground… He’s into other stuff, he’s into more sports like baseball, flag football, skating.” Yet Owen won his first race in May 2023, at the ‘Beginner Box Stock’ division. This year, he also won his first-ever junior sprint race at Coles County Speedway on June 14.

Instead of feeling sad about the disparity, Kyle Larson is actually glad. Moreover, he wished he could have a chance at a ‘normal’ childhood like Owen has. “If I could change something about my childhood and still know that I was going to be in the same position that I am right now, I would have experienced more normal kid things back then.” Then Larson shared how he will be content with Owen no matter which path he takes. “It doesn’t bother me that he’s not like obsessed with racing, because I don’t want him to feel like just because I do it, that he has to.” 

Larson on the other hand, had his arrows fixed from his adolescent years.

Understanding the assignment early

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Kyle Larson grew up in Elk Grove, California, about 20 miles southeast of Sacramento. His father Mike is a diehard fan of sprint car racing. So accordingly, Larson’s first steps in motorsports were in the same form of motorsport. At 8 years old, he started racing karts and became obsessed with the wheel. Only six years later, he was competing in national Midget and sprint car events and winning them as well. At 14 years of age, he won his first sprint car race on an accelerated curve. So there was a reason why his parents put him in bigger race cars against formidable rivals – because he could beat them.

Mike Larson recollected his and his wife Janet’s decision back in 2015. “He weighed about 75 pounds. He had a small build — still does. You could feel the whispers going around. ‘Are these people crazy?’ But it took only about a month, and he was already showing that he could compete.” Even the NASCAR greats noticed his talent. Three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart hailed him: “Kyle is me but a better me.” Xfinity veteran and TV commentator Kenny Wallace also said, “I truly believe that every 15 years God gives somebody a gift, whether it’s in golf with a guy like Tiger Woods or in racing with an A.J. Foyt. Kyle Larson has another one of those gifts.”

Evidently, people believed in Kyle Larson’s prodigal success. Although Owen Larson has not shown the same signs yet, his father believes in him no matter what.