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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 24: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 24, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 24: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 24, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Kyle Larson has frequently participated in racing series outside of NASCAR too. Of course, he famously boycotted the Chilli Bowl. But there was one time when he refused to split the winnings with other drivers.
Well, it wasn’t fair for him to split the money, either.
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Larson recalled an old incident as a young racer, going from city to city to race. But this was one time when the people racing were so few that the drivers felt like it’s a good idea to split the pot.
The driver detailed the incident, “I remember my dad had called up and was like, hey, there’s a there’s a race in Florence. Illinois or something. I don’t even know where it was, really. We’re like. All right, we’ll go try and hit that.”
He added, “We get to the track. And pull it to the pit gate. And go get our pit pass. We’re like, oh, how many guys are here? And they’re like. Oh, yeah. There’s just one other car here.”
Well, there were just not enough people racing. So some of the drivers felt it was a good idea to split the winnings. Larson said, “There was four of us racing for I can’t remember how much it paid to win, but I remember we had a meeting and Schumann was like, oh, why don’t we just split the money and each kid and you, whatever it was, #400 or $500 apiece.”
And the 2021 Cup Series Champion hilariously declined to split it. Luckily, it turned out to be a good decision for him because he won! “I was like, no, I’m racing for the whole thing. And ended up winning.”
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Kyle Larson’s son lost confidence in him
It’s always difficult when your family lose confidence in you. But it seems like that’s exactly what happened with Larson.
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MARTINSVILLE, VA – OCTOBER 29: Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) talks with members of his crew during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Xfinity 500 on October 29, 2022 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In a 2019 interview, Larson revealed, “I don’t win that often, so he’s always – he’s lost confidence in me a little bit. He said it at least a couple of times since then, ‘Dad, I’m so glad you won’. It’s been a while since he’s been in Victory Lane. He was in a crappy mood in Victory Lane, so after the open, I saw him. I was like, ‘Man! You’re losing your voice’. He’s like, ‘My throat hurts’. So he was getting mad that his throat hurt, he’s had a sore throat since then. He’s scream out of nowhere, ‘My throat!‘”
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Well, at least he redeemed himself for his family!
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