Kyle Larson Earns Yet Another Prestigious Award Ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Season

As the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, a lot has been going right for Kyle Larson. Now, the latest news is that he is the recipient of the Al Holbert Memorial National Driver of the Year honor. It is also worth mentioning that this is the second year in succession that he earned this particular Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) award.

On another interesting note, Larson is only the second driver to receive the honor for two consecutive years. The other person to achieve this feat was World of Outlaws driver Donny Schatz in 2014 and 2015. Admittedly, he did deserve the accolade, based on how his 2021 season played out. To be precise, he clinched a series-leading 10 Cup events and the NASCAR All-Star Race. In addition to that, he seized victory in 22 dirt races across the country.

Kyle Larson was thrilled to win this award

“It’s a really cool honor to win this award in back-to-back seasons,” Larson said. “The past two years I’ve been fortunate to win a lot of races and my first Cup championship in 2021.”

Larson staved off competition from a number of other talented drivers across different disciplines. As per the EMPA’s member votes, he won by a pretty wide margin over his nearest competitor. Other candidates included late model racer Brandon Overton, reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou and NHRA’s John Force. Additionally, he also defeated his brother-in-law, and World of Outlaws racer, Brad Sweet.

Now, the Hendrick Motorsports driver will be looking forward to the upcoming test at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Following that test, and the test at the Daytona International Speedway, the sport will decide the rules package. Post that, he will begin his quest to try to defend his Cup Series title. It will be interesting to see how his title defense pans out.

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