Home/NASCAR
feature-image

via Getty

feature-image

via Getty

Kyle Larson has been one of the trailblazers of stock car racing since he entered the scene in the early 2010s. But stock car racing alone has not been a source of success and laurels for the 30-year-old. The Californian found a lot of success racing midget cars and sprint cars early on in his career.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

In 2011, Kyle Larson took the racing world by storm. He conquered the Eldora dirt tracks, and conquered in style – winning all 3 features of the USAC 4-Crown Nationals at the tracks. And how? Apparently by playing video games as preparation for the race.

In an interview in 2020, he was asked about that night “…Take me through that night because that’s gotta be one of the most historic things you’ve done to this point in your career.”

Larson answered, “Yeah, that’s definitely done the most for my career, that night for sure. Yeah, I’d never been, I’d been to Eldora one other time to watch non-wing sprint cars one night and the Outlaws the next night.”

“And yeah that weekend the Outlaws were before, but I mean I had no expectations other than – I felt like I would have a good chance at winning the midget race just because I was familiar with that car. Yeah, then the Solar Clown car, I ran it a handful of times. Just didn’t know what to expect.”

The Eldora night in Kyle Larson’s words

“But we won the midget race kind of like I thought we could. I knew Bryan Clauson would be the one to beat. Then the Sprint Car race, I really had no business winning it. It just was like some debris out there or something. It was flattening everybody’s tires and I found myself in the top 5 with a handful of laps to go and found some things that worked for me and got to lead,” he told.

“Coming up the white flag up by Dave Darling and after that, I felt really good about one of the silver cars. I remember just standing in victory lane being like “it’s over, I got this”. And that’s been the most confident I have ever been in myself, that 50 laps kinda race was 50 laps of the most perfect laps I ever put in a race car. And yeah we were able to sweep it so yeah, that was something special.”

Read More: “Dad Was a Star But…” – Chase Elliott Snubbed Father for Tony Stewart Support for This Reason Before Taking Part in Kyle Larson Dominated Affair

The young Larson announced his arrival to the world in style, and the night was possibly one of the biggest reasons why he was quickly picked up for NASCAR. While his debut in the Cup Series came quite later, his 2021 Cup Series win was again a reminder of his quality.

No midget racing for Kyle Larson anymore?

In an interview from 2020, he expressed his experience with midget car racing. And his performances were good too, as he won 6 USAC National Midget races.

article-image

via Getty

Continuing that form, he also won the Super Bowl of Midget Racing, i.e. the Chili Bowl Nationals in 2020. It was his 13th attempt at the event and his first win of the trophy. But as per the latest developments, it is unlikely he will contest the race come 2023.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

He said to Racing America, “So, I’ve been going to the Chili Bowl for 15 years, it’s a great event and I love it. I’ve spent half of my life going there. But now that I’ve started racing in these other big events, against big names, and they just feel like a bigger deal to me than the Chili Bowl.”

“I just don’t see the race as one of the biggest ones like I used to because it hasn’t grown like other big races have. I want to see it grow for the betterment of the teams who have put so much into making it a really special week. I’m just at the point where I want to see the purse grow a lot. So, for the time being, and unless that happens, I won’t be running it this year and I know there are a lot of racers that feel the same way.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch This Story: Denny Hamlin Has A One-Word Answer To ‘Why Is Kyle Busch Hated’ Question By Danica Patrick

From winning the Golden Driller for the first time in 2020 to now citing purse issues – Larson’s relationship with the Chili Bowl has unraveled very quickly. Will we see him return back once again? Let us know in the comment section.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT