Kyle Larson Unravels the Story of How He Convinced Rick Hendrick of the Unthinkable

Hendrick Motorsport’s Kyle Larson has a knack for racing in big events but interestingly NASCAR is not the only series he likes to race. Despite clinching the 2021 Cup Series with HMS, there is one thing that holds dear to Larson: dirt racing. HMS over the years has a reputation for keeping their racers within their hold and does not allow them to race in different series. Surprisingly, in the case of Kyle Larson, he did get a license from Mr. Hendrick himself to follow his passion for dirt racing along with Cup races. And now that story has been revealed.

Larson back in 2020 was fired from his team Chip Ganassi Racing for using a racial slur N-word in a virtual racing event. Having just raced for four races, he was out of a job at the premier stock car racing event. Little did he know at the time that Mr. Hendrick was a fan of his racing style and wanted to add him to this team. This came as a surprise for Larson for he was receiving flak for the incident. Soon, ‘Yung Money’, on the back of making a move to HMS, also managed to convince Mr. H to allow him to race dirt stuff.

Kyle Larson explains how he struck a deal with Mr. Hendrick

It was back in June when Larson received a call from Jeff Gordon who then set up a meeting with Mr. Hendrick in Charlotte. In the meeting where Mr. H aired the proposal to Larson to join his NASCAR team, Larson also put out his request to let him continue his passion for dirt racing. It’s not every day that a driver gets to negotiate with Mr. H but apparently, Larson was the lucky one.

Larson was on the show with Kenny Wallace on his YouTube show and he revealed how got his request approved by Mr. H. “Basically the conversation was going great and he said how he missed seeing me race in NASCAR, loves my style and would really love to have me on his team. At the end of it, he was like is there anything you want and I was really nervous… I was like, I would really love to keep racing this dirt stuff… I was expecting him to laugh at me or kind of get upset but thankfully he was all good with it.”

The 31-year-old also explained that Hendrick Motorsports wanted to change their brand. “You know Jeff stepped in kinda right away and said that they were changing brand in what they do with their drivers. So yeah never in a million years would I think that one, I would be racing at Hendrick Motorsports and two, while racing at HMS be able to run whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to.”

Read More: NASCAR News: Kyle Larson Reveals Harsh Reality of Rapidly Declining Cup Series Driver Payouts 

HMS’s No.5 is certainly not waiting for the February 4 weekend as he announced his surprise plans to race at Chili Bowl Nationals.

Trending

1

Fueled by Immeasurable Loss, Kyle Busch and Samantha’s Over $2 Million Donation Slowly Building the USA

2

Ex-NASCAR Champion & Motorsports Hall of Famer’s Death Leaves Racing World Mourning

3

NASCAR Champion Goes Above and Beyond With Ailing Wife’s Life-Threatening Disease

4

Kyle Busch & Wife Samantha Flaunts Easter Fits for ‘Modern’ Church Visit Long After Confessing Catholic Dilemma

5

Michael Waltrip Reignites His NASCAR Legacy Returning to Talladega in a Special Way

Larson makes a surprise entry at 2024 Chili Bowl Nationals

Justifying his agreement with HMS, the California native driver will be making a last-minute surprise entry at the Chili Bowl Nationals 2024. According to Flo Racing, Larson made a call to his former owner Keith Kunz, and asked if there was a chance for him to compete at the event. Kunz had a car available, and Larson soon booked his travel arrangements.

Expressing his excitement to be able to race at Chili Bowl, Larson took to X and wrote, “Excited to get to run with @KeithKunzagain. Hoping everything can go good for us on Thursday and can lock in so we’ll have a chance to get back on Saturday night after the @WildWShootout. That is my main priority this weekend folks so I will not miss any of the races with @k_rumleyat @VadoSpeedway.”

Having missed out on the 2023 event, Kyle Larson will be eager to compete at the Chili Bowl Nationals 2024.

Watch This Story – Sarcastic Kyle Larson takes a dig at Clint Bowyer’s infamous personality