Kyle Larson Driver Bio

Kyle Larson took the racing world by storm in 2011 – his first season competing on the national racing scene. He captured 22 major professional feature wins, including victories in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, all three United States Auto Club National Divisions and the American Sprint Car Series.

Larson gained international notoriety by sweeping the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway – winning in Midgets, Sprint Cars and Silver Crown cars in the same night. He was subsequently nominated for the 2011 SPEED TV Performer of the Year Award against some formidable competition – NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, Formula One champ Sebastian Vettel; MotoGP star Casey Stoner; Supercross/Motocross star Ryan Villopoto and his new Ganassi teammates IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series champion Scott Pruett.

As a Ganassi Racing development driver, Larson competed in the 2012 K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East) – one of NASCAR’s top developmental tours. He won the championship and was named Rookie of the Year.

In 2013, Larson was named Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the Xfinity Series after finishing eighth in overall points. He had 17 top 10s in his 33 starts, including a best finish of second place four times.

Larson drove in two Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series events, winning at Rockingham Speedway and running second to Austin Dillon at Eldora Speedway. He also made four Cup Series starts late in the season to help prepare for the 2014 campaign, in which he replaced Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing entry.

After finishing among the top 20 in points in his first two full seasons of Cup competition, Larson qualified for the 2016 playoffs on the strength of his first career Cup Series win, at Michigan International Speedway in August. He entered the post-season as the No. 10 seed and closed the year in ninth place in the final standings. Larson was eliminated from title contention following a 25th-place finish at Dover.

Larson’s smooth ride through the first seven months of the 2017 season was disrupted by turbulence over the last seven weeks, dashing his hopes for a championship.

Larson’s No. 42 team glided through the regular season, soaring to a No. 2 seed on the playoff grid thanks to four regular-season victories – a total matched only by eventual champion Martin Truex Jr.

But after surviving the first round of the playoffs, engine failure in the final race of Round 2 at Kansas Speedway saddled Larson with a 39th-place finish and eliminated him from title contention.

Larson made the Cup Series Playoffs for the third consecutive season in 2018 and finished ninth in the standings. Larson did not reach Victory Lane in the Cup Series in 2018, but did come close on multiple occasions with six of his 12 top fives being runner-up finishes. Overall, Larson finished with 19 top 10s and three poles. He also earned five stage wins and 251 stage points, which ranked eighth among all drivers.

In 2019, Kyle Larson ended a 75-race winless drought and finished sixth in the Cup Series standings. Larson, who accumulated eight top-five and seven top-10 finishes during the campaign, made it to the Round of 8 after winning at Dover in October.