5 interesting facts about Kyle Larson that you should know

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson started racing at seven years old and has found success in both stock car and dirt track racing. The California native currently drives for Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series.

Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship in 2021 and has 29 wins in the series over 12 years. Here are five interesting facts about Larson that you should know about.

#1 Kyle Larson almost chose IndyCar over NASCAR

Kyle Larson once considered becoming an IndyCar driver because he found the cars cooler and liked their better development system. In his teens, he raced in open-wheel events like Silver Crown and Sprint Cars but switched to NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East in 2012 and never looked back.

Larson even tried "The Double" to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 this year. However, bad weather disrupted his plans. He will make a second attempt next year.

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#2 He has three consecutive Rookie of the Year awards in NASCAR

Kyle Larson poses with his Rookie of the Year trophy during the NASCAR Nationwide Series/Camping World Truck Series banquet on November 18, 2013 - Source: Getty

Larson won his first championship in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East by beating Corey LaJoie in 2012 and was named Rookie of the Year. He later earned the rookie award in the Xfinity Series in 2013 and the Cup Series in 2014.

In the IndyCar Series, he got the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year this year.

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#3 Married to World of Outlaws champion's sister

Kyle Larson with wife Katlyn, sons Cooper and Owen, and daughter Audrey - Source: Imagn

Kyle Larson is married to Katlyn Sweet, who is the sister of World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Brad Sweet. The couple got married in 2018 and has three children, Owen, Audrey, and Cooper Donald Larson.

Larson also owns a sprint car series, High Limit Racing, with his brother-in-law.

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#4 Prefers to fly commercial

Larson has said on multiple occasions that he likes to fly on commercial flights and collects credits instead of using private jets.

"I fly commercial a lot. I feel like every time you know I go to a dirt race or something and I do fly private you know here and there but I feel like fans think that we just fly private all the time," Larson said in September.

The 32-year-old prefers to save money when it comes to flying.

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#5 A junk food fan

Kyle Larson used to love junk food like pizza, tacos, and peanut butter pretzels. He even fainted during an autograph session in 2015 because of dehydration, and doctors recommended that he avoid junk food.

His former team's owner, Chip Ganassi, also told him to lay off the "pizza and tacos diet."