"I'm excited to make this change": When Kyle Larson took charge as sole owner of his sprint car team

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson formerly co-owned a Sprint Cars team with Justin Marks. The team was named Larson Marks Racing and was founded in 2013. However, in 2017, Larson took full control of the team and became the sole owner, while keeping Justin Marks in an advisory role at the team.

The team was renamed to Kyle Larson Racing after the NASCAR driver took over as the sole owner. The team participated in Sprint car championships and midget racing, but was unfortunately shut down in 2020. The No. 5 HMS driver announced midway through 2020 that he'd be shutting the team down after the season following financial struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Syndication: DesMoines - Source: Imagn

Nonetheless, Kyle Larson was proud to take full ownership of the team in 2017 and came out to detail his expectations from the same. Former owner Justin Marks said he was waiting for a time when Larson would be fully capable of managing a team by himself and that time came in 2017.

Speaking about becoming the sole owner, Kyle Larson said in December 2017 (via World of Outlaws):

“I am excited to make this change and take over the reins of the sprint car team. We have been very successful the past four seasons and it has been great working with Justin, Shane and all of the guys at LMR. It was always the plan for me to move to the forefront of our ownership group and the time is right to make this a natural step.”

“Justin has taught me a lot about what it takes to be an owner. He has displayed great leadership and made this team to what it is today. I look forward to his continued involvement in our team.”

The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver had also brought in Paul Silva as the General Manager of the team as Marks moved into an advisory role. During the seven operational years, KLR won over 40 races in a multitude of dirt racing championships. Larson himself is a sprint car veteran and raced for his team during its operational years.

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Kyle Larson reflects on the shaky start to the 2025 Cup Series season

Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson had a rollercoaster start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, finishing P20 at Daytona, then a podium at Atlanta followed by a poor result at COTA. He had a podium at Phoenix Raceway and a Top 10 result at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Larson reflected on the lack of consistency and the absence of wins at the start of the season. He said (via a pre-race interview at Las Vegas Motor Speedway via 'Cup Scene' YouTube channel):

“I just feel like we haven’t had consistency really to start, whether that be kind of everything coming together. So I’m hoping that this week, a track that we have success at in the past, you know, we can kind of put it all together and have a solid weekend. And then go to another track next week where I’m really confident at and try and just put a few good races in a row together.” (5:10 onwards)

Kyle Larson currently sits P6 in the Cup Series championship with 152 points to his name.