"I was that kid once”: $12M NASCAR star Kyle Larson shares heartwarming reason on why he stays back to sign everybody’s autograph 

Kyle Larson recently shared why he often stays behind after races to sign autographs for fans and children. Inspired by drivers like Tony Stewart, who were known for their generosity with fans, Larson explained that he had once been that same excited kid and thus feels guilty turning away from the enthusiastic crowd.

Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet driver Kyle Larson, who is worth $12 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth), is currently the top seed in this year’s NASCAR Cup Series. The 27-time race winner secured his first championship in 2021 in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway.

In an interview with The Teardown hosts Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, Larson was asked why he usually stays in the pits to sign autographs, which can sometimes take up to two hours.

“I think a lot of those fans and kids especially, you know, are there to see me and hopefully get the chance to meet me and I feel like once I start signing, I have to sign for everybody. I would feel bad turning away from somebody,” Larson said in response.

While there have been race weekends where he needed to leave, the 32-year-old driver noted that this is not typically the case.

“And there’s been a few times that throughout the year in the Sprint car, you know, I have had to like leave right after the race. But majority of the time, I would say 90% of the time, I stay there and I’ll sign for every single last person,” he added.

The HMS driver concluded by saying:

“I don’t know, I guess I was that kid, trying to get Steve Kinser and Tony Stewart or Kasey Kahne’s autograph. They were always generous with their time so, you know, I need to be generous with mine.”

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Kyle Larson’s teammate wanted to sell his signed sprint car throwback photo on eBay

During the recent NASCAR Playoff Media Day, Kyle Larson's teammate, Alex Bowman, requested that Larson sign a photo of him from his junior sprint car days to sell on eBay. Bowman, who drives the HMS No. 48 Camaro, drew a mustache on the photo from a fan before asking for Larson's autograph.

“Personalize it. I wanna sell it on eBay,” Bowman said.

Larson, who was doing a photo shoot at that time, personalized the throwback photo by writing, “To my biggest fan, Alex.” He also asked his teammate to frame the photo and thanked him for coming up for an autograph.

Both Chevy drivers, along with their two other teammates, William Byron and Chase Elliot, are locked in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. All four HMS drivers secured at least one win during the regular season, with Larson claiming four victories in Las Vegas, Kansas, Sonoma, and Indianapolis - the highest number of wins by any driver this year.

Larson finished last Sunday's first postseason race with a DNF, while Bowman delivered the North Carolina-based team's best finish of the day with a fifth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The second race of the Round of 16 will be held at Watkins Glen International on September 15.