“Proud” Kyle Larson makes his feelings known about son Owen’s Tulsa Shootout debut

Former Chili Bowl winner Kyle Larson walked out feeling proud of his son Owen's performance at the 2025 Tulsa Shootout. Owen Larson made his Tulsa Shootout debut this past week.

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle's 10-year-old son Owen competed at the Junior Sprints. Owen was among the other prominent names competing in the feature alongside the likes of Kyle Busch's son Brexton and Kelley Earnhardt's son Wyatt.

Both Owen and Wyatt fell short of the gold in the final race, as it was pole-sitter Brexton who emerged victorious for the first time at the prestigious event. Owen finished sixth in the race position. Nonetheless, Larson was a proud father post the event. Taking to his X handle, the 32-year-old driver wrote:

"Proud of Owen for competing in his first @TulsaShootout."

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson was also actively competing in the Tulsa Shootout. In the non-wing outlaw feature, he faced stiff competition from Christopher Bell in an electrifying 55-lap race.

The battle for the Golden Driller came down to the wire, with Bell maintaining a slight advantage over Larson. Despite Larson’s last-lap effort, which saw him closing in on Bell’s rear bumper, Bell executed a high-speed maneuver off Turn 4 to secure a photo-finish win.

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Kyle Larson wins two events in Tulsa to kick off 2025

Despite losing to Christopher Bell in the non-wing outlaw feature, Kyle Larson didn’t leave Tulsa empty-handed. He claimed two Golden Driller trophies, securing victories in the outlaw winged feature and the winged micro sprint A-main.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver's win in the winged outlaw was significant, as he dominated the race from the start. After securing an early lead, he held off fierce competition from TJ Smith to clinch the victory. In a post-race interview, Larson credited his tactical decisions for his success. He said (via TobyChristie):

"Thankfully, with TJ missing the bottom on the first lap, I was able to get by and kind of plug away. I thought I slipped too much early, so I went to the top and the caution came out and I could see Owen telling me to get back to the bottom, so I didn’t really know what to do."

Emerson Axsom finished the race second, followed by Daison Pursley in third. Thomas Kunsman, Jr. was in fourth position, meanwhile, TJ Smith, despite an early challenge, settled for fifth after losing control in the final corner.

Following the event at Tulsa Expo Raceway, Larson is now set to participate in the Chili Bowl race on January 8 at the same venue.