“We didn’t say anything to Mom”: When Kyle Larson’s father revealed how their sneaky purchase sowed the seed for the HMS driver’s NASCAR glory

In 2021, Kyle Larson's father Mike pulled back the curtain on what laid the foundation of his son's glorious NASCAR career. The Elk Grove, California native didn't come from a racing background and tasted the adrenaline rush by chance, after seeing their neighbors visit the racetrack.

Larson is among the most versatile NASCAR drivers today and his resume is studded with noteworthy achievements. The 2021 Cup Series champion has clinched a Cup title, which includes 29 Cup wins. He also boasts three crown jewel race wins -2021 Coca-Cola 600, 2023 Southern 500, and 2024 Brickyard 400, to name a few. The 32-year-old's sprint car stats depict three Knoxville Nationals wins, two Chili Bowl Nationals triumphs, and more.

However, unlike many drivers, Larson didn't have a racing history and got his first shot after drawing inspiration from a "top Outlaw kart driver" neighbor. The desire to race was such that the father-son duo planned on buying a sprint car, but without letting Larson's mother Janet get wind of what the men of the house planned.

During Kyle Larson's maiden season at Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, his father Mike recalled how his sneaky kart purchase laid the foundation of his son's career.

“There was a kid in the neighborhood that lived just around the corner and he had been a successful top Outlaw kart driver. We knew their family for years. Kyle and I made the decision to buy that car; didn’t say anything to Mom. It was one of those ‘Let’s just keep this to ourselves and get the car home, and then we will deal with the apologies,’" Mike said (via HMS' official release).

It's worth mentioning that Larson's father invested $1200 (now approximately $2250) to build his son's first kart.

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"I tried to get him out there": When Kyle Larson's father revealed giving in to his son's stubborn demand for the Daytona 500

1994 marked the dawn of computer-based NASCAR racing games. Since its inception the virtual world has evolved drastically, providing a track-like experience nowadays, minus the hard to steer stock cars.

Kyle Larson was seemingly a video game buff. Despite Mike's unwavering efforts to have the HMS ace step out of the house and get physically "involved," he submitted to the budding driver's stubbornness for virtual racing.

“I tried to get him out there and tried to get him to go through it, but it would be usually, ‘Dad, I’ve got to run the DAYTONA 500. It’s coming up on the computer here soon.’ And I would be like, ‘Just get out of here, just go.’ That’s usually how it would go. I would try to get him out there, try to get him involved, but I ended up having to do it anyway because he couldn’t accomplish it," Kyle Larson's father said via HMS' website.

Eventually, Mike became inclined to let Kyle race on the computer, as according to the former, it helped his son get a hands-on experience of racing in the big leagues without butting heads about trying to make the driver do things the right way.

Today, Kyle Larson is one of the most sought-after drivers in NASCAR. Notably, had the knockout playoff format not been in the picture, the #5 Chevrolet driver might've had a shot at his second Cup Series title.