"Things I never thought he would be capable of": When Kyle Larson's father recalled his son's breakthrough moment

Mike Larson, father of Cup Series driver Kyle Larson, spoke about the moment when he realized that his son had the ability to be a successful racing car driver in 2021. NASCAR held a throwback event at the Darlington Raceway, where the #5 driver had his car painted to match the go-kart he joined the racing world to begin with.

In celebration of that homage to Larson's first racing vehicle, his father spoke about the driver's early days getting into the motorsport, as well as the time that he realized his son had the potential to become a NASCAR driver.

The senior Larson, in a piece by Hendrick Motorsports, talked about how it was in 2011 when the #5 driver was racing at the national level in open-wheel midget and sprint races, years after the father-son duo bought a go-kart from their neighbour for Kyle to begin racing, that he realized the talent of his child.

“He didn’t really in that season start off very hot, but by the time it hit mid-summer he was starting to win every big open-wheel midget race, Sprint car race, things that I never thought he would be capable of – and he was doing it that year just one right after another.

That was when I realized that he is that good. What everyone has been telling me, he is that good and he does that have the ability to take this who knows how far."

At the race at Darlington, where Kyle Larson sported his throwback livery, he ended up second, behind Martin Truex Jr. and ahead of Kyle Busch.

The 2021 season ended with Larson taking home the Cup Series Championship title, after he won 10 races, and achieved 20 top-fives and 26 Top 10 finishes that year.

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Kyle Larson's father believed that racing on the computer made his son a better driver

Kyle Larson (5) races with a throwback livery during the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, May 9th 2021 - Source: Imagn

In the above piece, Mike Larson also spoke about the distribution of work between the father-son duo, with the senior Larson ending up doing the mechanic work on the go-kart and the future HMS driver spending time racing on the computer inside the house.

While Kyle Larson's father believes that staying inside and virtual racing worked out for the driver, he wishes he could've helped him out more.

“It soon became, ‘He’s better off in there playing on the computer racing.’ And I honestly believe that that really helped him; he’s a better driver because he stayed in the house. … We were probably butting heads or it would have been frustrating to slow down to try and make sure he’s doing things the right way and all that.

Looking back, I think it all worked out the way that it should have, but there are times when I look back and I think I could have helped him.”

Over the course of his career in the NASCAR Cup Series, Larson has accumulated a total of 30 wins, which includes the win at last weekend's Homestead-Miami Speedway where the 32-year-old won by a margin of 1.205s.