Getty Kyle Larson races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson is considered by most to be one of the best drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Heading into the 2024 season, his 11th full-time, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has crafted an impressive resume, including 23 wins and the 2021 championship.
Based on the history of past drivers, the 31-year-old has plenty more NASCAR accolades to come with at least another decade of competition ahead of him.
Not according to Larson.
The driver sat down with Kenny Wallace for an interview on his YouTube channel, where they talked about his future and he offered a surprising response when asked if he planned on following others like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Clint Bowyer, all who retired around age 42.
“It’s hard to say when you’re in it,” Larson admitted. “Sitting here right now, I don’t see myself going to 40. But that’s not me retiring from racing. I think I’m different than others.
“Like Kevin (Harvick), he’s retiring, not maybe from full-time racing, but he’s got a plan to go into the booth and all that. A lot of these drivers, too, I don’t think they meant to be done at 42. I just think they kind of got pushed out of the sport a little bit with young drivers coming up who could be paid a lot less than what they’re making. Stuff like that.
“But for me, going back to what we talked about earlier in the show, there’s a lot of stuff that I want to accomplish while I’m still in my prime. I’m 31 right now. I’m going into my 11th season in the Cup Series. So I’ve already been in it for a while.
“So in my eyes, if I could race another seven or eight years, I can earn a lot of money. I can set myself up really well and I can go still be in my prime hopefully and go compete for career dirt series championship. And High Limit has hopefully taken off by then and that’s hopefully the premier series and try and win a championship there. Try and win a championship in whatever the big late model series is. Stuff like that while I’m still young.”
Kyle Larson Is Different From Other Drivers
Kyle Larson pointed out that he is different from other drivers. He is. He’s proven it for years with his ability to successfully compete in various mid-week races on different style of tracks and different surfaces.
The 2021 season provided the perfect example when he won a staggering 10 Cup races while also dominating outside of NASCAR, winning the Chili Bowl and the two biggest sprint car races of the year in the Knoxville Nationals and Kings Royal, and the BC39 Midget Classic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
BREAKING — Kyle Larson wins the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship 🏆
◻️ 10 Cup Series race wins
◻️ All-Star Race
◻️ Chili Bowl
◻️ Knoxville Nationals
◻️ Kings Royal
◻️ Cup Series champion
More recently, Larson answered any questions about his passion for racing outside of NASCAR in 2023 when he launched High Limits Racing, a 410 winged sprint car series, with brother-in-law and five-time World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet. In 2024, the series is expanding and will host 60 races across the nation with an impressive $5.8 million in prize money.
Kyle Larson Addresses Fans Who Question His NASCAR Loyalty
While it’s understandable that Larson would want to compete in his own racing series as much as possible, later during that same interview with Wallace, he offered clarification on retirement and addressed those fans who might question his loyalty to NASCAR.
“I don’t want people to get spun out about it,” Larson said. “I’m not saying I’m retiring at 30-whatever. I love racing in NASCAR. I would not be racing in NASCAR if I didn’t love it. I think a lot of race fans feel that I don’t like racing in NASCAR, and I’m just doing it to make money and then I’m going to retire and all that.
“I would have done that a long time ago. If I didn’t love what I’m doing and love racing in NASCAR and competing for wins and racing for the best team in the sport. I love, absolutely love, what I’m doing right now. And who knows, if I’m still loving it in eight years, or whatever, I could still go race NASCAR. Your life changes. Who knows? I could be in NASCAR until I’m 50.”
That won’t happen, but it’s fun to imagine if it did and how many races and championships he might have. Regardless of when Larson does decide to eventually step away, he’ll still go down as one of the greatest drivers to ever strap in behind the wheel in NASCAR circles and beyond.