Kyle Larson is one of the most recognised and elite names in the world of NASCAR with regular appearances in the top five, so here is everything you need to know about him.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has competed in a range of cars throughout his career such as dirt car racing and IMSA plus the NASCAR Cup Series and World Truck Series.
Larson won his first and to date only Cup Series title in 2021 in his first year with Hendrick, having been at Chip Ganassi Racing for the previous seven seasons and has appeared in the NASCAR playoffs from 2016-2019 and 2021-2023.
In 2024, Larson broke the record for the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history, as well as competing in IndyCar at the Indianapolis 500 with Arrow McLaren.
Kyle Larson won his maiden Cup Series title in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports
After an impressive junior career, Larson won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title at the first attempt in 2012 before moving over to the Cup Series in 2013, competing in four of the last five races with Phoenix Racing.
Larson would go full-time in the series a year later with Chip Ganassi Racing, where he would achieve eight top-five finishes, 16 top-10s and a career-best finish of second at the Auto Club Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. He finished 17th overall in the standings and earned the Rookie of the Year award.
A disappointing 2015 campaign left him 19th overall but in 2016, Larson made his first appearance in the All-Star Race and was leading after the final restart, but was caught by Joey Lugano and hit the wall with two laps to go, leaving him 16th. He won his first-ever Cup Series race that season at Michigan.
Larson took it up a gear in 2017 as he followed up a 12th place at the season-opening Daytona 500 with three consecutive second-place finishes and the second win of his career at Auto Club Speedway. The American won two more races that year to finish eighth in the standings; his best result up to that point.
Despite going winless in 2018, his consistency with five second-place finishes, eight top fives and 13 top tens earned him a spot in the playoffs and finished the season ninth, the highest winless driver that season.
Larson ended a streak of 75 races without victory at the Drydene 400 to advance him to the Round of Eight of the 2019 playoffs, but could not progress to the Championship Four and finished sixth in the standings, his career-best up to that point.
On April 13, 2020, Larson was suspended by Chip Ganassi Racing and NASCAR for using a racial slur in an iRacing event the day before and was ordered to complete sensitivity training before he was allowed to race again. The following day, he was fired by CGR and replaced by Matt Kenseth for the remainder of the season.
Hendrick Motorsports signed Larson in October 2020 for the 2021 Cup Series campaign on a multi-year deal after his rehabilitation. The American had his competition privileges reinstated and set out to redeem himself.
The season would prove to be a phenomenal year as he claimed the title at the final race at Phoenix in what was his 10th win of the season, becoming the first driver to win the championship and 10 races in a season since Jimmie Johnson in 2007. Larson also finished the year with 18 stage wins, 20 top-fives, 26 top-10s and led 2,581 laps.
Larson broke the record for the closest Cup Series finish in 2024
Larson was unable to defend his title in 2022 as he finished seventh overall in the standings with three wins and in 2023, he finished the runner-up to Ryan Blaney by just one point after the season finale at Pheonix.
Starting the 2024 campaign with 11th at the Daytona 500, Larson grabbed his first win of the season at Las Vegas after he held off Tyler Reddick.
His second win of the year would come at Kansas at the expense of Chris Buescher by a margin just one-thousandth of a second, making it the closest finish in the history of the Cup Series, beating a margin of 0.002 seconds set by both Ricky Craven in 2003 and Johnson in 2011.
Despite missing the Coke 600 race, Larson was granted a waiver to maintain his eligibility for the playoffs and won his third race of the year at Sonoma, equalling Dale Earnhardt Jr and Fred Lorenzen for 26 career wins.
So, with that in mind, here is everything you need to know about NASCAR star Larson…
How old is Kyle Larson? Where was he born?
Larson is 32 years old, and was born in Elk Grove, California on July 31, 1992.
How tall is Kyle Larson? What is his height in feet?
Larson stands at 5’6, measuring at 168cm.
Is Kyle Larson married? Who is his wife?
Larson married Katelyn Sweet in 2018 and they have three children together; Owen, Audrey and Cooper.
Kyle Larson’s net worth
Larson’s net worth is estimated to be around $12 million, or £9.4 million.
Kyle Larson’s NASCAR Cup Series career stats
As of the end of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship, Larson has produced an extensive winning record throughout his career.
NASCAR titles: 1
NASCAR race entries: 365
NASCAR wins: 29
NASCAR poles: 21
NASCAR top fives: 119
NASCAR top 10s: 182