Kyle Larson and his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team hope to defend their NASCAR Cup Series championship. (Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
Kyle Larson’s championship defense has been arduous but character building throughout the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
However, the 30-year-old Elk Grove, California native has found some of his groove that resulted in last year’s 10-win Cup championship.
Earlier in the year, Larson and his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy Camaro team sought for consistency and comfort.
“Obviously, we want to be better but we haven’t been getting the finishes,” Larson said during the NASCAR at COTA race weekend in late March. “But our speed’s been there. So we’ve just got to keep working hard and the finishes will come and just try and keep our heads in the game.”
Generally speaking, Larson has found the speed while working toward minimizing mistakes. Although Larson placed responsibility on himself with shuffling out of a top 10 finish following last Sunday’s race at Talladega, he’s in position to advance into the Round of 8.
Following Larson’s first stint “In the Hot Seat” in March, he’s tallied nine more top fives and 14 top 10 finishes along with his win at Watkins Glen. As of press time, he ranks sixth in the Playoffs standings, 16 points behind Chase Elliott.
Larson enters the Charlotte ROVAL race weekend as the defending event winner. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
As Larson predicted prior to the start of the Round of 12, it’s been a frantic start after a ninth at Texas and 18th at Talladega.
“It’s a nerve wracking round, I think for everybody,” Larson said. “Texas can be an unknown type of track with strategies, tires and all that. And then yeah, Talladega, which is obviously a wild card and then even the ROVAL, too.
“So I definitely think it’s gonna take some luck to get through this round for everybody. But hopefully, our cars are fast enough and our team’s doing a good enough job, we can be good enough.”
If Larson and his team play their cards right, they may do more than advancing into the Round of 8. In this case, he may defend his Bank of America ROVAL 400 victory at Charlotte, a race that may have been the postseason turning point last year.
Recently, I caught up with Larson to get his thoughts on his team’s progress with the Next Gen, participating in USA’s Race for the Championship docuseries and his favorite school subject. Without further ado, let’s head back on the track and “In the Hot Seat with Kyle Larson!”
Rob Tiongson : Earlier this year, you guys were tackling a lot of issues with the Next Gen car. I think you were talking about the steering issues at COTA, which I hope has been resolved since then. But you guys have been competitive, battling for wins, top fives and top 10s.
How has this car brought you and your team closer together and try to really string it out with these guys given the closer competition?
All things considered, Larson is pleased with his team’s direction and efforts this year. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)q
Kyle Larson : Yeah, definitely. I think our team… I don’t really notice much difference. I feel like our team is always, our Hendrick Motorsports teams have always worked really well together.
I would say it’s no different. Maybe just our competition meetings are just a little bit longer. There’s talk about cars and upcoming stuff, but I feel like we’ve done a good job transitioning from last year’s cars to the Next Gen cars.
Tiongson : And one other thing that’s fine for you right now, obviously, it’s not that contract extension for 2026. Job security is always awesome thing no matter how good you are. But what’s it mean for you to have Hendrick Motorsports be your stock car home for the next four years and know you don’t have to worry about this for a while?
Larson : Yea, it’s great. It’s definitely nice, like you said, to have that security a little bit and know that you’re wanted somewhere. So I’ve enjoyed my time at Hendrick Motorsports. And I hope to be there long past 2026. I hope we can go win many more races and championships along the way.
Tiongson : One other thing I thought was really cool is that you’re taking part with USA’s Race for the Championship docuseries. You and your family were featured prominently in episode 1, which I really loved with the racecar number example. I tried to do that as a kid.
But from your perspective, how beneficial is this series to bring in new fans and also showcase that you’re not just a racecar driver but a father as well?
Aside from being a versatile racer, Larson is like most of the TPF audience – a proud parent. (Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
Larson : They’ve done a great job with the show. I feel like it does showcase the stressfulness of the racing side, but also what we’re into off the track.
So getting a good glimpse of all that for the race fans and good to realize that we’re all normal people just like they are.I’ve enjoyed watching the show and I hope the viewership is really good.
Tiongson : Absolutely. And I have to say Jeff Gluck asked a really good question earlier this year about handling adversity. Obviously, you’re really good at doing that.
What what advice would you share to people about having to handle the peaks and valleys of something competitive that they love?
Larson : I think everybody handles it differently. I try to never really put too much pressure on myself or others just because it’s hard to live with all that pressure. And yeah, when things aren’t going a certain way you may want it to, I think, for me, I just try to move on and forget about it and know that I’m trying my best.
And if things aren’t working out, I’ve got another race in front of me or whatever. It doesn’t have to be with racing. But just trying to move on quickly.
Tiongson : Would you say that one of those people who’s been a good inspiration for you to have this good attitude has been Vice Chairman, Jeff Gordon? I’m just curious what kind of advice he’s given to you since he’s taken on this role last year.
It may not be a bed of roses in 2022 for Larson, but he’s still in the championship picture with five races to go. (Photo: John Arndt | r/NASCAR)
Larson : Everything for me last year was great. So there wasn’t a lot of diversity, it seemed like, for us. But this year, yea. I mean, we’ve had quite a bit.
Being able to lean on all sorts of people like Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews, Chad Knaus, Cliff Daniels, especially, they’re all great leaders and have experienced a lot. Me, being a much younger guy than a lot of them, they can definitely teach us all a lot.
Tiongson : For sure! You and your son Owen have been sharing a great passion for racing. And I think you guys have partaken in that Christopher Bell showdown at the short track. What’s some of the rewards and challenges of being a father and having this passion with the two of you?
Larson : It’s fun. It is a lot of fun. It’s also frustrating at times just because, I feel like me, I think, you know, being a racecar driver, I know what I would do, and I know how to do it and how to not make the mistake.It’s hard to teach a seven year old and have patience doing it. (laughs)
So I’m probably not the best coach. I probably don’t do a good enough job of making it fun sometimes. But he loves it. He does a good job and he continues to get better.
He doesn’t race all that much compared to a lot of his friends. So I feel like he does a really good job for the experience that he has.
Tiongson : He’s got a good father to teach him. So don’t cut yourself too short on that.
Let’s just say that you have Marty McFly’s DeLorean Time Machine, right? What time and place would you go to and why?
Larson : I would honestly like to go back to Owen’s age when I was just getting started racing. Experiencing that from my shoes again cause those were some of the most fun times ever, I think as a child, racing with your buddies who are still a lot of my best friends today. So I think that would be fun to experience that again.
Tiongson : My last question for you is about school. School has kicked off again. I think Owen’s home schooled, right? So, it’s a little different from you, I imagine. What was your favorite school subject growing up, if you had any, and why was it your favorite subject?
Larson’s favorite class may have you surprised. (Photo: Blake Ulino | The Podium Finish)
Larson : I didn’t have too many favorite subjects. (chuckles) Probably just, I like the extra curricular kind of classes that you can handpick.
So I would always take a computer class. We would make a website. We make a little video games and stuff like that. I enjoyed that. It was fun.
Tiongson : Maybe after racing, would you want to be a video game designer?
Larson : No, that was back when I was 14. So I’ve forgotten all that and I’m sure it’s way more complicated. I mean, we were making the game Snake. Python.
So I don’t know. It’s the one where you would chase the dot around and try not to run into yourself. (laughs) So, yeah. I would not be into that.
Editor’s Notes
Special thanks to Kyle for taking the time during the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for his latest interview here on TPF! Also, special thanks to Jon Edwards of Hendrick Motorsports for his assistance and support with this interview.
Look for more content about Kyle on TPF as we follow along with his championship defense. Also, follow his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and his official website!
Lastly, this interview has been edited for clarity. Look for the podcast and video versions of this interview to be released in the coming days!
