Career
The Career of Kyle Larson – Past, Present and Future
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Kyle Larson was born into a racing environment as his family has been racing fans for decades. Kyle attended nearly 250 auto races in person in his first seven years. He began practicing his driving at the age of 4 on a 3-horse power fun kart, playing on a small dirt oval. He has many acquaintances in the sport: race car owners, drivers and mechanics and he thoroughly understands the sport and what it takes to succeed as a driver and sponsor representative.
At the age of seven he began his career on November 13, 1999 at The Red Bluff Outlaws Winter Indoor Series. He started in what is called the Beginner Box Stock division, which featured a restricted power 5 hp Briggs and Stratton engine. In the Beginner Box Stock division he steadily climbed the point standings to an eventual 7th place finish – noteworthy considering he missed the first three of the 12 point races.
March 2000 saw Kyle move out of the Beginner Class into the Open Box Stock division (no restricted engine) at Cycleland Speedway outside of Chico, California. Moving to the high-speed 1/6-mile track, where speeds approached 60 mph, Kyle’s talents began to shine. Kyle’s first year at Cycleland, although against some very tough and more experienced competition, saw him finish 3rd in the season point series.
Kyle’s second year at the The Red Bluff Winter Indoor Series saw him compete in the Open Box Stock division. He was Rookie of the Year and finished 8th in the 10 point races.
The 2001 season at Cycleland Speedway was very impressive for Kyle. He raced in two classes, the Open Box Stock division and the more powerful Pro Stock division. He won the Box Stock point series championship with 9 main event wins, and 24 top five finishes. In the Pro Stock division Kyle finished 4th in the point series and was Rookie of the Year with 3 main event wins and 23 top five finishes. The 2001 season saw Kyle compete in 68 races overall while getting 12 wins.
Kyle’s second year in the very competitive (average of 40 karts per race) Open Box Stock Class at the The Red Bluff Winter Indoor Series saw him finish 6th in the 10 race point series and be named the coveted Sportsman of the Year.
In the 2002 season Kyle competed in the QRC Outlaw All Star Tour in the Box Stock division. He won 5 out of 9 races, had 1 second, 1 third, 1 fourth & 1 thirteenth place finish and won the first ever Box Stock Championship for the QRC Outlaw All Star Tour. Kyle also competed at Cycleland Speedway where he won 14 main events in the Box Stock class and defended his point championship. Kyle also won 6 Main events in the Pro Stock class and finished 2nd in the points. In 2002 Kyle competed in 74 main events and finished first 26 times.
In the winter season he competed again for the Box Stock championship at the 2002/2003 Red Bluff Winter Indoor Series where he finished 6th in the final point standings. During this time Kyle began to get his feet wet in the significantly more powerful 125cc division. He ran only three races at the Red Bluff Winter Indoor Series so as to preserve his rookie status for the next season. He also competed, when openings in the schedule allowed, at the Chico Silver Dollar Winter Indoor track where he won his first ever 125cc main event.
In 2003 Kyle primarily focused on the 125cc division and finished 3rd in points at Cycleland Speedway and 4th in points on the QRC All Star Tour. Kyle competed in forty-nine 125 main events and earned 7 wins. He was also in demand as a substitute driver in the box stock division and drove 9 different karts. Overall Kyle competed in 82 main events and captured 12 wins.
The 2003/2004 Red Bluff Winter Indoor Series saw Kyle emerge as the top driver in the 125cc division as he had an outstanding season. He was able to garner 3 main event wins, Rookie of the Year, the championship, and the most prestigious individual award in outlaw sprint kart racing, The Driver of the Year Award.
The 2004 season saw Kyle compete in a 500cc kart for the first time as he regularly raced in the Open Intermediate division at Cycleland Speedway, where speeds approach 90 mph. He also again contended in the 125cc division. At Cycleland Speedway he finished 2nd in points in the 125 division and 4th in the Open Intermediate division. Once again he raced the QRC All Star Tour with the 125 and dominated that series as he won 4 of the 9 main events on his way to his second Tour championship. The highlight of Kyle’s season was attending the Knoxville Nationals Sprint Car races in August at Knoxville, Iowa. Kyle also raced his 500cc kart at the English Creek Speedway Nationals for outlaw sprint karts. During the 3 days of competition Kyle was able to win 3 of the 6 main events he participated in. He faced a very tough challenge as he raced against NASCAR BUSCH driver JJ Yeley (and other celebrity sprint car drivers) as well as top outlaw sprint kart drivers from around the country. Due to his talents that stood above all others he was approached by the sponsor representative of ParkerStore (sponsor of World of Outlaw Sprint Car star Donny Schatz) and is now the only corporate sponsored driver in outlaw sprint kart racing. The 2004 season saw Kyle win 26 of the 82 main events he contested.
The 2004/2005 Red Bluff Winter Indoor Series saw Kyle debut his ParkerStore colors and have his best ever season at the tight bull ring. He defended his 125cc championship, won 6 of the 14 main events including the 6 ft Perpetual Trophy race, had 12 top 3′s and 8 fast times. He ran an intermittent schedule in the 500cc Open Intermediate division and won 1 of the 7 main events he participated in.
The 2005 outdoor season will be hard to top as Kyle won the two point championships (250 Intermediates and 500cc Open Intermediates) he contended for at Chico’s Cycleland Speedway, and captured his third title ( 125/250cc division) on the prestigious All Star Tour. His biggest race wins of the season and his career occurred at the Knoxville Outlaw Kart Nationals in Knoxville, Iowa.
While competing in three divisions at the Knoxville Outlaw Kart Nationals Kyle won the 125cc championship, finished 2nd in the 250cc division and won the top 500cc Open division championship by .021 second. Kyle drove his severely damaged kart from eighth place to a last lap three inch victory. Kyle completed the season with 34 main event wins, 57 top threes, 66 top fives and 80 top ten finishes in 97 main events. There were 29 fast times, 16 trophy dash wins, three 6 foot Perpetual Trophy championships and the West Coast Nationals Intermediate 125/250cc championship. Kyle also won the regional event for the Red Bull Driver Search and competed at Boston, MA, finishing in the top third of the best young drivers in America. Significant was the fact that the competition was held on an asphalt road course in karts much different than the dirt oval type Kyle was accustomed to.
Kyle raced the 2005/2006 Red Bluff Winter Indoor Series, this time competing in the 500cc Open Intermediate division where he finished third in the final points and captured one main event win. He also competed eight times in the 250cc division (as an in demand sub driver) and won three times.
The 2006 outdoor season found Kyle again contending for twin division championships at the high speed Cycleland Speedway. While Kyle was unable to defend his 500cc Open Intermediate championship, finishing third, he was able to garner his tenth overall championship by winning the top division, the 500cc Open division, in his first ever attempt. He was also named Rookie of the Year in the division, took home the 6 foot QRC Cup Perpetual Trophy, set the all time track record, and led both divisions in main event wins- winning 10 of 37 features overall. Kyle also made his first start in a midget at the legendary Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Az., as he impressed all with his drive from 18th starting to finish fifth. Following the event the head of the Arizona Midget Racing Association stated that Kyle was the best young talent he had ever witnessed.
After compiling stats in the sprint karts that might never be topped, in 2007 sprint car racing organizations in Northern California were approached about the possibility of Kyle being allowed to race the fastest cars in the world on dirt. With little hesitation, Kyle became the youngest sprint car driver ever allowed to participate in the state of California at the age of 14.
He validated his participation as he became the youngest winner in California history when he won at Placerville Speedway just four days past his 15th birthday, winning against the best drivers of the very tough Civil War Series. He also captured another win two weeks later at Petaluma Speedway. Kyle also became the first driver under the age of 16 to be allowed to race with the premier traveling sprint car series in the nation, the World of Outlaws. Kyle’s first sprint car season saw him compete in 43 events, with the highlight being the accomplishment of his main goal- being named the Rookie of the Year of the Civil War Series after finishing seventh in the season points.
The 2008 season saw Kyle race in 31 total sprint car events spread between the 410 and 360 cars of Dave and Debbie Vertullo, and four races in Cliff and Jackie Blackwell’s midget. The campaign was remarkable for the consistent top ten finishes achieved. In the Civil War Series, where Kyle finished second to former Golden State Challenge Series and Silver Dollar Speedway champion Sean Becker, there were 11 top tens with seven top fives, which included two feature event wins in the 15 race series. The highlight of the Civil War chase came at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway on Memorial Day weekend, when the then 15 year old Kyle set fast time and won from sixth starting spot.
As the season progressed he began to earn a reputation for starting at the back of the pack and making strong runs to the front. That scenario was displayed for the final time at the Fall Nationals at Silver Dollar Speedway as Kyle charged from ninth in the B-main to capture the last transfer spot into the A-main. Starting in the 24th and last position of the talent laden field, Kyle raced his way into fourth by the halfway point and finally finished fifth.
Although 2008 was highlighted by the two Civil War feature wins, the season ending race at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway, the Trophy Cup, put Kyle’s emerging talent on display once again. Racing against many of the top drivers in the country, Kyle claimed fourth place in the finale of the three day event.
Kyle’s limited starts in the Vertullo 410 car still produced moments to remember. A fourth place finish at Silver Dollar Speedway early in the season was the top result, but the most memorable run came with the World of Outlaws at Tulare in October. Kyle qualified tenth fast of 44 drivers entered and won his first ever World of Outlaw heat race, placing him in the dash. The main event saw misfortune as Kyle spun at the halfway point, ending his night after collecting another car.
Kyle’s four races in the Cliff Blackwell midget began with a pair of races at the Chili Bowl. After flipping across the finish line when contact with a disabled car ensued, Kyle was scored ninth in the F-main-not a bad result when considering there were nearly 300 cars on hand.
Kyle’s first race with the Bay Cities Racing Association saw a sixth place finish at Placerville Speedway after starting 11th. His best run in the midget occurred despite not completing the race, as Kyle raced with the USAC Western States Midgets at the big half mile of Calistoga Speedway. Starting 15th, Kyle ran the cushion to perfection to vault into fourth place by the halfway point, only to have a burned piston end his impressive advancement a few laps later.
One Response to “Career”
Kyle this is chris, Im a 250 2 stroke going 500 drier and i would like some advice. also u should come to canada