NASCAR driver Kyle Larson has had some good days during his career. Sunday at the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas might have been one of his best.
Not only did he win the race, but he had the rare experience of getting to celebrate with his child in the moments immediately following the race. Owen, 9 years old, was there sprinting out to greet Larson on victory lane.
His father helped him climb up onto the car and celebrate with him, cheering on the crowd after a thoroughly dominant performance on the track.
Check it out below.
Larson won both stages of Sunday’s race, then closed it out with the win. And following the win, Owen got to share a piece of the day with dad.
“I wasn’t surprised, I guess, because when we won here in the fall I think he did the same thing,” Kyle Larson said. “He ran all the way from watching it grandparents’ motorhome to all the way to the start/finish line. So he was huffing and puffing when he got there. But it’s fun. It’s really fun to celebrate with the family. These are core memories that my kids are going to be able to remember for the rest of their lives.”
Despite some tightening late in the race as Tyler Reddick pushed hard, Larson was able to hold on down the stretch, with Owen likely nervously watching.
But one key block on the low side of the track seemed to seal the deal in the final five laps, allowing Larson to cruise to victory.
Then it was a moment for the ages with his son.
“I can only imagine like me being nine years old and like standing on the roof of my dad’s racecar, staring at this crowd, like how that must feel inside,” Larson said. “I don’t know if he like understands, either, but it would have to be pretty special. At least to look back on decades and decades down the road when he’s got children of his own and I’m old and he’s taking care of me.”
Kyle Larson currently leads the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 118 points, 45 of them stage points. He has three starts, with a win, a top 5, a top 10 and a DNF. He has two stage wins.