Having Fun: Larson enjoying family, ready for racing

Kyle Larson's second NASCAR Cup Series championship last season stood out for one big reason. The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was able to share it with his kids. Larson, who won a first title in 2021, was given the chance to address media after an announcement the Cook Out Clash in Winston-Salem, N.C., has been postponed until Monday because of snow. The defending champion explained his children, Owen and Audrey, are now old enough to can comprehend what the NASCAR championship means. "Owen had an okay understanding from the first one. But, this one was cooler because Audrey will remember this now for the rest of her life," Larson said. "Obviously I wasn't in the motorhome watching the race because I was on the track, but my wife, Katelyn, told me how emotional Owen had gotten. You know, he was a little bit teared up because I think he could grasp the magnitude of it." Larson talked about how he has to back off as a sports parent, not to try to over-coach his kids as they're now racing. He mentioned they often do better when he stays quiet. Seeing the ground covered in snow, it gave Larson a chance to enjoy other activities with his kids. "It just kind of gets you excited that you can enjoy the snow with your family," Larson said. "As soon as I'm done with this, I'm going to head over to my shop. We've got a good hill. We'll probably build a jump; put the kids on some tubes and sleds, and go have some fun for the next couple days." He explained the team has already gone over their planning for Monday night's exhibition race. It's a non-points event with the official season opening, Daytona 500, scheduled for February 15. While the 32-year-old driver has 32 career Cup Series wins, including being the defending champion of the Food City 500 at Bristol, he's struggled at Daytona and the other drafting tracks. He has three poles positions at Daytona, but is yet to have a top-10 finish in 23 starts. Daytona is also the site of Larson's worst crash in a stock car when a violent impact and ripped the engine from his car in a 2013 NASCAR O'Reilly Series race. While a Daytona is a place where anyone in the field has a chance to win with the right circumstances, Larson still believes the "Great American Race" holds a special place in the sport. "It's always going to feel prestigious., I've never won the race, never even finished top-five, so I don't know what the feeling is like," Larson said. "I would imagine the feeling of winning is still going to be extremely massive, if it ever happens. I think William Byron winning two in a row is not a fluke, so the cream does rise. Daytona and Talladega, sure, anybody can win, but it's still the teams positioning themselves the best and drivers making the best decisions to win." Larson won last year's championship race under different circumstances. Denny Hamlin dominated the race, but a decision to pit after a late caution put Larson in position. Larson finished third in the race, and didn't lead a lap. He heads into the 2026 season not having won in the last 24 Cup Series races. Still, he feels good about his chances to win another title with a change in the championship format. He continues to win in other forms of racing, including a $100,000 victory in Australian sprint cars back in December. "I feel good about things. I felt like we were trending in a good direction at the end of the year," he said. "You don't make the final four in a slump, and you don't win the championship in a slump. So yeah, I feel confident. Although we didn't get some wins in the playoffs, we had a great opportunity to win two or three races in the playoffs, I just look forward to getting on the track, getting back in the flow and just racing."