Kyle Larson shares why he and wife Katelyn scolded son Owen for "wasting" their time

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson recently sat down with former full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie on the Stacking Pennies podcast on YouTube. During the podcast, Larson opened up about how his wife, Katelyn Larson, scolded their son for his unsatisfactory performance.

Kyle Larson's children Owen and Audrey compete on dirt tracks and took part in Junior Sprint races this year. He recalled his son Owen's moment from the Milbridge Speedway. The HMS driver claimed that his son did fine and nearly won the second A-class race. However, since then, he has stopped pushing himself and dialed back. Larson believes his son was scared of crashing.

Following that, the Elk Grove, California, native further pointed out that he and his wife scolded Owen on the way back home, which led to a change in his behavior. The former NASCAR Cup Series driver told Corey LaJoie [34:33 onwards]:

"He just did really bad, like, just, you know, not trying. Like, I was just getting really pissed watching him because he wasn't trying and just following people running at the bottom, just just not putting any effort into trying to get better either, like, doesn't want to run on his iRacing, doesn't want to watch video, doesn't, you know, doesn't want to work. And, uh, after that night, like, the whole way home, like, we kind of belittle him a little bit, you know, like, we're just hard."

"Basically just telling him, like, 'Hey, you know, this isn't just about racing, but like anything in life, it takes effort, and you know, if you don't start putting effort in, like, we're not doing this; like, you're wasting our time. Like we don't want to go out there and watch you run in the back. like we don't want to, you know, see you not try."

The #5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver met his wife at a dirt race after-party. The couple was blessed with Owen Larson in 2014 and Audrey Larson in 2018. They also had a third child in 2022, naming him Cooper.

Kyle Larson sits third in the Cup Series playoff standings with a 54-point buffer over the cutoff line. He is set to compete in the final race of the Round of 12, the Bank of America ROVAL 400, on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at Charlotte ROVAL. Notably, Larson aims to win the 109-lap race once again this year.

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"I’ve got a lot of racing left to do": Kyle Larson expressed his feelings about the greatest driver title

Earlier in 2025, former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson was featured in an interview with Amazon Prime ahead of the Mexico City race. During the pre-race interview, Larson pointed out that he has yet to achieve so much more before being worthy of the 'greatest driver in the world' title.

The HMS Ace has dominated the Cup and Xfinity Series with remarkable success. Larson has scored 32 wins, 130 top fives, 200 top tens, and 22 pole positions in the Cup Series in 397 starts. Additionally, he has led 10,199 laps with an average finish of 14.10 and an average start of 11.6.

Meanwhile, in the Xfinity Series, Kyle Larson has bagged 17 wins, 62 top tens, 86 top tens, and eight pole positions in 120 starts. He has led 2,862 laps with an average start of 9.4 and an average finish of 9.7. Despite such promising stats in both series, the #5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver believes he has a lot more to prove before he feels worthy of the 'greatest driver in the world' title.

"I’m still, I’m only 32, and I’ve got a lot of racing left to do, and I hope I can accomplish a lot more to really feel like I’m deserving of that credit, but I do appreciate it, and it just makes me kind of have more drive to try and live up to that hype, I guess," stated the 2021 Cup Series champion.

Kyle Larson leads the Cup Series points table with 3124 points to his credit. He has secured three wins, 18 top tens, 11 top fives, and one pole position in 31 starts this season. Additionally, he has led 944 laps with an average start of 12.097.