If you don’t know Kyle Larson yet, you soon will.
The 21-year-old NASCAR Nationwide Series driver has moved up the ranks fast and has done well both on and off the track. With the holidays approaching, it’s the time of the year when we help our fellow man – and Larson, with the help of Target, recently did something amazing.
Last month, Larson, Target and The Heart of America Foundation renovated a Phoenix area school library, which brought 2,000 new books and a technology upgrade to Palm Lane Elementary. Larson even read to the kids, who got to take home books to keep. It’s all part of Target’s School Library Makeover program, which will give $1 billion for education by 2015.
That’s not all the driver has been up to. We recently got the chance to speak with Larson about his charitable work, his favorite track and if he’s excited to take over the No. 42 Target car next year.
CraveOnline: Can you talk a little bit about the charitable work that you’re doing today?
Kyle Larson: Earlier this morning, I got to go to Palm Lane Elementary School and help with other volunteers from Target to unveil their new library – it was pretty cool. They got 2,000 new books in there, all new carpet and shelving and a complete technology upgrade with new iPads andiMacs. Each kid got to leave with seven books to take home and they’re doing more at the school than just the library. It was neat to go there and get to read a book to them and see the excitement on their faces.
Crave: Is reading something that’s important to you?
Larson: Reading is important for every kid growing up. With Target, who sponsors my race car, they do a lot of charity work for education and all sorts of things like that. It was a good opportunity for me to go there and experience that, it was my first time going to one of their library makeovers. It was just really awesome to see all the excitement on the faces of the children and the staff.
Crave: What’s it mean to you personally to be able to help give back to the community?
Larson: Well, it means a lot going there. A lot of those kids don’t have books at home, that’s why they were given seven books to take home for themselves and their siblings. It was pretty special, to know that those kids are probably going to go home and their parents are going to read it to them – and just helping with their futures, I guess.
Crave: We’d like to focus a little on your racing. You’re already 21-years-old, you’re already in the Nationwide Series and you’ve accomplished so much. Can you talk about what that’s been like?
Larson: Yeah, this year has been fun, it’s my rookie season in Nationwide – well really, this is only my second year in stock car racing. I grew up racing on dirt track or ovals, or Sprint cars and stuff. This year’s been a lot of fun, I’ve got to do quite a lot of racing between that stuff and the Sprint car stuff and had a lot of good finishes and now next year I’ll be in the [NASCAR] Sprint Cup Series. It’s been an exciting last few years for me and I’m ready to get it going.
Crave: Do you ever stop and look around at the guys you’re racing against?
Larson: Not really, you watch them on TV all the time. I hear other drivers saying how much they’re in awe of racing with guys like Jeff Gordon and stuff. I definitely think it’s cool but I don’t think about that kind of stuff when I’m racing, I just try and do the best I can and they’re all just another driver out there, I guess, is the way you could put it.
Crave: Does much go through your head while driving, or are you just focused on your job?
Larson: You’re really just focused on your job and how to go the fastest and what you need to get your car better during the next pit stop – all sorts of things. Your mind is running, it’s a long race and you’re pretty drained after 500 miles.
Crave: How old were you when you started racing?
Larson: I started racing go karts when I was 7 and worked up to the different divisions and that. Got into sprint cars when I was 14, I was the youngest ever in California. So I’m 21 now and I’m racing stock cars – so 14, for 14 years now I’ve been racing.
Crave: How excited are you to be the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevy in 2014?
Larson: I’m excited to take over for [Juan Pablo] Montoya, who has had a heck of a career in all forms of racing and to do it with Target on the car. All the fans and everybody out there knows what the bull’s-eye on the hood represents – Target. It’s good to race for a crew like Chip Ganassi, they have a really good crew there in the shop and all sorts of things. I’m ready, ready to end this year and get on with next year, do some testing and things and get going.
Crave: Now are you nervous, those are definitely some big shoes to fill?
Larson: I’m a little nervous. I’m really fresh into my stock car career and don’t want to fail. I think their cars are good enough that I can compete up front each and every week, so I think I can do okay. I guess that calms my nerves a little bit.
Crave: What’s been your favorite track so far to race on?
Larson: I liked Darlington earlier this year, I thought that was a lot of fun, just because you run right on the wall the whole race because that’s the fastest way to get around that place. You get higher and higher and a lot of times you get into the wall, you know. I think tracks were you can move around a little bit and search for different racing lines have been my favorite tracks.
Crave: Are any of the tracks a little intimidating, because some of them are huge.
Larson: No, not really. I guess Darlington is pretty intimidating because you have to get right next to the wall. I don’t know, I don’t get intimidated by the tracks very much.
Crave: What have you enjoyed most about your racing career?
Larson: I grew up around the Sacramento area and there was a racetrack in Chico that hosts the Gold Cup Race of Champions with the World Outlaw Series and they run that race once a year and it’s one of the biggest races in California and a local hadn’t won it in over 30 years or something like that. I was able to finally break that streak and beat the outlaws and win it as a local kid. I won it the next year also but that first win was my favorite and a really special moment in my career.
Ed Miller is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Red Bull
Editors Note: An earlier version of this article had a reference to an “Arlington” track. The correct spelling of “Darlington” has now been added.
