Kyle Larson Exposes What Really Makes Northern California Racers Unique
Hendrick Motorsports’ 2025 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson admitted that sprint and outlaw karts experience makes racers of his region special.
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Jeff Gordon, Rye Elder, Kyle Laron and Tyler Reddick, the list of NASCAR legends hailed from Northern California is something special. The racing history and culture of the area makes them champion drivers. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion is a prime example of generational racers coming out of the region.
In his recent interview with FloRacing, two times Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has explained what makes the Northern California drivers special. He highlighted how the racers, who grew up around bullring style tracks perfects the art of manhandling the car earlier in their career tan many, with the World of Outlaws karting scene playing a major role in it.
Well, I think it goes back to what you can race in Northern California and the type of tracks you’re racing on. Yeah, I think the bullring style tracks really teach you to manhandle a vehicle. For Tyler and I, in our case, going up and racing outlaw karts too was really important to shape our base of how we drive.
Kyle Larson told FloRacing.
When the racing style of Kyle Larson and 23XI Racin star racer Tyler Reddick is analyzed, their raw pace as well as willingness to explore the edges of the car can be observed. At the same time the drivers like Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott, are more technical racers who have perfected dominating the slower-style tracks.
And I would say Tyler and I are very similar drivers, where we kind of hang it out on the edge a lot. You can produce more raw speed than a lot of people, but yeah, I think you look at a guy like Denny or Chase, and they’re really good on the technical, slower-style, momentum-ish tracks.
Kyle Larson added.
In these tracks, the No:5 Chevy and the No:45 Toyota often struggles to perform strong. This majority due to the fact that they developed their racing unique to a different type of tracks, that demands more pace. These racers are more efficiently aggressive, unlike the rest, due to their outlaws and sprint car background.
Those are the places where Tyler and I struggle. Everybody kinda develops at a young age, and for us, I think our aggressive style was definitely developed racing in Northern California in outlaw karts, and sprint cars, and whatnot.
Kyle Larson asserted.
Denny Hamlin names Kyle Larson as the deserving 2025 champion
Kyle Larson’s 2025 championship win was dramatic, as he beat the dominant car of Denny Hamlin taking advantage of a mistake from the veteran in overtime. This has accused the tag of undeserving champion given to him by some. In the latest episode of his podcast JGR veteran Hamlin slammed the critics, naming the Chevy veteran as the deserving winner.
His team knew that they had to do something to try to win. You know, they played the game as it was meant to be played. So, we definitely have a deserving champion in the 5 team, they scored more points than anyone else the entire year. There’s, you know, I don’t think anyone should ever question the deservingness of Kyle Larson’s championship because he definitely did…
Denny Hamlin said via Actions Detrimental.
Luck wasn’t the only reason for the 2025 championship win of Kyle Larson, as the risk-taking nature and aggressive fighting spirit he developed from his junior years helped him to come back in the finale. At the same time the a more safe, technical and ambitious strategy, something Hamlin grew up with, unfortunately proves costly for him in the finale.
Also Read: Denny Hamlin Insists “There Is No Asterisk” Behind Kyle Larson’s 2025 Championship Triumph
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