Kyle Larson has spent much of his career competing at the highest level of NASCAR while also building a strong connection to dirt racing. His children, Owen and Audrey, are now following him into racing, with both competing in micro sprints and developing their own personalities behind the wheel.
The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion recently discussed his children’s racing during an appearance on Door Bumper Clear. Larson explained that his eight-year-old daughter Audrey is particularly competitive and has no problem giving her father a hard time. That has led to a rivalry between the two, with Larson admitting that they regularly trash-talk each other.
Thanks for the submission!
Speaking about Audrey’s personality, Kyle Larson said (1:18:46 onwards):
“Audrey, she talks a lot of smack… Me and her go at it every day… We’re at dinner the other night, Saturday night, and I’m watching Millbridge, and she was light in the scales. So, she’d start last in the heat, and she’s lagging back on the start, running this crappy line and all this, and only passed a couple cars. And I’m just like, ‘You suck.’”
After watching Audrey’s race, Kyle Larson texted his wife, Katelyn Larson, suggesting that Audrey should move into a lower Series because of the way she was driving during the race.
“I text Caitlyn. I’m like, ‘Put her in the Cadet Series, because she’s running like a Cadet kid out there.’ So, they FaceTime me and she’s sitting there. I’m like, ‘What are you doing? Come on. You’re better than this.’ She’s like, ‘Well, you s**k at NASCAR.’ So we are just going at it.”
Audrey continued to defend herself by turning Larson’s criticism back toward his own Cup Series results:
“She’s like, ‘Don’t even talk. You suck, too.’”
The story left the room laughing, but it also showed the competitive relationship developing between Kyle Larson and his daughter. He is winless in his last 48 Cup Series starts, his longest winless stretch since joining Hendrick Motorsports. While he has remained a championship contender and qualified for the 2026 Chase, the lack of a Cup victory has given Audrey plenty to throw back at him.
Larson’s children have become increasingly involved in dirt racing through the family’s KLR operation. Kyle Larson Racing, with Paul Silva heading the program and Clinton Boyles running the team’s micro-sprint efforts, also provides a platform for young racers to develop. That includes Larson’s own children, who have continued racing throughout the year. Audrey and her older brother Owen have already gained experience at major micro-sprint events.
Earlier this year, both competed at the Tulsa Shootout, with Audrey racing in the Junior Sprint division and Owen competing across multiple classes. Audrey, now eight, has balanced her racing with ice hockey while continuing to compete in Junior Sprints, while 11-year-old Owen has accumulated more experience across different micro-sprint divisions.
Kyle Larson recalls Knoxville banter with daughter Audrey
Kyle Larson’s dirt-racing success earlier this year gave him another opportunity to turn the rivalry around. His Knoxville Nationals weekend became one of the biggest moments of his 2026 season after he managed to complete both the NASCAR Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway and the Knoxville Nationals championship feature on the same night.
Larson finished sixth at Richmond before immediately traveling to Iowa. A rain delay in Iowa gave him a chance to make the race, and he eventually won his fourth Knoxville Nationals title after leading all 50 laps of the championship feature.
The result also gave Larson an edge in his trash talk with Audrey. After his Knoxville run, he was able to turn the argument around. Speaking on Door Bumper Clear, he added (1:19:45 onwards):
“Backing up to Knoxville, the week I was winning, because all this time I’ve been, she’ll have a tough race or I’m just hard on her to be hard on her. She’s like, ‘Well, I’ve got more wins than you this year,’ and blah, blah, blah. So, I went on that heater. I’m like, ‘What are you going to do? You’re going to have to win to catch me.’ So, yeah. No, it’s good. I like bantering with her, and she can take it, and I think she’ll give it back, and we’ll be kinda joking.”
Kyle Larson also explained that there are moments when he has to remind her that their conversations are not always a joke:
“She’s tough. But she’s good because she can, like, she’ll be going a little bit too much at me, and she’ll think we’re joking, and I’m like, ‘No, I’m not f**king (with you) right now.’ She’ll be like, ‘Okay, sorry.’ It’s good. But Owen, like, he’s more sensitive, so you got to be soft with him.”
Kyle Larson has previously described the two children as having different personalities, with Audrey being more fiery and outspoken and Owen being more sensitive. That difference is also visible in the way he interacts with them.
Edited by Anurup Chakraborty