ELK GROVE, Calif. — Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson arrived at his hometown parade aboard a blue Chevy Corvette convertible, as nearly 1,000 people filled the streets of Old Elk Grove near its Main Plaza.

The Elk Grove native received a warm welcome Friday as he greeted fans with a wave and his signature bright smile.

The city of Elk Grove, in partnership with Sonoma Raceway, hosted a celebration recognizing his season title, which Larson won Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., outside of Phoenix.

“It feels good. It’s really neat to have the city of Elk Grove and Sonoma Raceway kind of get together to make this event happen,” Larson said. “There’s a lot of fans here and family and people I haven’t seen in a long time, but it’s cool to see all these cars and food trucks and all that. So it’s definitely a pretty big deal.”

Larson recalled celebrating his second Cup Series title with a signature wheel burnout in front of his pit crew, family and friends.

“It was such a crazy finish, and I was so happy and proud of my team that, like, all I wanted to do was get over to them,” Larson said. “I nose it up to the wall and did a big burnout. And it was just cool to celebrate with them ... go find my crew chief, Cliff Daniels and hug him. It was just chaos, like it’s so it just almost feels like a dream at that moment.”

Larson said his 2025 win was much different than his first one in 2021, where he won 10 races over the course of the season.

“I feel like we had a lot of struggles, especially through the summer. We were just pretty average, and kept just building and progressing and trying to get better,” he said. “I just feel like we continued to rise throughout the summer to the end of the season, and that’s something I’m proud of.”

Larson entered the final laps in third place among the four title contenders, feeling his chances slipping.

A strong pit stop and restart gave his No. 5 Chevrolet new life. He stayed calm, relied on breathing techniques behind the wheel, and passed Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and William Byron in seven laps of overtime to clinch his first title since 2021.

“I knew it was our opportunity, and our team just did a great job and kind of stole it from Denny,” Larson said. “It was just really cool to kind of struggle throughout the season and struggle throughout the race, never lose complete hope, and then fight through it and get the win. It was awesome.”

Born to race

Racing has been part of Larson’s life since infancy. He began racing at age 7, starting in outlaw karts and later competing in open-wheel cars with the United States Auto Club in its midget, silver crown and sprint car divisions.

His first sprint car victory came at Placerville Speedway.

He attended Pleasant Grove High School before transitioning to homeschooling midway through his sophomore year to keep his focus on racing.

Larson received a key to the city of Elk Grove in 2014. As he returned with a second championship trophy, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors proclaimed Friday as Kyle Larson Day.

“This will always be home for me,” Larson said of Elk Grove in south Sacramento County. “I just loved it, just kind of small town feel, in a way, and diverse. The city is close to a lot of racing. Placerville was kind of my home track, Chico, Marysville. We go to the Bay, Watsonville, to Central California in Hanford. It was just a lot of fun growing up here. ... I was surrounded by racing at all times.”

Larson said he realized early that racing was more than a hobby.

“I just really wanted to be able to race cars for a living and make money doing it,” Larson said. “I was just thankful — or lucky enough, I guess — to get some good breaks along the way and race for some really good car owners.”

He made the most of those chances, advancing steadily through the sport.

“The path just kind of took me to NASCAR on its own,” Larson said. “I’m super happy to be there now racing for the best team owner in the sport. Hopefully, I’ll be there for a lot longer.”

Overcoming controversy

Larson found himself at the center of controversy in 2020. He was suspended by NASCAR following an incident in which he used a racial slur during an iRacing online gaming event.

The remark made waves throughout the sport. Darrell “Bubba” Wallace, NASCAR’s only Black full-time driver, publicly condemned the slur.

“Let’s start with the word. It’s NOT just a word,” Wallace wrote on X at the time. “What Larson said was wrong, whether in private or public. There is no gray area.”

Larson took responsibility and vowed to do the necessary work to understand the harm that was done. He then posted an apology on social media, which remains on his X page.

He told fans in the attached video that “there’s no excuse for that. I wasn’t raised that way. It’s just an awful thing to say ... I understand the damage is probably unrepairable, and I own up to that.”

Wallace later voiced support for Larson’s apology, calling it sincere and urging others to see the incident as an opportunity for growth, not a reflection of NASCAR as a whole.

Wallace said Larson reached out to him immediately. “Within five minutes Kyle texted me. He called me the next morning as well. Finally I called him back with a FaceTime to talk ‘face to face,’ and we had a good conversation. His apology was sincere.”

Five years on, Larson said Friday that the incident was a turning point in his personal and professional development.

“It made me grow up a lot, which I should have been more mature even back then,” Larson, 33, said. “You make sure to just grow up quickly and kind of reconsider the people you hang out with, and whatnot. I’ve changed a lot — personally, mentally. All of that for the better.”

He added: “I’ve proven it was just a mistake. It was a lot of work to redeem myself and prove that. I think with great people around me, too, it really helped and it made it all seamless. I think just continuing to do good things in the community, continuing to be a role model to young kids is always important, whether you get in trouble or not.

“I think that’s where I’m at in life trying to be a great father and a great role model.”

Becoming one of the greatest

Larson now drives the No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports, owned by Rick Hendrick and legendary stock car driver Jeff Gordon, a Vallejo native whom Larson admired growing up. He also cited Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne as early influences.

Known for his competitiveness and technical skill, Larson is respected across NASCAR as a true wheelman.

While focused on the present, Larson acknowledged that he hopes to be remembered among the all-time greats.

In 2023, Larson was named one of the 75 greatest drivers in NASCAR history. He became the 18th driver to win the Cup Series trophy at least twice after his latest title.

Already looking ahead, Larson said he hopes to “get back to victory lane, win some races, and hopefully just have a solid season.”

“More race wins and more championships would be awesome. But specific race wins, we’ve won every crown jewel except for the Daytona 500 so that would be an awesome one to win,” Larson said.

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