After a sixth place finish at Richmond Raceway on Sunday with the NASCAR Cup Series, Kyle Larson flew to the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa and absolutely dominated the most prestigious event in Sprint Car racing.

While Larson made it look especially easy during the first 25 laps of the race where he lapped nearly half the field, he explained in an interview with Jeff Gluck just how difficult it is to win in a Sprint Car let alone the Knoxville Nationals as well as why he continues to race on dirt.

Larson said, “It’s definitely hard to describe a strictly just NASCAR fan because they’ve grown up their whole lives thinking that all the world’s best race car drivers make it to the Cup Series. And they are. They’re super, super good in the Cup Series, but they’re also super, super good in Sprint Cars and Dirt Late Models, or pavement Late Models. Every form, I feel like, of racing has amazing, talented drivers that if things would’ve went right throughout their paths and their careers, they have the talent to make it to the Cup series.”

Kyle Larson and Sheldon Haudenschild. Photo by Tyler Carr.

“Just speaking of Sprint Cars, there’s more cars there. So like the Knoxville Nationals where you’re competing against 100 other guys and I would say 60 of them are in all the top notch equipment you can get,” Larson continued. “So yeah, it’s very tough. And I think that’s something that draws me back to the Sprint Car stuff and I race often because it is tough. And I feel like it keeps me sharp and keeps me learning every time I’m out there because those guys kick my butt a lot of times.”

“I’m fortunate enough that I get the chance to compete with a lot of different drivers and they’re all good. Every series to me feels equal. There’s not one series that’s better than the other. I don’t think Cup is better than Outlaws or High Limit or better than Lucas Oil or Outlaw Late Models. And I don’t think any of the dirt series are better than the Cup guys either. It’s all fairly equal. It’s fun to go back and compete in that stuff,” he added.

Additionally, Larson revealed that his plans to run a national tour either with High Limit or the World of Outlaws after his NASCAR career is over have changed.

“I used to think that when I’m done Cup racing I would want to go grind it out and try to win a national tour championship. But the older I’ve gotten-. And really I think after going through 2020 of racing all those Sprint Car races I did that year and dominating, it kind of proved to me that I don’t need to. I don’t think it’s going to do much more or less for my career if I won or lost a national championship.”

“I’ll probably be in my early 40s or something at that point and after grinding it out for however many weeks of the year I think that’s the last thing that I’m going to want to do, is go run 90 nights a year in a Sprint Car,” Larson continued. “For me I want to win races. I want to win the big races. I would love to continue hopefully to continue to get the chance to run the Knoxville Nationals. That’s P1 on my dirt races that I love to run each and every year. And it’s the biggest one. So I would love to try and catch Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser. I know that’s going to be nearly impossible, but that would be the goal at the front of my mind for Sprint Cars.”

“I just want to win races and win any race, really, at that,” he concluded.

Kyle Larson and Garet Williamson. Photo by Tyler Carr.

Larson’s victory at the Knoxville Nationals was the fourth of his career and tied him for fourth all time with Kenny Weld and Danny Lasoski. Next on the list will be Doug Wolfgang, who won the race five times. Donny Schatz is currently second on the all-time wins list with 11. Steve Kinser won the race 12 times in his career.

As far as wins in a 410 Sprint Car, Larson has been piling them up this year with 10 so far in just 21 races. And he’s won at a variety of tracks. He’s won three times at Knoxville. His other wins came at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas, Texas Motor Speedway, Davenport Speedway, Red Cedar Speedway, Gondik Law Speedway, Eldora Speedway, and Southern Iowa Speedway.

NEXT: Starting From Square One: Chris Windom Details Non-Wing To Wing Journey, Reflects On I-55 Win