Kyle Larson previews Knoxville Nationals, Indianapolis 500 on trip to Iowa Speedway

While the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series takes the weekend off, Kyle Larson is in Iowa to promote the sport and to race. Larson is promoting the Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway while also previewing the Knoxville World of Outlaws race and the Indianapolis 500.

You could say that Kyle Larson likes to race. The one weekend when NASCAR has told him he doesn’t have to race, he is putting himself in one of the biggest sprint car races of the year.

Larson won the Knoxville Nationals, which take place each August, in 2021, 2023, and 2024. The World of Outlaws will attempt to prevent him from the three-peat later this year but Larson has been on fire in 2025. This weekend will only give him more track time at Knoxville. Larson will try to once again double up and win the Chili Bowl and Knoxville Nationals in the same season. He did that for the first time in 2021.

So, why is Kyle Larson racing on his week off? Because that’s what he does.

“I just love racing,” Larson said, via the Des Moines Register. “That’s why I’m spending my off weekend racing some more. The most important part of that is racing at Knoxville this weekend. We can get ready for the biggest sprint car race there is. If it was just a track that didn’t have a big race, I probably would be at a beach. But I feel like it’s really important to get laps there.”

Of course, Larson talked about his trip to Indianapolis this year. He will once again attempt Double Duty on Memorial Day weekend. 500 miles at Indy and 600 miles at Charlotte; IndyCar to NASCAR.

“I had a lot of fan support,” Larson said. “So I look forward to doing it again and living through that experience once again, and hopefully, having it go even better than it did last year.”

So, what about NASCAR? What about Iowa Speedway? Well, Kyle Larson found time to talk about his day job as well. When it comes to Iowa, it is a track he likes a lot.

“It’s way wider than Richmond, just faster. Just better. It feels like an intermediate style track, but short, but still fast. I like this place. They did a good job with it.”

In 2024, Kyle Larson won the pole award in the first Cup Series race ever at Iowa. He finished a disappointing P34, but it was a learning experience. This season, maybe he wants to go out and “embarrass” the field?