Kyle Larson was the first in his family to reach NASCAR’s top-level. However, with two kids who race, he wants to ensure he isn’t the last one. And when asked which one of them seems like a more real racer – as of now, at least – Larson had a clear answer.
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Kyle Larson makes the tough call between Owen and Audrey
“I don’t wanna be too loud,” Larson said, as he announced the stronger future driver in his household. “I would say my daughter, for sure.”
Owen Larson, who is 11, is the eldest of the three Larson children, and by any measure, a proven competitor. At the 2026 Tulsa Shootout, he won a Winged A-Class heat race, telling FloRacing: “I knew I had to just roll the bottom and get the win.” Despite dealing with helmet fog during warm-ups, he stayed composed and finished fourth in the Restricted A-Class feature.
Audrey, 7, the middle child, won her own heat race in the Junior Sprint category and fought through to the LCQs in her first-ever Tulsa Shootout appearance. But more than results, Larson’s pick is based on what he sees in the way each of them approaches the seat.
“Owen, my son, he’s the older one. He’s good, too, but he’s like, I don’t know, he’s just not mentally as confident as she is. She is very competitive, and she wants to do a good job in everything that she does,” Kyle Larson added, speaking on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast. “I think she’s a step ahead of where he was at the same age.”
It goes without saying that mental composure under pressure separates good racers from great ones.
At the 2026 Tulsa Shootout, as well, Larson had described Audrey’s approach: “She’s kind of herself. I think she’s just really competitive, like competitive spirit, and ultimately, I think she watches her older brother and wants to do what he’s doing, but like I said, she’s herself.”
Back then, too, he had added a pointed observation on the racing comparison: “On the racing side of it, she’s probably more similar to me than Owen would be.”
Coming from a celebrated driver who has won Cup races on raw instinct and calculated aggression, that’s not a small thing to say about a seven-year-old. Audrey knows it too, as she jokingly told Clinton Boyles she’s faster than Owen, and when asked what she wants to do when she grows up, she didn’t hesitate: “Be a race car driver.”
Audrey also plays hockey and softball, but when asked to choose one sport, her answer was immediate: “I like racing way more.”
Still, Larson knows that the course of time would change several things.
“Some kids develop at different speeds, and yeah, Owen definitely shows glimpses of like, man, I think he could be really good.”