Kyle Larson’s rise wasn’t born from legacy or big money, it came from a roll of the dice. In 1999, his father, Mike, saw a neighbor’s kid racing an Outlaw Kart. That sparked something. Mike didn’t tell his wife. “It was one of those ‘Let’s just keep this to ourselves and get the car home, and then we will deal with the apologies,’” he said in 2021. Later, he and Kyle quietly rolled a second-hand kart across the street, into their garage, and made a pact to go racing. Mike paid $1,200 for it, handled the mechanics himself.

While he wasn’t trying to raise a NASCAR superstar. He just wanted to give Kyle a shot. He worked on the kart at night and begged his son to help, but young Larson only wanted to drive. “My work ethic is way better these days,” Kyle joked years later. Mike added, “He’s better off in there playing on the computer, racing.” And maybe he was right. That computer and Mike’s passion helped Kyle build instincts he now uses on any track, in any machine. Fast forward to 2025, and Kyle Larson has become one of the most complete drivers in modern racing.

His ability to jump from a NASCAR stock car to a dirt sprint car and win in both makes him an influential figure for young ones who want to follow in this blueprint. You won’t have to go far to search for Larson’s impact as a father-son duo; Kyle Busch and his son, Brexton are following in his tracks. Rowdy isn’t just throwing support behind him, he’s going all in. And that’s why he’s now calling Brexton the ‘next Kyle Larson.’

Kyle Busch sets the stage for Brexton!

Just days ago, Kyle Busch firmly shut down the idea of Brexton racing in ARCA. During a media appearance at Kansas Speedway, a reporter asked Busch directly, and he didn’t mince words: “No, complete waste of time.” Busch rejected the traditional NASCAR feeder series like ARCA and laid out an alternate route for his son, focused on dirt tracks, Legend cars, and late models. It’s a unique plan that reflects Larson’s rise and plays to Brexton’s already impressive skill set.

On the latest episode of Action Detrimental, Denny Hamlin asked Busch to outline his son’s path to NASCAR. “He turns 10—he can’t race a Legend car until then, so that’s this week. He’ll actually race his Legend car debut next week at Hickory… The next level, when he turns 12, will be late model stuff. Getting him into dirt late models and pavement late models. I’d like to keep him on both, just learning all the different vehicles. Don’t stay in anything too long, then you start learning bad habits that only keep you good at that one thing. It doesn’t allow you to keep your mind open and fresh to new things,” Busch said.

So far, the results speak for themselves. Brexton has over 120 wins, more than 125 Top 10s, and championships across Bandoleros, Jr. Sprints, and Micros. At only 9, he already races head-to-head with Kyle Larson’s son Owen and even beat his dad in a 20-car field at Millbridge Speedway, finishing sixth. He just won the Spring Nationals Bandolero Bandits division championship and will debut his Legend Car at Hickory Motor Speedway on May 22.

But why both Dirt and pavements? Because Busch sees Larson as the ideal model for Brexton to follow. “I just look at Kyle, tiny Kyle, obviously. The things he can do on dirt at any given time—he can go run NASCAR on Sunday and a sprint car on Monday and win in it. That’s what Larson’s gift is,” Busch admitted. Busch admires how Larson’s foundation on dirt makes him deadly behind any wheel. It’s the very trait he hopes to instil in his son.

And Larson’s resume backs that vision. A NASCAR Cup Series champion in 2021, he’s racked up 32 Cup wins, 17 in Xfinity, and another 4 in Trucks. But that’s just the asphalt story. On dirt, he’s a three-time Chili Bowl winner, Knoxville Nationals champion, and World of Outlaws ace with 37 A-Feature wins. From winning the Brickyard 400 to dominating at Tulsa, Larson’s legacy is built on unmatched versatility, a benchmark Busch now openly chases for B-Rex.

And Kyle Busch knows what it takes. His father, Tom Busch, laid the foundation of his racing career by moving the family from Chicago to Las Vegas with nothing but ambition. “He worked for everything that we had. He busted his butt really hard for us, for myself and my brother,” Busch remembered. Tom even housed a struggling race car in his garage and turned it into a winner. That grit was passed down. The veteran driver took it and built 231 wins across NASCAR’s top series.

Now, Busch is doing the same for Brexton. He’s building his own ladder: Bandoleros, Legends, Micros, Late Models, every step designed to prep his son for the biggest stages. Like his dad once did, he’s sacrificing time, money, and effort to make sure Brexton gets every tool possible. That’s not just support. That’s legacy in motion. But while he talked about his son’s future, Kyle Busch also revealed how he lost an opportunity that is now shaping Kyle Larson’s legacy.

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Busch opens up about his robbed opportunity!

Kyle Busch has checked off almost every major box in NASCAR. Two Cup Series championships. Over 230 national series wins. A legacy secured. But there’s one dream he’s never reached, the Indianapolis 500. And now, it haunts him as the one that got away. Busch has long wanted to run “The Double”, racing the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte and the Indy 500 on the same day. The feat, pulled off by only a handful of drivers, sits high on his bucket list.

“Yeah, that would be, besides winning the DAYTONA 500—but doing the Indianapolis 500 would certainly be [the highest thing on my bucket list],” Busch said. But even after getting close, he lost the opportunity twice. He got his first shot in 2017, and the deal nearly went through. M&M’s, his longtime sponsor, was ready to back him. Chevrolet and Toyota both gave their approval. It was all lined up. But Joe Gibbs, his team owner at the time, said no.

Just like that, the plan fell apart. “Chevrolet was okay with it, Toyota was okay with it, M&M’s was paying for it,” Busch said. But Gibbs vetoed the entire thing. Then, years later, after Busch moved to Richard Childress Racing, another chance appeared. This time, it looked even more solid. A new sponsor, another IndyCar deal, a path through Zak Brown and McLaren. “I had it signed, sealed, and delivered again, and then Larson took it. I won’t release the sponsor, but I had a sponsor talking to Zak Brown, the deal was done, and we were about ready to go to contract,” he said.

The deal Busch had been chasing fell through when the sponsor tabled a condition to purchase the race car. By the time they reconsidered, Larson had locked in his ride, which he ran in 2024 and will run again this month. However, the RCR driver hasn’t ruled it out. But the wait stretches longer. His eyes are now in 2026 for a potential shot at running the Indy 500.