Kyle Larson’s Experience at Disneyland Shows NASCAR Still Has a Lot of Ground to Cover

On November 7, when Kyle Larson took the chequered flag in Phoenix, he became the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. The Hendrick driver capped off a historic season with 10 wins, earning him praises from all over the country. His name was on top of everyone’s list and everyone’s lips inside the NASCAR community.

And yet, what Larson recently experienced at Disneyland speaks volumes about where NASCAR has gone wrong. Don’t worry, the previous sentence sounds like the premise of a modern Disney movie, but the incident is from reality, so it’s not that bad.

Larson had gone to Disneyland during the Thanksgiving holidays. And surely, he would’ve expected to be recognised considering the hype around him in media. But to his surprise, barring a few, “Hey, champ!” or “Congrats on a great season”, not many recognised him after all.

The champ joked that he was hoping for “more pandemonium” around him to access ‘additional benefits’, you know, like celebrity perks. He said, “I wanted like this extra special treatment to get to go backstage, but there weren’t enough people who knew who I was.”

“I had a friend there and I was like, ‘Man, we should talk him into going crazy when he sees me. And then (the VIP guide) would be like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re really famous. We need to take you around the back entrance.'”

Kyle Larson not being recognised says a lot about NASCAR’s current state

One thing that should be made clear is that in no way, Kyle Larson pompous or ‘needy’ for celebrity treatment. But his revelation hints at where NASCAR has gone wrong in the modern era.

In the last decade or so, the sport has faced a continuous free fall in terms of viewership and advertising money. But NASCAR President Steve Phelps had recently asserted that the ratings are going up, and NASCAR is heading to a bright future.

Yes, the signs of a future are little glimpses and not an entire image. But Larson’s experience suggests that NASCAR might just be in its own bubble. This is not to criticise or reject the progress. But simply to question its touch with reality.

Because if someone like Kyle Larson, the biggest name in NASCAR today can go relatively unrecognised, it’s a statement that speaks more than forecasts and claims.

Hopefully, things will get better.

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