Kyle Larson is more than a two-time NASCAR Cup champion. He has built a reputation in dirt racing as a versatile driver and, increasingly, as a mentor figure. Dirt racer Rico Abreu can attest to that, and it did not stop with Larson himself.

On Wednesday nights, when Larson’s name echoes through dirt ovals as Yung Money, rival sprint car owners and crew chiefs talk about the same thing: the Larson family. Mike and Janet Larson didn’t just cheer from the grandstands. They opened garages, introduced Abreu to Keith Coon and Paul Silva, and made sure the kid from California had a seat when doors were closed.

Kyle Larson wasn’t the only one helping Abreu

Rico Abreu revealed on the Couches That Made Us podcast: “I thought at that time that Kyle was this amazingly talented young racer. I was chasing his direction in the sport, and it was like, Kyle’s going to Keith Coon’s. We got to figure out how to get in a Keith Coon’s car. Kyle’s going to Paul Silva’s car or going to Brent Kaden’s sprint car; we got to figure out how to get with the Kaden’s group. Mike and Janet were really helping my family and I navigate the direction of what we really want to do and where we need to be.”

“If you really dissect it, Kyle really pushed me to get to where I’m at today. A lot of people don’t really know that, cause I don’t talk about it often. He was definitely my motivator through all of that just because of his instant success. He was naturally talented, and I feel like, now looking at it, I can’t believe how far I’ve gotten in my career. A lot of it was because you were chasing someone else’s dream of wanting to live that dream, of being an unbelievable race car driver.”

Larson became the benchmark, proving hard work opens doors. Abreu’s gratitude extended to Larson’s parents, who helped navigate his early career. Their actions made him remember the advice his parents shared about surrounding himself with good people. Despite that foundation, Larson’s 2026 Cup campaign has proven challenging.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver endured a tough 2026 Cup campaign

Unfortunately, the #5 driver’s dirt-track success hasn’t carried over to NASCAR this season. Larson has not won a Cup race in 2026, but he sits sixth in points after Chicagoland, where a mid-race spin dropped him to 34th. He still has seven top-five finishes this season.

He said after the race, “I wish we weren’t so reliant on the bottom of the car because, yeah I mean obviously I spun so it’s self-induced but I’ve had other time in the past couple of years where you run the debris over and you get a flat that’s out of your control and then you drag your diffuser off and that’s the end of your day. So it kind of sucks, but I mean I’m just mad at myself tonight.”

His next chance comes at Atlanta, a track where he has not won in the Cup. Teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron have found success there, but Larson’s focus this week is simple, and that’s to carry the same work ethic from the dirt to the asphalt.