In an interview with Michael Waltrip, Kyle Larson explained how defeating a former NASCAR driver, Matt DiBenedetto while they were younger, brought him a sense of accomplishment.
“Matt DiBenedetto is actually the kid to beat. When I was, you race at Cycleland (Speedway), yeah pretty baby blue, 44. Really nice stuff and they were really fast. And he was the guy to beat. We just got a new car a few weeks before. And yeah, I somehow won.”
“I don’t remember if he finished second or where he finished, but I remember it was just it was a cool accomplishment winning your first race, but really cool knowing that you beat Matt DiBenedetto. Because he was winning everything at the time. And you know, I was probably lapped traffic before we got the new car.”
After a successful junior career, Kyle joined Chip Ganassi Racing in 2014. However, they cut ties with Kyle after his controversial live stream. This is when HMS signed him and he went on to win the 2021 Cup Series for them.