NASCAR's Kyle Larson unfazed by missing big sprint car race

The two time and defending Cup Series champion will race in a preliminary at the Knoxville Nationals two days prior.

Knoxville Iowa is home to the Knoxville Nationals, the largest and most prestigious sprint car race in the world. Larson who is a huge sprint car racer, has three career wins in the Knoxville Nationals (2021, 2023, 2024).

The Hendrick Motorsports star will race in the preliminaries on Thursday August 13 but will not race in Saturday’s main event as it conflicts with his Cup Series priorities.

Larson didn’t seem to care when asked about it at Iowa this past weekend, considering that he didn’t get to race in the prestigious event.

Larson: Missing Knoxville Nationals 'isn't a big deal'

Jeff Gluck of The Athletic highlighted Larson’s comments about missing this year’s Knoxville Nationals on X. \"We were asked why he was entered in the prelim race on Thursday and not the main on Saturday.Just to race. “Yeah, if there was weather to help us, I suppose,” Larson said.

Larson was told by Gluck that it would be a miracle for him to pull off both the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa and the Cup Series race at Richmond in Virginia.

Larson said that would be impossible because both races are scheduled to start around the same time. “But if weather can impact the start time of either of those events, it’s possible,” said the 32-time Cup Series champion.

But Larson said the weather should be OK.

They'd be racing at the same time, right? So yeah, I can't be in two places at the same time. We’d need rain at one of the sites, of course, but the weather looks good so far. “It’s nothing serious,” Larson said.

Larson was asked if it irked him that NASCAR will be going up against “The Grandaddy of Them All,” the nickname for the Knoxville Nationals.

“I’ve been fortunate to get away with running the race when it was on a Sunday NASCAR race weekend,” the California native said. Larson’s luck ran out this year and he anticipates being in a similar position next year. "It's kinda what it is. I don’t make the schedule. I’ve been lucky because it’s always been a Sunday race. “It just hasn’t worked out this year and possibly next year but yeah that’s OK,” Larson said.

Larson looking to end winless drought at Richmond

Larson has not been to victory lane in the Cup Series in 47 races. The HMS driver was the champion to close out the 2025 season but hasn't won a Cup race since May 2025 at Kansas Speedway.

Larson has won twice at Richmond the last time coming in April 2023. The champion driver will be hoping to put behind him what has been a massive slump in recent weeks with three of the last four races seeing him finish 30th or worse.