Dirt-track poster child Kyle Larson ready for Cup debut

Jeff Gluck | USA TODAY Sports

CONCORD, N.C. — When Kyle Larson takes the green flag in a Sprint Cup Series race for the first time in his life on Saturday night, he'll have a legion of grassroots racing supporters behind him.

Larson is the latest driver from the tight-knit sprint car community to ascend to the top level of motorsports in the United States, following the likes of Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne.

But he's not just another driver, according to those who have watched him race since he was 7 years old.

"I never saw Parnelli Jones or A.J. Foyt in their prime, but by far Kyle Larson is the most talented driver I've ever seen," said Brad Doty, a former sprint car driver and current analyst. "He's the most versatile. What he was able to do in a sprint car from early on, it was incredible. It looked like he'd been driving his whole life."

That uncanny talent has helped the 21-year-old Larson ascend from running local short tracks to NASCAR's big leagues in just two years. The rapid rise, which continues with the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, has surprised even his own family.

When Larson was younger and informed his father about his plans to make it as a professional driver, his dad (a hardcore race fan) cringed.

"I'd be like, 'Poor kid, geez. How do you tell him (about reality)?'" said his dad, Mike Larson. "But he's always had that confidence. I don't think he's in awe of anything."

Still, his dad said, Larson's upcoming debut is "basically unbelievable."

"It's hard to understand it's happened this quick," he said.

So how did Larson get to this point? Talent was certainly the primary factor, but circumstances also helped his cause.

At the beginning of this year, the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing development driver was effectively loaned to Turner Scott Motorsports' Nationwide Series team, where he's currently spending his first full season at one of NASCAR's top three levels. Though Larson had only a handful of pavement starts in his career, he's ninth in the Nationwide standings with 15 top-10 finishes in 29 races.

Many felt he could have used another year of seasoning in Nationwide, but team owner Chip Ganassi tabbed him to replace the outgoing Juan Pablo Montoya in EGR's No. 42 Cup car next season.

That's why Larson will get some seat time driving Phoenix Racing's No. 51 car at Charlotte (in a Ganassi-prepared car sponsored by Target).

"I think he's obviously ready," Ganassi said. "He certainly represents all those dirt track racers. He's kind of a poster child for those guys. He did it on talent, he didn't do it by buying his way up. I think there's a lot to be said for that."

Ganassi insisted he's not worried about bringing Larson up too early. He likes the way Larson drives and conducts himself off the track, the team owner said.

"I've made risky decisions before," Ganassi said. "I don't think this is one of them."

If the even-keeled Larson doesn't seem overly excited about his Cup debut, it's because he's not. Though Larson acknowledged being a bit anxious by his standards (he forgot to put his contacts in and shave on Thursday morning), the California native said he's trying to treat Saturday like just another race as much as possible.

Mike Larson expected his son would have that approach because, he said, Kyle is "the most level person I've ever known in my life."

"He's somebody who doesn't get very up or very down about much of anything," Mike Larson said. "He's just not the type of person who is going to walk up to somebody and say, 'Man, I'm excited I'm going into Cup!' That's not Kyle. He kind of shrugs his shoulders like he expects to be there."

Kyle, wearing a black "LEFTURN" hat in honor of Jason Leffler, who died from injuries sustained in a sprint car crash in June, said he's "just ready to get on the track and see where I stack up." But he hoped he'd stack up with a top-20 finish (which would be very good for a debut), he said.

Whatever happens, Larson knows he's carrying the torch for a community of people who remember him as a scrawny youngster in the pits of Northern California's dirt tracks.

"I feel like they're behind me," Larson said. "I'll always be a part of sprint car racing."

Said Doty: "Kyle emphasizes the good of what this type of racing can do and how it can teach a driver. As far as pride within the sprint car community… it kind of legitimizes this type of racing."

Follow Jeff Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck