Kyle Larson could retire early from NASCAR: 'I don't see myself going to 40'

In his NASCAR career, Kyle Larson has already become a champion and solidified himself as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. So, what about retirement? Kevin Harvick just left the Cup Series at 47 years old. At 31, is Larson thinking about what his retirement could be like?

It is fairly common for drivers to race into their 40s. However, some of NASCAR’s best in recent years have been calling it quits around 42. Talking with Kenny Wallace on the Kenny Conversation, Larson opened up about his future career plans.

“I mean, it’s hard to say when you’re in it,” Larson told Wallace. “I don’t, like sitting here right now, I don’t see myself going to 40. But that’s not me retiring from racing. That’s, I think I’m different than others. Kevin, I mean, he’s retiring, not from full-time racing, but he’s got a plan to go in the booth and all of that. A lot of these drivers too, I don’t think they meant to be done at 42 I think they just got pushed out of the sport a little bit with young drivers coming up, who could be paid a lot less than what they’re making, stuff like that.

“But then, for me, there’s a lot of stuff I want to accomplish while I’m still in my prime. I’m 31 right now, I’m going into my 11th season in the Cup Series, I’ve already been in it for a while. So, in my eyes if I can race another seven or eight years, I can earn a lot of money, I can set myself up really well and I can go still be in my prime, hopefully, and go compete for a premier dirt series championship.”

Kyle Larson already has plans outside of NASCAR.

Kyle Larson goes beyond NASCAR

So, it seems like Larson has his mind made up a bit. He wants to do more than just NASCAR. His love for sprint cars and dirt racing is obvious. He owns an entire series now with High Limit and it has just expanded to compete with the World of Outlaws.

For Kyle Larson, winning a championship on the dirt, racing Late Models, and more are all on his mind. If he’s racing 38 weeks out of the year in the Cup Series, he doesn’t have much time to do all of that other stuff, does he?

There is a real chance that Larson will win multiple championships between now and his 40th birthday. What if he rallies off a couple more before he turns 35? Will he have his eyes on a full season of IndyCar? Ditch NASCAR and focus on building High Limit into a powerhouse?

I think that we could see the career trajectory for Larson change dramatically this year. His Indy 500-Coke 600 double is going to get a lot of attention. Racing with Arrow McLaren, he’s going to be in great equipment. Depending on how that start goes, we might see Larson enticed by open-wheel racing.

In eight years, where do you think Kyle Larson will be racing full-time?