Kyle Larson reflects on what makes Northern California racers special

When it comes to race car drivers from Northern California, what makes them so good and so aggressive on the track? From dirt to open wheel to NASCAR. Drivers like Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick have been coming out of the area for years.

Northern California has produced top talent in motorsports for decades. Kyle Larson is the latest champion, hailing from Elk Grove, California.

When asked by Lee Spencer of FloRacing about drivers from the area, Larson laid it out plainly. He thinks it’s the style of racing that young drivers go through as they develop.

“Well, I think it goes back to what you can race in Northern California and the type of tracks you’re racing on,” Larson explained. “Yeah, I think the bullring style tracks really teach you to manhandle a vehicle. For Tyler and I, in our case, going up and racing outlaw karts too was really important to shape our base of how we drive. And I would say Tyler and I are very similar drivers, where we kind of hang it out on the edge a lot.

“You can produce more raw speed than a lot of people, but yeah, I think you look at a guy like Denny or Chase, and they’re really good on the technical, slower-style, momentum-ish tracks. Those are the places where Tyler and I struggle. Everybody kinda develops at a young age, and for us, I think our aggressive style was definitely developed racing in Northern California in outlaw karts, and sprint cars, and whatnot.”

Whatever it is, it is working. It feels like drivers like Kyle Larson are becoming more and more common. These versatile, drive-anything racers are the new norm for those in their early 20s and late teens.

Kyle Larson got flipped during Hangtown 100

During last night’s Hangtown 100 USAC feature, Kyle Larson was on his way to a win until he got into it with Daison Pursley. Well, Pursley got into Larson, to be more exact. With five laps to go, the race went from exciting to upsetting rather quickly.

In sprint cars, a lot can happen. The USAC Midget race at Placerville last night was a really exciting event. With laps winding down, it was Kyle Larson leading Daison Pursley and Buddy Kofoid. Then the move from Pursley happened.

After getting flipped in a rather poor move from Pursley, Larson made sure he knew how he felt about it. After getting out of his HendrickCars.com machine, Larson gave a slow clap and a double thumbs up to the man who wrecked him.

Kyle Larson was on his way to another Hangtown 100 win, but this flip ended his hopes. Daison Pursley went on to win the race in the end.