The Outlaws were the first series to publicly reinstate Larson after he completed sensitivity training earlier in the year. Larson has four wins with the series this year and 12 for his career.
“I love racing with the World of Outlaws,” said Larson, who has owned a World of Outlaws team since 2013 and has fielded the No. 2 for Carson Macedo since 2019. “They’ve stuck behind me, too, throughout this. That means a lot. I always want to support them, especially with them sticking behind me.”
Of particular note with Larson’s recent Outlaws success came talk of him being a favorite to win the 60th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals, especially after his sweep of the Brownell’s Big Guns Bash weekend at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway June 12-13.
That was, of course, before the Nationals was postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After finishing second to Donny Schatz in 2017 and third the following year, Larson’s Knoxville Nationals ended after a disappointing preliminary night effort last year.
“We were terrible at the Nationals last year and pretty bad when we came (for the Return to Racing) in May, so to have a solid night … and pass some really good cars in the feature felt good in that one,” Larson recalled. “It was definitely a confidence booster and just nice to prove that what we did at the start of our streak wasn’t a fluke.
“The Nationals is a race I’ve always wanted to win, and with getting to run more sprint car stuff, we’re showing that we’ve gotten our car better and better, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to contend for a Nationals win soon.”
With Larson’s prowess on the dirt on full display, many fans have wondered if he’ll ever make a return to NASCAR.
Larson admits he hopes to return to stock car racing, but that his mind isn’t on that for now.
“I’d love the opportunity to get back there and race,” said Larson said about competing in the Cup Series. “I feel like I’ve got a lot left to prove, both personally and professionally, so I would definitely love to make it back there to that level. But right now, I’m just so happy to be racing and I’m having so much fun right now, driving all different types of race cars almost every night of the week. It takes me back to 2011 and ’12 in a way, and that was when I had some of the most fun in my career. Now, I get to do it with my wife and kids; it’s honestly been more fun than I’ve had in a long time.
“I hoped to be doing this 10 years from now, but it’s come sooner and I’m happy I’m getting to do it at a young age,” Larson added. “I don’t ever want to close the door on a NASCAR opportunity, though.”
While NASCAR may be on the horizon, for now Larson is comfortable getting dirty, dominating the competition and adding to his ever-growing collection of checkered flags.
“We’re enjoying it,” he said with a smile. “It’s always a blast when you’re winning a lot of races.”