Japanese American Kyle Larson may be the most talked about rookie to come through Nascar in a long time.
He’s the first participant in Nascar’s Drive for Diversity program to win a series title. Many in Nascar think he can open up a whole new demographic to the sport, reports the NY Times.
“Certainly, Asian-Americans are among the fastest growing demos in the country,” said Marcus Jadotte, Nascar’s vice president for public affairs and multicultural development. “And to the extent that Kyle’s Asian heritage allows us to reach beyond the millions of Asian-Americans in this country into Southeast Asia, we’d certainly welcome that.”
Kyle’s mother is Japanese. His father built him a fun Kart when he was just four. By age 10 he was telling his father he wanted to be a Nascar driver. By 14, his father said Kyle has won 10 racing championships.
Kyle was right in the center of a terrible accident at Daytona just last week that left 28 fans injured by flying debris. You can read more about how he survived that crash and his bright future in the NY Times.
