Larson Planning Winter Dirt Return

Kyle Larson willing to put his NASCAR career at risk with a Sprint Car injury like Tony Stewart suffered

Kyle Larson confirmed that he will contest a schedule similar to the one he ran last winter, beginning with the 75th annual Turkey Night Grand Prix midget race Nov. 26 at Perris Auto Speedway. Larson also plans to race his winged sprint car during the early January Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown at Cocopah Speedway in Arizona before turning his attention to the Jan. 12-16 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Okla. "As soon as our season is done I'll go to Perris to do the Turkey Night," Larson confirmed while at Phoenix Int'l Raceway over the weekend.

"I'll do the first three nights at Cocopah Speedway and then I'll do the Chili Bowl. So that'll be my open-wheel schedule for the offseason." Larson's focus the last few years has been on his career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, so he hasn't done nearly as much open-wheel racing as he did while climbing the racing ladder. He said in the future he hopes to do more open-wheel racing when his schedule allows, but he said he needs permission from his team owner Chip Ganassi in order to do that. "I'd like to (run more open-wheel races), but I just don't know about that. I'd have to get permission," Larson said. National Speed Sport News