Dirt racing enthusiasts are eager to know: When will Kyle Larson step away from NASCAR full-time to go back to his Sprint Car roots year-round?

Now a two-time NASCAR Cup champion, the 33-year-old superstar addressed that very speculation prior to becoming the 18th driver in history to capture multiple titles at stock car racing's highest level Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

It's a valid question. Larson doesn't hide his love for where he came from — dirt racing — and his desire to race open-wheel cars full-time again once his regular NASCAR driving days are over. This offseason, he'll stay busy racing Nov. 14-15's USAC Midget Hangtown 100 at California's Placerville Speedway that he's promoting, Dec. 28-30's High Limit International event at Australia's Perth Motorplex, Jan. 12-17's Chili Bowl Nationals and likely Nov. 29's Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway and Dec. 30-Jan. 2's Tulsa Shootout.

He’s also entering the final season of his three-year contract at Hendrick Motorsports in 2026 and is part-owner of Kubota High Limit Racing — the national Sprint Car tour he co-founded with brother-in-law Brad Sweet that carries plenty of momentum entering Year 3 in 2026.

So what's Larson's outlook?

“I can absolutely see myself racing ‘til I’m 40. After that, it’s kind of when I want to reevaluate. I could still go another five, seven, 10, or stop then,” Larson said of how long he envisions himself as a full-fledged stock car racer. “But 40 is like where my head is at before I can really think outside of that.”

Those sentiments are quite the contrast from what he said as a 25-year-old in 2018, implying that he’d go full-time Sprint Car racing “before I’m 40” — his response to an X post from the World of Outlaws asking the Elk Grove, Calif., superstar “when are you running full-time with the Outlaws?”

Before I’m 40

— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) June 18, 2018

Last January, he weighed his long-term vision openly on Kenny Wallace’s podcast. Among his most revealing one-liners from that interview: “Sitting here right now, I don’t see myself going to 40. But that’s not me retiring from racing. I think I’m different than others.”

He did preface that with “it’s hard to say when you’re in it” — ultimately, giving a definite timeline on when he could retire from NASCAR. In that same vein, Larson made sure to tell Wallace “I don’t want people to get spun out about it.”

“I’m not saying I’m retiring at 30-whatever. I love racing in NASCAR,” he continued in his January 2024 interview with Wallace. “I would not be racing in NASCAR if I didn’t love it. I think a lot of race fans feel that I don’t like racing in NASCAR, and I’m just doing it to make money and then I’m going to retire and all that.

“I would have done that a long time ago if I didn’t love what I’m doing and love racing in NASCAR, and competing for wins and racing for the best team in the sport. I love, absolutely love, what I’m doing right now. And who knows, if I’m still loving it in eight years, or whatever, I could still go race NASCAR. Your life changes, who knows? I could be in NASCAR until I’m 50.”

Nearly two years after those remarks, Larson seems on track for at least seven more Cup seasons. There's plenty more he could accomplish, too. A third title would make him one of 11 drivers to accomplish the feat. And a fourth title would put him in legendary company alongside Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty as the only drivers to have at quartet of titles. 

Even should another championship not fall Larson's way, climbing up the all-time wins list is motivating enough. Tied for 29th all-time with Dale Jarrett at 32 victories, he's eight wins away from cracking the top-20. Fifty victories makes the top-15.

Tony Stewart’s 49 career wins, good for 16th all-time, apparently is Larson’s next goal.

“As far as wins, I mean, to me, again, like Tony, I’ve always looked at Tony. I’ll never catch Jeff (Gordon’s 93 victories; third all-time), so … I don’t think about Jeff,” Larson said through a laugh in last Friday’s media availability. "Tony I think is in the mid 50s. If I could get to that, I’d be pretty satisfied.”

Larson’s averaged exactly four victories a year in the Next Gen — four in 2022, three in ’23, six in ’24 and three this year. Should he maintain that winning pace the next seven years, that’d give him another 28 wins for 60 total victories by 2032. Going until his 40s also gives Larson more time as a father to prepare for life after NASCAR.

“Why 40? Well, (his son) Owen will be 18. (His daughter) Audrey will be mid-teens. (Youngest son) Cooper will be about 10. I think life is going to look completely different for them,” Larson said. “I’m sure they’ll be hopefully successful (as racers themselves or whatever career paths they choose). If Owen is racing or Audrey is racing, whatever, they’ll have a lot going on in their lives then. I would think right now I would want to be a part of that.”

The shelf life of a dirt racer does exceed that of a NASCAR driver.

A pair of 60-year-olds in Lance Dewease and Dale McDowell still compete at a high level in their respective dirt disciplines, with Dewease contending for High Limit and WoO Sprint victories this year while McDowell swept World 100 prelims — Dirt Late Model racing’s biggest event every September at Eldora Speedway — before finishing runner-up in the event's finale.

Should Larson age as gracefully as Dewease and McDowell, there’d be plenty left in the tank for him as a post-NASCAR dirt racer when Larson would theoretically chase a High Limit title — or perhaps a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series title. Larson did say on Wallace’s podcast Jan. 2024 he’d be open to following a Dirt Late Model tour, but in July told FloRacing there's no plans for him to reenter the discipline he’s been absent from since April 2024 anytime soon.

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Thinking way down the road, a Sprint Car title in his 40s would be just as difficult, if not arguably more, to pull off than a Cup title.

Only two drivers the last 20 years have won a national touring Sprint Car title in their 40s: Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser, who actually won seven of his 20 WoO titles after he turned 40, with his last as a 51-year-old in 2005.
Schatz, now 48, won WoO titles in 2017 and ’18 at ages 40 and 41. Danny Lasoski won his lone WoO title also at age 42 in 2001. Brad Sweet had title-in-his-40s potential, he just retired from full-time Sprint Car racing at 39 years old.

And seven years from now, there likely wouldn’t be much turnover at the top of Sprint Car racing either as six of the top-11 drivers from sprintcarratings.com's rating system would still be in their 30s entering 2033: Buddy Kofoid would be 30. Anthony Macri, 32. Carson Macedo, 36. Ryan Timms, 26. Corey Day, 26. Sheldon Haudenschild, 39.

David Gravel, who at this week's World Finals will be crowned a two-time WoO champ, would be 40. Rico Abreu would also be 40. Aaron Reutzel would be 42. All could easily still be racing at a high level by then.

That’s not to mention the burgeoning stars, like Gio Scelzi, who'd only be 30, and Justin Peck, who'd only be 34, plus newly-signed Kasey Kahne Racing driver Daison Pursley, who'd only be 29 — plus all the up-and-comers yet to ascend the open-wheel pipeline.

All that said, an older Larson would have his hands full when the time comes for him to compete for a High Limit title — circa 2033. For now, he’ll happily carry on with Hendrick Motorsports atop the Cup world as its latest champion while refuting claims he’s only in stock cars for the financial gain.

“Well, I think contending for championships probably helps that. I’ve always loved NASCAR. … It always bugged me that you people just assume that I don’t like doing this, I don’t like NASCAR,” Larson said during last Friday’s media availability at Phoenix. “This is, like, my 12th year. If I didn’t like it, would not be here suffering through NASCAR racing.

“I absolutely love it. I just love racing. I love competing. I love the team aspect. I love everything about racing. It doesn’t just have to be NASCAR, or just be Sprint Cars, or whatever. I love racing. Obviously it provides a lot for us and our family, whatnot.

“I get to compete at the highest form of American auto racing. What’s there to hate about that?”