NASCAR and golf have always shared an odd kinship, and several Cup drivers, including Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace, can often be found swapping helmets for putters between race weekends. Kyle Larson, too, once fell under golf’s spell, calling it an obsession back in 2018. But as his schedule has grown more demanding, his time on the green has subsided to almost nothing, even though he hopes his son, Owen, will one day take up the game more seriously.

The 2025 Cup Series Champion first picked up golf in 2016 and got hooked. The sport challenged him in ways racing couldn’t, as it tested his composure and pushed him to improve one stroke at a time. But these days, he doesn’t have as many free hours to dedicate to golf.

In a recent one-on-one interview with Bob Pockrass, Larson admitted, “I don’t play much golf anymore. I just don’t have the time for it. And when I do have the time for it, I don’t want to take the time for it. So I’ve only probably played seven or eight rounds this year.”

Still, the Hendrick Motorsports driver wouldn’t mind seeing his kids pursue the sport he’s grown too busy to enjoy. When asked which sports he’d want his children to try, he said, “Any stick-and-ball sport would be cheaper than racing… Golf would be great.

“Owen’s actually got a really good golf swing, nice and smooth. We’ve just got to find the time to get him out there more often, he would. I think, [he can] be a really good golfer on the casual side of golfing.”

Owen, now 10, races in the Junior Sprint division and seems to share his father’s easy hand-eye coordination. His younger sister, Audrey, on the other hand, is cut from a different cloth and has a sharper competitive streak, as per Larson. She’s found a home on the ice, having traded the pit lanes for hockey rinks, lacing up skates to chase a new kind of adrenaline.

Racing, however, remains a family affair among the Larsons. Both Owen and Audrey suited up for the Junior Sprint division at the BC39 event held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July 2025. They competed in their heat races and lined up for the main event under the lights, while proud dad Larson watched from the sidelines.

Though Levi Ballard ultimately won the Stoops Junior Sprint Feature, the Larson siblings showed flashes of racing talent that hinted at a bright future, on the track, the green, or even the rink.

For Larson, golf may have taken a backseat, but between racing careers and sprouting athletes at home, life off the track is anything but idle.