Many race fans know that NASCAR star Kyle Larson spent the early part of his career making a name for himself on the sprint car and midget circuits of the American racing landscape.  What many do not know is that there are two ingredients that prepared him during the years before making the move to full sized race cars – Outlaw Karts and Cycleland Speedway.

 

In 1999, at the age of 7, Kyle began to hone his racing skills in Northern California.  The flourishing Outlaw Kart scene there proved to be fertile ground to compete in high powered vehicles against huge numbers of quality competition.  The lion’s share of Kyle’s racing came at the premier Outlaw Kart track in the country, Cycleland Speedway.

 

Opened for racing in 1963, for many years Cycleland was well known for the motorcycle events held there.  Former motorcycle racer, and longtime owner and promotor, Lowell Moural has been at the helm for 35 years, and first held an Outlaw Kart race there in 1985.  Over the next few years four wheeled vehicles started to gain a foothold on the original oval track on the property.  Eventually, that oval made way for the current 1/8 mile banked clay venue that was created in 1991, which held its first event the following year.  Today both the motocross track and the Outlaw Kart track thrive with vast numbers of competitors descending upon the hallowed grounds for regular events. 

 

Since the time Outlaw Karts graced the facility, Cycleland has seen a multitude of talented youngsters earn their stripes there, before moving on to bigger and better things in the racing world.  While countless drivers are willing to get their racing thrills into their adult years at Cycleland, for three decades now the track has been a prolific feeder of young talent to the sprint car scene in Northern California. 

 

At the age of 14, after racing fulltime at Cycleland for seven years, winning five track championships in four different divisions and over 100 feature events, Kyle was approached to drive a sprint car for a long time Northern California car owner.  Becoming the first legally approved 14 year old sprint car driver in California, he used the opportunity to his advantage as he gradually developed the abilities that led him to NASCAR.

 

Kyle still maintains deep connections to his roots by continuing to race outlaw karts and sprint cars on a semi-regular basis, while also owning a World of Outlaws sprint car team. He, along with Cycleland Speedway, are proud to have developed the “Showcase” into the Indy 500 of Outlaw Kart racing in a just few short years.  With the largest purse and biggest kart count of any event in the country, Kyle and crew intend to keep the Outlaw Kart Showcase as the must-see event on the national Outlaw Kart calendar.