NASCAR Cup Series

No. 19 of 2014's 31 top moments: Kyle Larson wins ROY honors

Published Dec. 13, 2014 9:35 a.m. ET

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Tom Jensen

Editor's note: For the month of December, FOXSports.com will count down 31 moments that defined the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. This is No. 19.

From the very outset of the 2014 season, there was no question that Kyle Larson was a unique and very special talent.

Larson lived up to his potential and then some in 2014, easily winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors after a sensational season where he basically did everything you could do without winning a race. Three times in 2014, Larson posted runner-up finishes and all told, he had eight top-five and 17 top-10 finishes in 36 races.

When the points were totaled, Larson ended the year in 17th place, best among the rookie drivers and best among drivers who failed to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Larson finished one position ahead of his Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammate Jamie McMurray, and he had more top fives and top 10s than McMurray as well.

Larson's best weekend came at Auto Club Speedway, where he won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday and was runner-up in the Sprint Cup race on Sunday. It was an emotional first Nationwide victory for Larson, who had five second-place finishes in his previous 37 series starts.

"It means the world to finally get it here in my home state of California," said Larson. "... Man, that was a blast racing out there."

The success didn't surprise Larson, who grew up racing open-wheel sprint cars and Midgets, as well as late models.

"We were really competitive all season long with the Target team, and came really, really close to winning a couple of them," said Larson. "Starting off the year finishing second, really, really early in the season at Fontana was great. There was a lot of room on the Kyle Larson bandwagon on to start the season. I think a lot of people chose Austin Dillon to win it, and I was pretty confident in myself and in my team that we could do it. I knew there would be some ups and downs, but I felt like we would be the top contender once we got halfway through the season, and we definitely were.  

"Really proud of that, proud of the effort everybody has put in on these race cars," added Larson. "We got better throughout the season, and just is a huge honor to win this title with all the other names that have won it."

As if that weren't enough, Larson bought his first house earlier this year, a beautiful property on Lake Norman, north of Charlotte -- and he and girlfriend Katelyn Sweet will become first-time parents this month.

VIDEO: A look back at Kyle Larson winning his first career Sprint Cup pole at Pocono

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