Gordon Knows Dirt Is Vital Part of Larson’s Winning Racing Recipe
August 19, 2021 | By Zach Horrall
Kyle Larson wants to be the best all-around race car driver in motorsports history, and in August alone, he made his case as to why race fans at The Dirt Track at IMS witnessed greatness during the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink.
His soon-to-be boss Jeff Gordon, one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all-time and a member of the NASCAR and USAC Halls of Fame, observed what he considers to be Larson’s generational talent with a bird’s eye view from the flag stand as honorary starter of the Stoops Pursuit on night one of the two-night dirt track event.
On night one, Larson prevailed with a late-race pass for the lead after a competitor’s mistake to win the Stoops Pursuit and a $3,000 check. He returned the next night to win the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink after enduring late-race contact while locked in a thrilling battle for the lead.
It capped off a huge week for Larson, who won the prestigious Knoxville Nationals the Saturday before and hopped on a plane to Indianapolis and nearly won the inaugural Verizon 200 at the Brickyard NASCAR Cup Series race on the IMS road course Sunday before finishing third.
Knoxville had eluded Larson for years, and finally checking that race off his list was one of the biggest moments of his career. That he nearly won a stock car race on a road course he had never raced on before was even more impressive.
Fast forward three days, and Larson’s success on The Dirt Track at IMS even surprised himself, who admits he doesn’t feel as comfortable in USAC Midgets as he does in sprint cars or stock cars.
“I finally felt a little bit more comfortable there, especially during those last five laps I got to run really hard and bend it hard and get good grip,” Larson said after his win. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a midget, so I’m not familiar enough with being that sideways. I’m getting the hang of it here, and we should be good (Thursday).”
From May 30-Aug. 15, Larson won NASCAR’s prestigious Coca-Cola 600, plus wins at Sonoma Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway (All-Star), NASCAR’s first race at Nashville Superspeedway and at Watkins Glen International. And that’s just on pavement.
On dirt, in addition to Knoxville, Larson won the Kings Royal winged sprint car race at Eldora Speedway and the Prairie Dirt Classic late model race at Fairbury Speedway. Add that to his second Chili Bowl Nationals win in January, and it’s been an incredible 2021 racing season for Larson, who turned 29 on July 31.
Gordon, who will ascend to vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports in 2022, said he’s known all along that once Larson got in great equipment both in stock cars and on dirt, his true talent as one of the best race car drivers in the world would shine through.
“I think we’ve all seen his tremendous talent over the years in pretty much anything he’s gotten into,” Gordon said. “He’s in the best-of-the-best equipment, and he’s the best-of-the-best driver. We all know when those stars align, and they don’t happen very often, he’s one of those talents that comes around every 10 years or something. When you put a guy like that into good equipment, he’s going to do spectacular things.”
As Larson worked his way up to the top level of American motorsports, he was often labeled as the next Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion with 93 wins, or Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.
But where Larson differs from those modern-day legends is that he races in more than his stock car on Sundays. It’s not out of the ordinary for Larson to bolt from a NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday night so he can make it to a dirt track in time Monday.
Gordon, who grew up racing USAC, said he stopped racing dirt when he reached NASCAR simply because it was a different time. Then, once you reached the pinnacle of stock car racing, that was your focus.
But Gordon, who helped bring Larson to Hendrick Motorsports this year, said Larson was adamant he needed to have the flexibility to race dirt when he wanted. Knowing the success a combination of Larson and Hendrick Motorsports could have, Gordon and team owner Rick Hendrick made it work.
“If you want Kyle Larson, you know that that’s part of what comes along with it,” Gordon said. “I’ve never sat down with anybody that pushed that hard for it and wanted it and felt that was important for him to do, not just for the dirt and short-track community, but for himself as a driver. It took a little convincing for Rick Hendrick, but now he’s embracing it.”
Larson doesn’t just want to be known as a great stock car driver. Or a great sprint car driver. Or a great midget driver. Or a great late model driver. Or maybe even a great NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver, as he has expressed interest in competing in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge one day.
He wants to be the best all-around, but that’s just part of the reason why he races multiple, different cars several days a week. He also does it because he believes the different types of racing keep him sharp and give him the skill set to be the best, which was another selling point when he convinced Gordon and Hendrick to allow him to race dirt.
“If you ask him, he just feels like it makes him very sharp,” Gordon said. “When you’re driving especially a sprint car, and even a midget, everything happens so fast because those cars have so much grip and the tracks are so short. I can imagine that even though the cars are much different, that skill set can keep your mind, reflexes and all the muscle memory really sharp. All I know is it works.”
Larson made it work all the way to Phoenix, Arizona, the site of the NASCAR Cup Series championship race. He earned his 10th NASCAR Cup Series win of the season and secured his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. He became the first NASCAR Cup Series driver to win 10 or more races in a season since Johnson did so in 2007. Plus, after leading 107 laps around the 1-mile Phoenix Raceway oval, Larson set the record for the most laps led in a 36-race NASCAR Cup Series season at 2,581. The previous record was set by Gordon with 2,320 laps led in 2001.