Kyle Larson Reveals What Makes Him Similar to 7x NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson

Although it’d be tough for a driver to relate to or liken himself to a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion like Jimmie Johnson, if there’s any current driver that can do it, it has to be Kyle Larson. Because that’s exactly what he recently did. However, to clarify, Larson did not claim that he was like Johnson. He simply pointed to the aspect of Johnson’s personality that he finds similar to his own.

In a recent piece by Hendrick Motorsports ahead of the Hall of Fame induction of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, arguably the greatest driver-crew chief duo in NASCAR’s history, their current drivers shared their thoughts on the legendary duo. And in Larson’s case, he mentioned how he relates to Johnson.

“I’m fortunate that I got to race against him and had some great battles with him,” Larson said. “He was a tough competitor. He always kind of lived on the edge of disaster – a little bit like me in a way. He probably made fewer mistakes than I did when he was in his prime.”

“Beyond that, I think he is just a great person and a very well-respected person. I can’t think of anyone else who is as respected as Jimmie (Johnson). There’s a lot of young drivers like myself who paid a lot of attention to the way he raced and how he was off the racetrack.”

Kyle Larson on his way to win ‘many championships’ as per Chad Knaus

Chad Knaus, the man who knows a thing or two about winning championships, made a big prediction about what the future holds for Kyle Larson. In an interview with SiriusXM last year, Knaus opened up on his thoughts about Cliff Daniels, the current crew chief of the #5 driver, and what being under his command could mean for the 2021 Cup champion.

“He (Cliff Daniels) has had a lot of great support and he does a fantastic job. He’s built up a team around him which is really, really strong, and solid, and he keeps leading those guys,” Knaus said. “He does a really good job. I’m pretty proud of him.”

“I do think that they can go on to win many championships.”

So it’ll be interesting to see how many Cup championships and wins Kyle Larson ends his NASCAR career with. Although one can almost be sure that it’d certainly be more than one considering his talent and the team around him.

But still, let’s see how many it’ll be.