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“American Drivers Do Not Get the Credit”: Kyle Larson’s Strong Statement Threatens to Reignite Fiery Max Verstappen Debate

Jerry Bonkowski
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Max Verstappen (L) and Kyle Larson (R)

Kyle Larson made global headlines last year when he felt he was a better all-around driver than four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen. Time and public opinion — including some harsh criticism from overseas — have not changed Larson’s mind. The 2021 NASCAR Cup champion is back at it again, still insisting American-style racing — and NASCAR Cup in particular — is better than racing in other parts of the globe.

“As much as you don’t want to accept it, American auto racing and American drivers don’t get the credit we deserve,” Larson said Thursday on NASCAR Daily on YouTube. “The open-wheel, European-style fan, they don’t understand our racing, and they do think we just turn left all the time.”

Au contraire, Larson added.

“We are probably some of the most talented overall, diverse drivers in the world,” the 2021 NASCAR Cup champion insisted. “When you just strictly look at the Cup Series schedule, the style of tracks we go to, the cars we’re racing, the cars we’re racing during the week, different surfaces and stuff, I don’t think there’s a more diverse, more well-rounded crop of drivers as there would be in the Cup Series, but even American auto-racing.”

While he still gets a bit chippy at times when non-NASCAR fans insist Cup drivers have less talent than their F1 counterparts, Larson admits he’s learned to ignore much of that “us vs. them” chatter.

“Honestly, I don’t really pay much attention to that topic because I know and understand,” he said. “We’re pretty fortunate to have all the different types of racing we do in the States.”

“I do know we’re all good, I don’t really need the clout from the other half of the world, but it is what it is.”

As Big As NASCAR Is In The U.S., F1 Is Much Bigger Around The World

But Larson will concede one thing: while many may believe NASCAR or IndyCar in the U.S. is big, it pales in comparison to F1 around the world.

“To fans, racing is so small in America compared to the rest of the world,” Larson acknowledged. “That’s what I realized when I went to my first F1 race in Abu Dhabi in 2021.”

“It was just really eye-opening that you think what you’re doing in the States is really big and really cool, and the majority of people are paying attention, but they do not care.

“When a nobody like me says what I said last year, they just laugh.”

Post Edited By:Srijan Mandal

About the author

Jerry Bonkowski

Jerry Bonkowski

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Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran sportswriter who has worked full-time for many of the top media outlets in the world, including USA Today (15 years), ESPN.com (4+ years), Yahoo Sports (4 1/2 years), NBCSports.com (8 years) and others. He has covered virtually every major professional and collegiate sport there is, including the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships (including heavy focus on Michael Jordan), the Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX-winning season, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs World Series championships, two of the Chicago Blackhawks' NHL titles, Tiger Woods' PGA Tour debut, as well as many years of beat coverage of the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA for USA Today. But Jerry's most notable achievement has been covering motorsports, most notably NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA drag racing and Formula One. He has had a passion for racing since he started going to watch drag races at the old U.S. 30 Dragstrip (otherwise known as "Where the Great Ones Run!") in Hobart, Indiana. Jerry has covered countless NASCAR, IndyCar and NHRA races and championship battles over the years. He's also the author of a book, "Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates", published in 2010 (and he's hoping to soon get started on another book). Away from sports, Jerry was a fully sworn part-time police officer for 20 years, enjoys reading and music (especially "hair bands" from the 1980s and 1990s), as well as playing music on his electric keyboard, driving (fast, of course!), spending time with Cyndee his wife of nearly 40 years, the couple's three adult children and three grandchildren (with more to come!), and his three dogs -- including two German Shepherds and an Olde English Bulldog who thinks he's a German Shepherd.. Jerry still gets the same excitement of seeing his byline today as he did when he started in journalism as a 15-year-old high school student. He is looking forward to writing hundreds, if not thousands, of stories in the future for TheSportsRush.com, as well as interacting with readers.

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