When Kyle Larson joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, the only demand he put in front of Rick Hendrick was that he be allowed to race outside NASCAR. With Jeff Gordon vouching for him, the team owner agreed to adjust a rule that he had been holding to till then. Without question, every driver who’d been a part of Hendrick Motorsports would have felt envious of the special treatment.
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Did Gordon, despite his leadership position in the team, feel something of that taste? Does he regret not participating in other competitions as much as Larson does now? He answered these questions in a recent interview with Kevin Harvick, with Hendrick and Larson present.
The four-time champion was very clear that he never had versatile interests like Larson. He said, “I did some silver crown racing and some midget racing when I first got into NASCAR in the Busch Grand National Series. It was exhausting to me.
“I didn’t think I was as good as I was on Saturday. He is different. He can hop into all these different things and apply them. Or put it behind him. I was, ‘Stock car. Stock car. Stock car,” Gordon added.
It is because Gordon applied all his focus on stock car racing that he was able to achieve such significant success. He won 93 races in the Cup Series across his legendary career and took home four championships. Larson, at 33 years of age, has 32 wins and two championships to his name. His records outside of NASCAR extend far beyond.
How Gordon convinced Hendrick to sign Larson
One of the first conversations that Gordon had with Larson about signing for Hendrick Motorsports was in February 2020. He remembers having a chat with him at the Daytona bus lot and the demand that the driver had presented about racing sprint cars. Gordon had taken it right back to Hendrick.
He recalled, “I remember even after that conversation coming back to Rick and saying, ‘You know, if Larson’s an option, I think racing sprint cars is going to be pretty big to him.’ Rick was open to it.” The only concern from Hendrick’s side had been that the drivers not hurt themselves doing something reckless.
Larson’s deep passion for what he did and Gordon’s intervention ended up winning the benefactor over. Today, the only regret that he carries is that he did not sign Larson earlier.
