It’s hard not to admit that Kyle Larson is cut from the same cloth as Tony Stewart. Larson, who will make his second straight appearance in The Double on Sunday, trying to win — or at the very least, finish — both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600, has long said Stewart has been an inspiration for him.
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Stewart has driven in so many racing series that it’s hard to remember them all. But the biggest highlights are IndyCar, NASCAR, sprint and midget car dirt racing, and for the last few years, he’s been driving a 330-mph NHRA Top Fuel dragster.
Larson, meanwhile, has driven in every NASCAR series as well as spent extensive time in sprint, midget and dirt racing, and most recently, IndyCar for the Indy 500.
Veteran IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan, now an executive with Arrow McLaren, has been Larson’s coach to get him up to speed in IndyCar. Kanaan has said that the No.5 Hendrick Motorsports star is one of the most versatile drivers he’s ever seen.
That kind of talk would make Larson feel good, but he’s also aware that he’s not infallible. With two crashes already this month while practicing or testing for the 500, it shows he could very easily not complete the race.
Larson was recently asked what sets him apart from other drivers who stick to a single series. “For me, I think it’s just that I jump in a lot of different types of cars very often,” Larson said. “The guys you mentioned were pretty much committed to their class of vehicle once they got to that top level.”
The 32-year-old has already got to the top level of NASCAR, having won the Cup championship in 2021. He continued, “It’s good to stay focused on that and what not but also you just strictly learn the tendencies of that car. Where I think myself going back and forth between sprint cars and stock cars.”
While he admitted that his thoughts were only his best guess, Larson admitted that he’s flattered when he hears comments about him from other stars such as Kanaan or Stewart. “It’s cool hearing guys like that say great things about me. And it is something I’ve always tried to pride myself on, to be adaptable and be versatile,” he said.
The California native conceded that he’s made more mistakes this May than during last year’s 500, but still feels things have gone smoother this time. “I feel like the team’s been doing a good job. I don’t really feel like there’s been any major hiccups like we had a couple times last year during the practice days. So far, so good,” he went on to add.
Larson has managed to qualify 21st for the Indy 500, even if he couldn’t get himself in the 12-driver fight for pole position. Still, with his adaptability and confidence, he remains a must-watch threat on race day. Like Stewart before him, Larson isn’t just racing history — he’s writing it across every discipline he touches.
