Supremely marveled at the Kyle Larson masterclass in Las Vegas, NASCAR veteran Kyle Petty placed the two Kyles of NASCAR side-by-side and embarked on a journey to determine who’s the better driver. Petty acknowledged that when Larson is on like he was at Las Vegas, he forces other teams to raise their game. And often, when they do that and they’re not ready for it, they make mistakes, leaving the race to the Elk Grove native.
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Petty corrected himself right away and exclaimed, “I can’t say they left the race to him because he just took the race. He has been on since he’s been at Hendrick Motorsports.”
But is he better than Rowdy? At 31, Larson has 18 wins in over three years plus a Cup Series championship with Hendrick Motorsports. However, Busch at 38, has 63 wins and two championships. “Once he (Larson) surpasses Kyle Busch then maybe I’ll give you that he is one of the greatest race car drivers on the face of the earth and he can do anything, anytime,” said Petty.
He concluded the video with a question to the viewers, “Will Kyle Larson ever be as great as Kyle Busch?”
Denny Hamlin revealed an interesting point of difference between Larson and his ex-teammate
Normally, whatever goes on behind the running of the car, i.e., the setup and the mechanics, are to be taken care of by the crew chief. The drivers don’t really have a role to play there. And for Larson, it’s the same as well.
“Larson is definitely the Cole Trickle. He just gets in and drives. He has no idea what’s going on within the car that style works, and he’s fast, and he’s really, really talented,” said Hamlin.
However, for Busch, it’s not. The Richard Childress Racing driver knows the Next Gen car in and out and from time to time, he suggests changes to his crew chief, Adam Stevens.
“Kyle Busch, when I hear him talking in debriefs, he’s very downloaded into The right front has this feel,” admitted Hamlin. “It’s got too much load, not enough load, this, that, and the other. Some crew chiefs could maybe be overwhelmed with that. I think he’s got a great pairing with Adam. He understands (Kyle) when he’s saying what he’s saying.”
So what does that make Hamlin? Hamlin said that he prefers to call himself a mix of both worlds.
