The Kyle Larson vs Max Verstappen debate continues to rage amongst motorsports circles even if the two drivers have seemingly let go of the topic off late and the latest to jump in on the action is one of NASCAR’s most well-known faces of late.
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Former Cup Series full-timer Tony Stewart recently weighed in with his views on what has been a topic of discussion for months, ever since Larson announced his 2025 return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The two-time champion elaborated on his perspective on a recent episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, speaking from the point of view of a pure racer.
“I’m a huge Kyle Larson fan. Love what he does in a sprint car. You can take him and drop him in any racecar and he’s gonna be up to speed pretty quick. But I also remember taking Juan Montoya to Eldora Speedway putting him in a dirt late model that he’d never even seen before, he’d never raced on dirt before. His third lap on the racetrack he was third on the board.”
3 Straight Sprint Car Wins now for Kyle Larson with https://t.co/dKcejgbKXM aboard his Sprint Car! pic.twitter.com/nxrXUWTgyg
— PlanBSales.com (@PlanBSales) June 11, 2020
Speaking to not only Larson’s adaptability as a driver but Juan Pablo Montoya’s as well, Stewart further added how he thinks Verstappen would also possess the same qualities.
“Could you take Max Verstappen, set him in a Cup car and him be competitive, I think you could. I remember we did a deal with Gene Haas, we brought Kevin Magnussen, his F1 driver to a dirt track in North Carolina and put him in a 360-wing sprint car, and by the end of the night he was within two-tenths of a second of me and that was in four runs that he made.”
Stewart’s point essentially points out how he thinks every top-level driver in any genre of motorsport around the world possesses the skill to adapt to his surroundings, with the differentiating factor only being how much time he/she would need as an individual.
“I just like watching him drive a racecar”
Stewart also made it a point to express his fandom for the #5 Chevrolet Camaro driver after he spoke of how the HMS regular weighs up against some of the fiercest drivers in global motorsports.
Adding to how he enjoys watching the Elk Grove, California native drive any form of car on any kind of track and surface owing to his ability behind the wheel, Stewart complimented Larson in a way few drivers would have been complimented by the motorsports veteran.
“I don’t give a crap if it’s a go-kart, the Cup car, the sprint car, the IndyCar, I just like watching him drive a racecar. He just polarizes people with what he can do behind the steering wheel.”
Stewart went as far as to claim Larson as a generational talent, much to the likes of Verstappen when he first came on to the scene in F1. Coincidence? We don’t think so.
