Ask any NASCAR fan to name the most versatile driver in the garage, chances are the name will be Kyle Larson. The 2021 Cup Series champion is a walk-in favorite in any racing format he participates in, with an almost universal acknowledgment of his skill behind the wheel. But before Larson, there was Tony Stewart. To this date, Smoke is the only driver in history to win championships in both IndyCar and NASCAR and when taking into account his exploits in other formats, it is not hard to make a case for Stewart being one of the most well-rounded drivers of all time.
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Recently the three-time Cup champion appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and opened on this aspect of racing, again bringing up Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson to put across his versatility argument.
Tony Stewart on how a NASCAR driver decides which road to take
When asked about when a driver decides which format he is going to race in, Stewart said, “Honestly it depends on what you want to do, and you know, kids and parents. Parents are training their kids early, they get them down a path, you either want to go IndyCar racing or you want to go NASCAR racing or you want to go drag racing. We got guys like Kyle Larson who come from the dirt track ranks and run sprint cars all the time. He is awesome in Cup but he comes back and he runs Dirt Late Models and Dirt Sprint Cars.”
On how he was able to compete at such a high level in almost every series he raced in, the SHR owner said, “I didn’t worry about what everybody else did. We did it our way, we stuck to our program. Even when we won we always tried to figure out how could we have done it better.”
This is not the first time Stewart has spoken highly about Larson. On many occasions, the SRX owner has expressed admiration for the Hendrick driver, even ranking him above himself on one occasion.
Tony Stewart claimed Kyle Larson was better than he was
Back in 2021, after a season where Larson dominated NASCAR and dominated almost every other series he showed up to, Stewart claimed the #5 driver was better than he ever was. Stewart said, “The incredible thing about Kyle is that most drivers have to really think about what they’re doing as they do it. Kyle? He’s plug and play, man. You just plug him in the car, send him off and he’ll figure it out very naturally.”
“In an era where technology is better, the competition is much closer than its ever been, and for him to dominate in so many different cars, that’s hard to do.”
Stewart also claimed once that not signing Larson to SHR and letting him go to Hendrick Motorsports was one of the biggest regrets of his professional career. By the looks of it, when Kyle Larson’s contract with Hendrick runs out, Tony Stewart might really make a push for him to join his team.
