For someone as accomplished and successful as Tony Stewart, you wouldn’t necessarily think he would have a lot of regrets in his career. After all, he’s won big in NASCAR, INDYCAR, Late Models, and more recently in NHRA as a driver and as an owner. But the truth is, he does consider a missed opportunity a pretty big regret of his career. That missed opportunity for Stewart is none other than Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson.
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The #5 driver has proven himself to be one of the most talented drivers of his generation. He has a Cup championship to his name and a few records as well so far. At this stage of his career, one can only imagine how high Larson could soar with Hendrick Motorsports in the coming years.
But there lies Stewart’s regret. Because instead of Rick Hendrick reaping the rewards off of Larson’s talent and capabilities, it could’ve been Tony Stewart.
Tony Stewart on missing out on signing “unicorn” Kyle Larson
Speaking in an interview in September 2021, when Kyle Larson was on an absolute roll on the way to his first Cup championship in a record-breaking campaign, Stewart was asked about whether he has his ‘Damn it’ moments on the idea that instead of HMS, it could’ve been him who could’ve signed Larson.
“I said that the day that I found out, I couldn’t get him. I said it that day – probably in words that I can’t use right now – But I said that a lot that day, and have said it every day since then. That will be one of the biggest regrets of my professional career is not getting that kid and having an opportunity to race him in our cars,” Stewart replied as per CBS Sports. “He’s a once-in-a-lifetime driver. I say he’s a unicorn.”
“He’s just literally one of those guys that – who knows – I’m sure in our lifetime we’re gonna see somebody else come along that’s gonna be like Kyle, but it’s probably gonna be a long time before we see another person step up and another driver step up and do what Kyle has been able to do in the last year and a half.”
Kyle Larson remains thankful to Stewart for getting his name out there
While Stewart has never shied away from proclaiming his love and admiration for Larson’s talent and craft, the #5 driver has also been very vocal about Stewart’s role in his career, especially in the early stages. In an interview from his pre-Hendrick days, Larson opened up on how Stewart helped him get his name out there.
“2011, I had a great year in open-wheel cars and Tony (Stewart), he was really the one, there was him and Jeff (Gordon), and Kasey (Kahne), who were talking about me a lot. But Tony especially, still to this day, talks about me a lot, and keeps my name out there,” Larson said as per NBC Sports. Larson even went to claim that Stewart might’ve helped Chip Ganassi Racing notice him, who eventually went on to sign him and give him his first big break in NASCAR.
So to conclude, one must admit that perhaps we may never see Tony Stewart and Kyle Larson teaming up in NASCAR. But then again, there’s a big chance that without Tony Stewart, we may not have seen Kyle Larson in NASCAR after all.
