It was an impressive Sunday at Las Vegas for Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson. He not only won two stages to kick off the Round of 8, but he was also able to punch his ticket to the Championship Four, with his fourth win of the season.
Larson has shown his versatility of late. In addition to his win at Las Vegas, he recently passed Indy 500 rookie orientation and won a dirt car race in the series he owns.
Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman, Jeff Gordon, was very complimentary of the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. During a post-win press conference, Gordon was asked if he thought Larson was a better driver than him. The four-time Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer gave a candid answer.
"Yes," Gordon said. "I'm glad I didn't have to race. I got my butt kicked by one guy at Hendrick Motorsports that was my teammate. I didn't need to have two of 'em. You take a guy like Kyle and his capabilities, his talent. He's impressed me with his work ethic, too. I wasn't sure how he approached the Cup Series, especially with Cliff [Daniels, Larson's crew chief] and all the data, all the homework that Cliff gives him, and the meetings they have. Cliff is an intense guy and he brings a lot to the table. It's a lot of information that you have to absorb."
That's a lot of praise from a driver who won 93 races at the Cup level. Larson has just 23 cup wins, but he has shown his versatility on a number of tracks, much like Gordon did. So who knows better than Gordon regarding Larson's talent.
Gordon's praise isn't wasted. Larson has quickly put himself in a position to earn his second Cup championship.
