Bow down before Kyle Larson.
Before a practice session at the Richmond International Raceway, Larson held court with a group of reporters and proclaimed himself the "last true racer" who should be in the same category as all-time greats Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Tony Stewart.
Motorsport reported his comments, which included:
- "There are other drivers at the Cup level that go on their off-weekends and run other types of racing and stuff," Larson said. "They don't race nearly as much as I do outside of NASCAR. And I would race a lot more, if I was allowed to. That's why I feel like I'm the last true racer."
- "I would love to race any type of vehicle, whether it's in a circle or a straight line or a road course, I don't care," Larson said. "I just feel like I think like Andretti and Foyt and Tony Stewart, like I feel like I'm in the same category as them.
Larson quickly noted he meant no disrespect to anyone, after he disrespected basically every other driver.
First, let's be clear: Larson is really, really good. Check it out:
https://twitter.com/CreditOneBank/status/857656319670538240
Not only that, he backed up his talk by winning the Toyota Care 250 at Richmond.
Victory! @KyleLarsonRacin wins the #ToyotaCare250 @RIRInsider! The 190th win for @CGRTeams! #TeamLarson #TeamGanassi pic.twitter.com/HDNR68kUNo
— CGR NASCAR Teams (@CGRnascar) April 29, 2017
His comments will still rub some people the wrong way. There's a huge difference between showing you're great and telling the world you're great. If he wants to be one of the new faces of NASCAR (with Dale Earnhardt Jr. retiring), a little humility might go a long way in winning over fans.
Related: Dale Earnhardt Jr. alludes to the number one factor in his retirement decision