Every 10 years or so we see someone step into NASCAR that has “Superstar” written all over him. Is Kyle Larson the next Jimmie Johnson/Jeff Gordon?
The 21 year-old from northern California is looking every bit the part of NASCAR’s next star. In Sunday’s race at Talladega, the young rookie driver brought his #42 Chevrolet to a 9th place finish. He looked anything but a first time driver at Talladega as he out performed NASCAR stars such as Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and the Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt.
Larson’s Mom is a Japanese-American whose parents spent time in a US Japanese internment camp. Larson attended his first race when he was just a week old. He surely doesn’t remember that but he probably remembers that he began racing at the age of 7 (Go Karts). After originally hoping to race in the Indy Car Series, Larson was signed by the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Team in 2012.
His career has been on the rise since. He became the first Asian-American driver to win the Rookie of the Year in the Nationwide Series in 2013. He won his first Nationwide race last season taking the trophy home in the Treatmyclot.com 300, beating NASCAR Sprint Cup stars Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.
After winning the Rookie of the Year Award in the Nationwide Series, Larson was moved up to the Sprint Cup Series where he has replaced Juan Pablo Montoya in the #42 car. He’s carried over that same Nationwide Series success to the Sprint Cup Series.
Comparing Larson through 10 races to the careers of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson is a reach for sure but there’s no denying the potential we’re all seeing. Let’s look at the rookie seasons of Gordon and Johnson.
Gordon – 30 races – 7 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s. Finished 14th in points.
Johnson – 36 races – 3 wins, 6 top 5’s, 21 top 10’s. Finished 5th in points.
Larson – 10 races – 2 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s. Sits 13th in points.
He has the patience and ability to get the best finish he can just like a Jeff Gordon. He has the calm coolness of an unflappable Jimmie Johnson. Here are two quotes after Sunday’s race that indicate traits we often see in Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
A little Jimmie Johnson: After Sunday’s top-ten finish, which gave Larson his 5th top-ten finish this season, Larson was cool as a seasoned veteran saying this after the race. “Yeah it was cool.”
A little Jeff Gordon: “I just wanted to stay out of trouble. We’ve been making up a lot of points throughout the year after Daytona, and to come back to another super speedway, I was really nervous. I’m glad to get a good finish and stay up there in points.”
Larson currently has more top 10 finishes than Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski. That’s pretty telling evidence of a rookie driver quickly finding his way around. He’s certainly separated himself from a very strong Sprint Cup Rookie crop and has now managed his way into the Chase discussion.
As that Christmas Carol goes, “Do you see what I see?” The answer is a little bit of Jimmie Johnson and a little bit of Jeff Gordon. Oh the future looks bright for this young man.
On to Kansas for some Saturday night racing.
My picks:
1) Matt Kenseth
2) Jimmie Johnson
3) Kyle Larson
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