Controversial Statement Comparing Hendrick Motorsports Star Kyle Larson to “GOATs” Michael Jordan, Tom Brady & Kobe Bryant Draws a Negative Response

The race at the Roval was definitely a chaotic one for Kyle Larson. So much so, that he finished 35th and lost his chances of qualifying for the Round of 8. However, even after a bad day, it seems that the #5 Hendrick Sports driver has managed to establish himself as one of the greatest – at least for a handful of the people.

During the race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson hit the wall. Moreover, he was pretty upset at himself for making ‘too many mistakes’ throughout the season. Explaining what exactly happened on the track, Larson said that he tried to get as many stage points as possible.

In fact, he revealed that they had 27 or 28 points at the time he went off-track. Saying that he wasn’t even pushing his car too hard, Larson stated; “I wasn’t even pushing all that hard at that moment. It got loose and caught me off guard.”

Furthermore, Larson admitted that he had made a lot of mistakes this year. Hence, he said; “So, yeah, just keep working on my craft, get better and make a lot less mistakes. Like I said, I made way too many mistakes this whole year and you can’t win a championship like that.”

It was obviously impressive to see Larson take the responsibility for the Roval race. And thus Mamba Smith was impressed by it. While reacting to Larson’s post-race interview, Mamba Smith, NASCAR’s ‘ Chief Hype Officer’ compared him with legends like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Kobe Bryant. He said;

“That quote ‘I gotta keep working on my craft.’ That is how you become great. That’s what greatness is. The Michael Jordans, the Tom Bradys, the Kobe Bryants – those guys never quit working on their craft or what they do. And Kyle Larson is like that.”

But this statement did not sit well with fans. Twitter users clearly seemed unhappy with Mamba for comparing Larson with these legends. And as a result, they commented on NASCAR’s post on Twitter.

READ MORE: “This year I am like 12%” – Defending NASCAR Champ Kyle Larson Makes a Painful Admission

Mamba Smith on Kyle Larson making ‘mistakes’

Apart from comparing Kyle Larson with the greatest of all time, Mamba Smith applauded the Hendrick Motorsports driver for his attitude after the Roval race. Moreover, he explained that NASCAR has a lot of unexpected and surprising incidents. And for Larson, Roval was an example of exactly that.

He said; “To win a championship, he (Kyle Larson) said ‘You can’t make mistakes.’ In our sport, there’s so many verbals. You might have hit the wall, bouncing off the fence before, and never broke nothing. And that time you did.

You just never really know. And that’s why you gotta stay on (top of) the game all the time. He said it. He said ‘It caught me by surprise.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Kyle Larson Reveals He Is “Nervous” NASCAR Will Double Down on the Thing Hendrick Motorsports Teammate Chase Elliott Loves the Most

Evidently, although Kyle Larson did not make it to the Round of 8 cutoffs, it seems he still took away a lot from the race. Moreover, it is safe to assume that the results of the race will help the #5 driver amp up his game next season.