“Couple of Alcoholic Beverages Involved” – Kyle Larson Nearly Declined Jeff Gordon’s Offer to Join Hendrick Motorsports for One Single Reason

Kyle Larson made a huge step in his Cup Series career when he decided to join Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 in the hunt for a championship. Luckily for Larson, the gamble paid off, and he won his first championship with the racing team the same year. Interestingly, four-time Cup Series champ Jeff Gordon, who also happens to be the Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, played a crucial role in bringing the 30-year-old driver onboard. But surprisingly, Gordon recently revealed that Larson nearly turned down the offer to join his team for one single reason.

Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larson recently came together for the latest edition of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Larson revealed that Gordon does all he can to keep the team together by catering to everybody’s needs. The compliment from Larson reminded Gordon about the interaction he had with the #5 Chevy driver around four years ago.

Kyle Larson had doubts about joining Hendrick Motorsports

Talking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Jeff Gordon admitted to feeling content after hearing praise from Kyle Larson. The 51-year-old revealed that about four years ago there were chatters that Larson was looking to move on to a new team. Gordon wanted Kyle Larson on the Hendrick Motorsports, and the duo had a conversation regarding the same.

 Jeff Gordon shared, “We had a conversation down here [in Daytona]. And the first things out of his mouth were, ‘Well, you’re not gonna let me drive a sprint car. Why would I wanna come over there if I can’t drive on dirt?'”

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson responded, “There maybe was a couple alcohol beverages involved.”

READ MORE: Jeff Gordon Urges Kyle Larson & Co. to Break Hendrick Motorsports Drought: “Rick Would Love to Have That”

Further, Larson reckoned that Gordon had advised him before to avoid sprint cars as he believed they would have ‘taught’ the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ “bad habits.” Moreover, Gordon shed light on another assurance that Larson asked for before joining Hendrick Motorsports.

Larson wanted to be on a championship-winning team

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During the conversations, Jeff Gordon disclosed that Kyle Larson got mad at him after his advice about the sprint cars. Additionally, Larson questioned why Gordon never talked about his hometown of Vallejo in California.

Further, the NASCAR legend added, “And then I had to explain it to him why nobody could pronounce Vallejo. But he still holds that against me too. Like I was given up on dirt racing and dirt races and where I came from.” Thus, Gordon claimed that Kyle Larson had helped him grow a lot as a person.

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Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon stated that he and the management wanted Larson on the team. So they tried to create sprint racing opportunities for Larson. Gordon also shared the second condition that Kyle Larson had put forward. The 2019 Hall of Famer said, “Number two was, ‘Prove to me that you can win a championship. And then I might get onboard’. Well, we saw what happened in year one.” Thus, Gordon was extremely proud of landing Larson on the team.