“Hate to Leave Out Dale Sr. but..”: Kyle Larson Named Tony Stewart and Hendrick Motorsports Legendary Duo in His Top 3 NASCAR Drivers in a 2019 Interview

Such are the achievements, the legacy of Dale Earnhardt, that even 20 years after his demise, everybody admires him. It is incredibly hard to come across someone who wouldn’t place him in their top 3 greatest-of-all-time list of NASCAR drivers. Meet Kyle Larson, the 2021 Cup Series winner who, in a conversation with Michael Waltrip from a few years ago, excluded the Intimidator from his top 3 list.

This was back in 2019 when Larson was running for Chip Ganassi Racing and wasn’t regarded as one of the modern bests himself, something he cemented after his 10-win Cup championship with Hendrick Motorsports in 2021.

In their hour-long conversation that touched on a lot of subjects about racing, his upbringing, his family, and himself, Waltrip asked Larson at one point about the names of his top 3 NASCAR drivers of all time.

Kyle Larson named a legendary Hendrick duo and snubbed the Intimidator

Responding to Waltrip’s comment, Kyle Larson named his top three in NASCAR that didn’t include the seven-time Cup champion, Dale Earnhardt. Larson also gave a shoutout to a two-time Cup champion in the same regard too.

“I think the top three for NASCAR for sure for me would be, Jeff (Gordon) up there, Tony (Stewart), and I hate to leave out Dale Sr. but Jimmie Johnson to me is amazing,” he said, “It stinks you only allowed me three ‘coz Kyle Busch is obviously really good as well.”

For Larson, the styles and contributions of Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon are something that is “pretty spectacular,” and hence they qualify as his top three NASCAR guys.

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Larson achieved in 2021 what no NASCAR driver achieved since Dale Sr. in 1987

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Kyle Larson in 2021 was a spectacle. The stats are there, his Cup championship is there to prove that what he achieved in that season would always be regarded in the conversation of the most legendary NASCAR seasons in history.

Add to that, he managed to do something that no one, not even Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, or Jeff Gordon did in their careers. In fact, it was Dale Earnhardt back in 1987 who achieved what Larson achieved in 2021.

And this was his three in a row and then another three in a row in a single season. Larson won Charlotte, Sonoma, and Nashville early in the 2021 season, and then won three in a row again, starting from the second race at Charlotte, then Texas, and then Kansas.

This alone just goes to show the already significant and still growing legacy of Kyle Larson. Yes, he may not be seen as one of the greats by many as of now, but the way things are going for him, he will be.

Who knows, maybe he too would be regarded by a future driver in his top 3 one day?

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