Kyle Larson Drops “Businessy” Hendrick Motorsports Boss Jeff Gordon in Favor of Tony Stewart

Being a Wonder Boy like Jeff Gordon or a fiery smoke like Tony Stewart—which of the two can Kyle Larson actually pull off? Amidst the celebration of NASCAR’s 75th anniversary, it’s imperative to take a look at the sport’s legends. And while talking about his driving inspiration, Kyle Larson revealed his pick for a driver who he would like to emulate.

In the recent episode of Stacking Pennies, Corey LaJoie asked Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson about a driver that he looks up to and would wish to emulate. Explaining how two former NASCAR champions inspire him, Larson told Corey LaJoie,

“Um, I mean growing up, I was a huge Jeff Gordon fan, huge Tony Stewart fan. I would say I’m more similar to Tony just in that I still race a lot of dirt stuff. So, I guess you know, emulate him some. And that’s why, you know, when I build out a schedule I’m like ‘What would Tony do in his prime?’

“Like he would have wanted to race full-season in Cup and go race all the dirt stuff that he does. And not only dirt but other types of cars.”

Furthermore, Larson explained how Tony Stewart’s love for dirt racing is one of the biggest reasons he relates to him. He said,

“So, yeah, I feel like I try to be like what he was in his prime and I think that helped grow his fan base a lot. And I feel like it’s trended that way for me as well. But yeah, I was always a fan of the dirt guys.”

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Kyle Larson explains why he is not like “businessy” Jeff Gordon

Although Kyle Larson admitted that he was a huge Jeff Gordon fan while growing up, he revealed that he doesn’t feel he could emulate Gordon. Explaining how he is more similar to Tony Stewart, Larson shared,

“Jeff though…like I feel like my personality is too more similar to Tony’s than it is (to) Jeff(‘s). Jeff’s more like proper and businessy and all that. Where like Tony’s more of a dirt guy than Jeff is, I guess, is what I’m getting at.”

Although Gordon too has had his fair share of dirt racing experience, it seems that according to Larson, he isn’t much of a dirt guy. While talking about why he feels Gordon is not one of the dirt guys, Larson stated,

“He did what he had to do. Then when he moved on, he had moved on. Like he didn’t have to go back. Not that like we had…Tony or I did either. But I feel like it was important for our mindsets really to keep having fun doing that stuff.”

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Even though most, including the podcast hosts, would agree that Larson is more of a “proper” personality himself, the 2021 Cup Series champion feels that his mindset is more similar to Stewart’s. And based on his statements during the podcast, it is clear that dirt racing has a lot to do with it.