Kyle Larson capped an excellent season with a NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday at Phoneix Raceway.
The Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 driver was a heavy favorite to win the championship, having won the regular season championship and accumulating nine wins. What a ride it has been for Larson in the last two years. From getting suspended by NASCAR to lifting the most prestigious Cup in the industry.
After his win, a lot of praise was poured towards Larson but none are as big as the claim made by Stewart-Haas Racing owner and a Cup Series legend Tony Stewart. He labeled Larson as “the best race car driver I’ve ever seen.
Congratulations to the best race car driver I’ve ever seen. @KyleLarsonRacin
— Tony Stewart (@TonyStewart) November 8, 2021
However, NASCAR fans didn’t agree to Stewart’s claim and made their opinion heard on social media.
Sir… you have seen a plethora of drivers race, youve been around for two 7 time NASCAR champions and one 7 time F1 champion and you pick the guy that got a championship because his car is a cut above the rest? Education is essential Mr. Stewart.
— YouTube Auto Community (@YouTubeAutoCom) November 8, 2021
No disrespect for Mr. Larson, but I disagree. You have seen @MarioAndretti drive, haven't you?
— Allen 🐟 (@arlasko) November 8, 2021
The best you ever seen?
Come on Tony Stewart @KyleLarsonRacin definitely deserves this championship but to be the best you gotta get to 7— Carman Carmack (@CarmackCarman) November 8, 2021
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However, there were some fans who backed Stewart and Larson’s talent.
He’s not talking accomplishments, even though Larson has a ton of them. Tony’s been saying for years that the driver with the most talent/skill is Larson.
— 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘦 (@Lane_Raq) November 8, 2021
A lot of you are just watching Nascar. He races a lot more than that. He is the best and maybe the best EVER. His raw talent isn't even within reach for many and he is doing it all at the same time. pic.twitter.com/4dwqLZILPS
— Frog (@Frog01373260) November 8, 2021
That’s quite a compliment coming from another true racer like you!
— OpinionatedLauraCoffeeAddict (@PieperLee) November 8, 2021
Larson may be the most talented driver in the Series right now, but he is still a long way to go to be considered among the NASCAR greats. But if he can maintain his 2020 standards, he won’t be very far from the conversation.
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Kyle Bush is the best driver out there right now since Biffle left but he is not winning he’ll who is to say who is the best driver?? Kind of depends on the team and equipment too
You’re kidding right with the Biffle comment?! You have to understand Tony’s comment…He is saying Kyle Larson is the BEST RACE CAR DRIVER he has EVER seen! I am going to make an educated guess & say Tony knows there are very few guys that are in this conversation! He would define a race car driver as somebody that could drive ANY type of car & make it go fast & win in it…Foyt, Andretti, himself, etc! I agree it’s a stretch to say he is already better than these 3 guys on ANY surface but I guess that’s his opinion & he’s entitled to it…Kind of surprises me especially that he rates him over Foyt because AJ is his hero!
I heard that Tony claimed that he wanted to offer Kyle Larson a deal, but Ford Motor Company refused to sign off due to them being afraid of the backlash due to the iRacing issue. I think Kyle got lucky with that one, as his ride with HMS will just get better and better and he will have much more success in that organization than he would have had with SHR.
The fact is that no other driver on earth right now who could win the Chili Bowl, Kings Royal, Knoxville Nationals, Prairie Dirt Classic, NASCAR All-Star, Cup Championship, and 10 win season in their life time – much less the same year.