Who is the world’s best racecar driver right now?
It’s a debate that has piqued the motorsports world’s interest the entire season, and has largely been between two drivers: NASCAR’s Kyle Larson and F1’s Max Verstappen.
The debate picked up some steam when Larson made his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 “Double.” Having never driven an NTT IndyCar Series machine outside of testing, Larson went out and qualified fifth and led four laps before a speeding penalty relegated him to 18th.
That, combined with showing speed all throughout the Month of May, was enough to earn him the title of Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.
Larson’s IndyCar teammate Alexander Rossi, an ex-F1 driver himself who has raced against Verstappen before, told The Associated Press Larson could keep pace with anyone. At the time, Larson said that Verstappen could smoke him in an F1 car, while he could probably beat the three-time F1 World Champion in an IndyCar or sprint car.
The debate really caught fire a few months later when Larson himself claimed to FloRacing he was a better all-around driver than Verstappen. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion made the claim after winning his third Knoxville Nationals, and his comments were supported by fellow dirt racers Gio Scelzi and Corey Day.
Larson further elaborated on his thoughts a few weeks later at Daytona International Speedway.
Larson has driven in the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series, winning the 2021 Cup title. He’s also raced in all three of the ARCA Menard’s Series divisions (national, East and West), winning the ARCA East title in 2012. He’s won in every one of those disciplines. He’s also a Rolex 24 winner in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Series and holds several crown jewel dirt wins, including the Chili Bowl, the Knoxville Nationals and the King’s Royal.
Along with his Indy 500 performance and a one-off zMAX CARS Tour start where he finished seventh, it’s easy to see why Larson is compared with Verstappen.
Meanwhile, Verstappen has said that while he acknowledges and respects Larson’s level of talent, such a debate should not exist because “everyone is talented in their own right” when it comes to driving a type of racecar.
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