Max Verstappen Doesn’t Care About Kyle Larson

Let me preface this by stating that, yes, Kyle Larson is a fantastic driver.

He’s one of the best to race in NASCAR today. He’s almost certainly the best driver on dirt today. He qualified in the Fast 6 at Indianapolis just a few months ago.

But you can’t say he’s better than Max Verstappen.

This debate began again when Larson spoke to FloRacing following his win in the Knoxville Nationals earlier this month.

“‘There’s no way (Verstappen) can get into a Sprint Car and win the Knoxville Nationals. There’s no way he can go win the Chili Bowl. There’s no way he can go win a Cup race at Bristol,’ Larson continued. ‘There’s probably no way I can go win a Formula 1 race at Monaco, but I think I’d have a better shot at him (doing what he does than him doing what I do) just because of the car element.

‘That’s what gives me ease and confidence that, like, I know I’m better than him. Maybe not in an open-wheel IndyCar or Formula 1 car, but that’s one discipline. I think I would beat him in everything else. You can quote that.’”

This is a very fair statement. And I absolutely believe that Larson believes he could beat him everywhere. Larson is a racing driver, an athlete. The best of them think they are the best in the world, regardless of series. If they didn’t, they would not have gotten to where they are.

Racing is such a mental sport that you must have that mindset to succeed. And even among the mere mortals partaking in it, I guarantee almost every single one racing this coming weekend, regardless of series, thinks they could win if they were in the right car.

Last year, I wrote about Shane van Gisbergen’s win in his very first NASCAR race, one in which the “greatest driver in the world,” Larson, was left flabbergasted at how few in the NASCAR knew that he was such a fast driver. It included this bit that still rings incredibly true:

“The reality is there is no best driver in the world. It’s foolish to seriously argue there is one. It’s not the days of the 1960s, when guys like AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney dominated in anything into which they strapped themselves.

“The world is much more specialized now, with the vast majority of major series drivers only focusing on their given series as a full-time job instead of ride hopping, save for maybe some endurance or dirt racing on the side.”

Drivers can think they are the greatest, and that’s fine. But then I…