What’s Happening?

In August, Kyle Larson broke not only the NASCAR community but also the racing community as a whole. His comments that he was a better “all-around driver” than Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen made fans cheer and jeer. However, Larson’s luck has been rather tough since then.

• Max Verstappen is a second-generation racer of Dutch descent. Verstappen is the current king of F1, being a three-time Formula One World Champion with Red Bull Racing. To many across the world, Formula One is the pinnacle of racing, meaning that Verstappen is broadly viewed as the greatest racer in the world.
• Kyle Larson takes the phrase “anything with an engine” to the next level. Larson not only races a full-time NASCAR Cup Series schedule but is a winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a NASCAR Cup Series Championship, and several dirt racing crown jewel races.
• This comparison is hard to measure. While Larson races multiple disciplines, Verstappen has only raced in European open wheel. There really is no room for comparison. However, many comparisons are made almost daily.

What did Kyle Say?

Shortly after winning his third Knoxville Nationals, FloRacing asked the Hendrick Motorsports driver if he would have to race Verstappen to know if he was better. Larson said, “Not really. I know in my mind I am better than him as an all-around driver.”

These comments set off a firestorm, with fans of both drivers drawing comparisons, sparking arguments, and even reaching Max. Larson reasoned that Max could not cover the diverse schedule that Kyle did. Larson even said that Max could outdo him in an open-wheel car but probably not in any other racecar.

In response, Max told Luke Smith of the Athletic that Larson is allowed to feel this way.

In a later interview, Verstappen told Ash Vandelay that he could be a good dirt racer if he gave the discipline quality time and consideration.

For the most part, the two drivers played off the comments with a fun tone, and both sides seemed to enjoy the debate but understood that it was all in good fun.

However, with the open wheel world keeping a close eye on Larson since the Aug. 14 interview, Larson’s stats have been rather uncharacteristic.

Larson’s Past Few Weeks

Almost right out of the gate, Larson crashed at Michigan after starting the race fourth. This crash resulted in the first-place driver falling to third in the Regular Season standings.

Daytona saw Larson end up in the massive Lap 153 crash in turn one. While Larson finished the race, it was in 21st, one lap down. For the first time this season, Larson failed to finish on the lead lap in back-to-back races.

At Darlington, Larson entered in hot competition with Tyler Reddick for the Regular Season Championship. Larson, back in second place, would have won it with ease had he not missed the Coke 600 due to the Indy 500’s delay.

Larson ran well at Darlington, finishing fourth. Unfortunately, he lost the Regular Season Championship to Reddick in just three races. With the Playoffs beginning at Darlington, with Larson as the “Number one seed,” it was time to focus on the season championship rather than the Regular Season Championship.

Larson was having a solid run this Sunday in the first race of the Playoffs at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That was, until his car seemingly snapped out from under him, hitting the wall with great force. Larson, uninjured, would end up 37th.

Is This Some Form of Karma?

In those four races, Larson wrecked twice, had one lead lap finish, lost the regular season championship, and had an average finish of 24th, worse than Corey LaJoie and slightly better than Michael McDowell.

This performance sparked the question of whether Larson is eating his words about Max. However, the answer is probably not. Larson has seemingly just had a tough stretch of races, including two tracks known for sudden wrecks.

While it is fun to linger on Larson’s comments about beating Verstappen, both have played it off as just a fun back-and-forth. Fortunately for Larson, he is still having one of his best seasons ever. Remember, he missed one race entirely and contended for the Regular Season Championship.

While the back-and-forth was fun, we may never see these two icons of the current era of racing go head-to-head. Unless something drastic happens, this rivalry is just words on a screen.

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