If the clothes fit, wear 'em: Larson reminds Gordon of Jeff Gordon
Last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway rookie Kyle Larson put veteran Jeff Gordon to the test in the final laps.
While Gordon was able to get the second spot from Larson by the time the checkered flag fell, but the young driver left a lasting impression on the four-time champion.
After the race, Gordon walked up to the No. 42 Chevrolet and had a lengthy conversation with Larson, leaving it off with a pat on the shoulder. The sign of respect from one of the sport's most respected driver caught the attention of many.
"I've been saying this about him for two years. So this is not new for me," Gordon said about his praise for Larson after the race. "But I've had my eye on him for a long time and yeah, he's the real deal. So it's exciting for the sport.
"We've seen young guys throughout the years come along that can separate themselves from the others and do exciting things that make people want to watch the races more and find a new driver to pull for," he said. "I've heard a lot of people say that about me over the years when they first started watching the sport or when I first came into the sport and now I get it because now I see what he's doing and I see how people are reacting to it and I think it's very exciting for him and the sport."
While Gordon has had his eye on Larson for two years, Larson has been following Gordon's career since he was just a kid. In fact, Larson was born just 107 days before Gordon made his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start in the 1992 season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The 21-year-old tweeted a picture of his first day of first grade, decked out in a Jeff Gordon T-shirt and shorts.
First day of first grade for me. This must have been my favorite outfit. @JeffGordonWeb pic.twitter.com/mb4pGGrnMk
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) September 19, 2014
After cheering for him for years, all the praise Gordon has given Larson has motivated him even more to go out and beat the driver of the No. 24 Chevy.
"Before I even raced the K&N Series Jeff Gordon had a lot of respect for me and talked very highly of me," Larson said Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. "Same with Tony (Stewart) and Kasey (Kahne), but it seems like Jeff is my biggest fan over the last couple of years. It's awesome to see a guy that like I said in last week's media center, who has been racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as long as I've been alive to talk so highly of me. I don't even know if he's really ever even talked about another driver like he has with me. That makes it feel really special for me. Now I just want to go out there and beat him more often. But like I said it's great to have somebody who is a hero to so many people be kind of a huge fan of myself. It's been great."
