Gordon-Larson mutual admiration society meets in media center

By:
On:
In: NASCAR Cup Series News

As hard as they raced each other in the closing laps of Sunday’s MyAFibStory.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larson might as well have been at a tea social when they sat side-by-side at the dais in the track’s media center.

Gordon and Larson raced ferociously over the last six laps and finished second and third, respectively, behind race-winner Brad Keselowski. Afterwards, Gordon spoke to Larson in close quarters on pit road, telling the talented rookie driver what he might have done differently on a critical restart on lap 262 of 267.

“I’m never out front, really,” Larson said. “I’m never on the front row, so I don’t know what to do. You look at my Nationwide races, and I’m maybe on the front row a handful of times. Then the Cup Series, another handful. I’m still learning that part of it.

“He came down to give me some advice, which was nice. I know Jeff thinks a lot about me, and I think a lot about him, too. It was fun racing him. I definitely wanted to beat him. I was trying all I could. Just tried a little bit too hard. Was running probably an inch or two off the wall all day and finally got into it.

“But, yeah, it’s nice whenever Jeff comes around or I read all the stuff he says about me. It’s cool.”

From Gordon’s standpoint, Larson’s performance was clearly praiseworthy.

“I think this kid is the real deal,” Gordon said. “He’s going to be a star in this series for a long time. I really wanted to see him win, because I like him, and I know he’s going to win a lot of races, but I also didn’t want to see those other guys (fellow Chase drivers) win.

“I’m a big fan. I like seeing young guys out there driving like that. That’s so much fun. That’s what this sport is all about. I just want to let him know what a great job I thought he did.”

And with Gordon’s advice, perhaps Larson will do a little better on a restart fromn the front row next time around.

NASCAR Wire Service
Latest posts by NASCAR Wire Service (see all)
Post Views: 46