Kyle Petty on Kyle Larson’s talent: ‘Top 0.001% of great race car drivers’

This week Kyle Larson participated in the Indy 500 Open Test. After day one, Larson was P2 on the board in single-lap speed. Kyle Petty believes the NASCAR driver is among the rarest of race car drivers.

There is an ongoing discussion about “superstars” in NASCAR, what that means, and who could be a “superstar.” Kyle Larson is on the shortlist of drivers with superstar potential. But an overall lack of transcendent talent, a driver who commands attention in pop culture, has been apparent.

Talking to Eric Estepp on Out of the Groove, Petty compared Larson to two of the most naturally talented drivers in Cup Series history. Larson is going to command attention this Memorial Day Weekend.

“I can go back to Tim Richmond, probably the most talented race car driver I ever saw,” Petty said. “Just sat in it, drive it. IndyCar, Sprint Car, Super Modified, I don’t care, he just could get it done. I think Kyle Busch is that same guy, same guy. Put him in anything and he can go get it done.

“Kyle Larson is a special talent and what I mean by that is, Tim came to Cup racing from open-wheel, from IndyCar and found a home here [at NASCAR]. And Kyle [Busch] has found a home here and he’s not ventured out that far,” Petty continued. “So we don’t really know what could Kyle Busch have been, what could Kyle Busch have done if he had come the route of Kyle Larson or come a different route like a Tim Richmond, somebody like that.

“But I look at Larson and he’s a little bit different because not only do we talk about that he can drive it we have to talk about that he can win it. He is the first guy, and I’m going to say this and Tony Stewart was the only other guy that I know of, but Tony had come from open-wheel so he had the advantage of going back to open-wheel and having a shot at winning it.”

Kyle Larson is not a driver who understands how his car works. While he isn’t able to diagnose technical issues like other drivers, he has the feel. What he does is get in the race car and feel it with the seat of his pants. Takes it in his hands and tells his team what he needs.

When you compare him to the best of the past and present, he is among the elite. The top tier. Larson commands respect on any race track he competes on.

“He is, he’s in that top when I look at it, he is in that top 0.001% of great race car drivers who can do anything any time and can not only do it but can win,” Petty said of Larson’s talent.

When Larson takes on the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 double, it will be historic. He has a chance to put up the best Double Duty performance ever. In 2001, Tony Stewart placed 6th in the Indy 500. He then finished P3 in the Coca-Cola 600. It was the only time a driver completed all 1100 miles of the double.

While that performance was great, Kyle Larson can improve upon it. Also, no driver completing Double Duty has ever placed better than P6 at Indy. Kurt Busch did it. Tony Stewart did it. Even Robby Gordon did it.

Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2021. Since then, he has only improved in and out of the race car. Two top-5 finishes puts Larson in a class of his own. So far, it doesn’t look unreasonable.