Kyle Larson admits he has a ‘lot more’ to prove before earning the ‘greatest in the world’ status

Hendrick Motorsports ace Kyle Larson was featured in a pre-race interview with Amazon Prime ahead of the Viva Mexico 250. During the interview, Larson opened up about proving himself before becoming worthy of the 'greatest in the world' status.

The 32-year-old debuted in the Cup Series over a decade ago in 2013 under Phoenix Racing. He drove the #51 Chevy part-time before transitioning to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2014 as a full-time driver. He then moved to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 and won the championship title in his rookie season with the team.

Kyle Larson has secured 32 Cup Series wins in 382 starts in his over a decade-long career. Additionally, he has secured 128 top-five and 193 top-ten finishes along with 22 pole positions. The HMS Ace also attempted the 'double' twice and has been impressing racing fans with his remarkable performances.

However, the Elk Grove, California, native believes he has "a lot more" to prove before claiming the "greatest in the world" status. Reflecting on the same, he told Amazon Prime Video:

“Well, I, although the public thinks that I think that, I don’t necessarily think that I’m the greatest in the world. But, no, I’ve heard the accolades and the comments and all that for a long, long time, and being compared to Jeff [Gordon] or Tony [Stewart] or even sometimes Mario [Andretti] and AJ Foyt, guys like that, and it makes me feel really good."

"But I’m still, I’m only 32 and I’ve got a lot of racing left to do, and I hope I can accomplish a lot more to really feel like I’m deserving of that credit, but I do appreciate it and it just makes me kind of have more drive to try and live up to that hype, I guess,” he added.

Kyle Larson ranks second on the Cup Series points table with 537 points so far this season. He has secured three wins, 11 top-ten finishes, and nine top-five finishes with one pole position in 16 starts. Additionally, Larson has led 851 laps with an average start of 11.5.

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Hendrick Motorsports prepared the engine carefully for Kyle Larson to back him up in the Mexico race

Engines are the backbone of the drivers during a stock car race, and Hendrick Motorsports' engineering team has had Kyle Larson's back this season. As such, Powertrain Director Scott Maxim and his staff prepared eight different engines for the Mexico race, specially to battle the thin air at 7,100 feet above sea level.

The team focused on calibrating the engines to retain power and ensure the endurance for the 100-lap event. Reflecting on the same, the #5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver told the press (via SpeedwayDigest.com):

"I think you're not focused on that, so I didn't notice anything. It's more like when I walk up the stairs to come here or walk up the stairs to go to the driver's lounge, by the time you get to the top, you breathe a little bit heavier. But in the car, no, it felt fine. I tracked my heart rate and all that normally."

Notably, Kyle Larson got involved in an accident early in the race with Kyle Busch on lap eight of the 241.7-mile race. He completed only 58 laps and finished the race at the back of the pack in P36, earning a mere two points.