Kyle Larson names his Mount Rushmore of all-time racing legends

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson recently appeared on the Stacking Pennies podcast hosted by Corey LaJoie on YouTube ahead of the Charlotte ROVAL race. During the pre-race podcast, Larson got candid about the top drivers on his Mount Rushmore.

The #5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver named six of the well-renowned former NASCAR drivers for his Mount Rushmore list. He named Jeff Gordon first and called him his 'guy.' He then named former Cup Series team owner Tony Stewart, who is currently pursuing his career in the NHRA Series.

Kyle Larson then named a few more former racing drivers from different series. He said he "loved" former American sprint racing driver Joey Saldana, famously known as "the Brownsburg Bullet," and praised Jac Haudenschild, well known for driving winged sprint cars in the World of Outlaws format.

Continuing further, the 2021 Cup Series champion claimed he aimed to be versatile from his early days. Larson also tested his skills in the IndyCar Series, competing in the Indy 500 twice. Following that, he dug the vibe of Mario Gabriele Andretti and Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones, as both former drivers competed in the IndyCar Series.

"Yeah. Uh, well, Jeff Gordon was always my guy growing up. Um, so I'm sure I was nervous meeting him... Tony was that guy... But I don't know. I was, I was always, uh, I loved, you know, I liked Joey Saldana, Jac Haudenschild. Um, you know, obviously, um, you know, I knew from an early age like I wanted to be versatile. So, Mario Parnelli, like, I definitely idolized kind of those guys and what they did," stated Kyle Larson on the podcast. [01:04:00 onwards]

"Um, but I don't know. I don't get, like, starstruck or nervous meeting them or anything like that, but or just excited, I guess. Yeah, I I guess more nervous like meeting a Patrick Mahomes this week because, you know, I don't know what we're going to talk about. You know, stuff like that, you know, is more nerve-wracking to me. Like racers getting together like you talk racing," he added.

Kyle Larson aims to continue his winning streak at the Bank of America ROVAL 400 once again this year. The 109-lap race is scheduled for Sunday, October 5, 2025, and will conclude the Round of 12 in the 2025 Cup Series season.

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"I feel like the racing has always calmed down": Kyle Larson's take on drivers entering the postseason

Earlier in August, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson appeared at a media day ahead of the 2025 postseason. During the interaction, Larson shared his opinion on the Cup Series drivers' strategies to enter the playoffs.

The Cup Series playoff begins with the Round of 16, and each round features three races, eliminating the four drivers with the lowest points until only four are left to compete in the Championship Four Race. The finale race is held at Phoenix Raceway, and Team Penske driver Joey Logano won the 2024 Cup Series championship title.

Reflecting on that, Kyle Larson believes that playoff-qualified drivers play it safe and dial down their aggression moving forward. He explained (via FrontStretch Media on YouTube):

"Honestly, in my opinion, I feel like the racing has always calmed down a little bit once you get to the playoffs because everybody's so conscious of, like, finishing and trying to just get the best finish possible that day. Obviously, when you get to the cutoff races and stuff, it may be ramp up a little bit, or teams' pit calls might get a little more desperate, but I feel like it kind of calms down because we're trying to finish." [02:22 onwards]

Kyle Larson currently ranks third in the playoff points table with a 54-point buffer above the qualifying line. Additionally, he has bagged three wins, 18 top tens, 11 top fives, and one pole position in 31 starts in the 2025 Cup Series season.