Jeff Gordon discusses Kyle Larson’s double attempt at Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 | Motorsports on NBC

Jeff Gordon sits down with NBC Sports to discuss Kyle Larson’s rise to racing greatness and how it will all come to a head in a historic double attempt at the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600. #NBCSports #IndyCar #Indy500 #NASCAR #CocaCola600
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Jeff Gordon discusses Kyle Larson’s double attempt at Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 | Motorsports on NBC
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every single vehicle he gets behind the wheel of he has won the biggest races you know I always paid attention and still do to the dirt World especially Sprint Car World and if there’s a young talented driver coming up then you know it usually gets not only my attention but plenty of others uh to pay attention and and so yeah that that name was Kyle Larson best my dad kle arson the wild anywhere anytime I mean he just stood out because of his driving style and you know being able to to drive a lot of different types of cars hop in them and and go fast as well as win very few NASCAR drivers go Sprint car racing and late model dirt racing and and then go race you know 4 or 500 miles on sunding in a stock car and win at all of them Kyle Warson you know I mean I’ve seen Christopher Bell do some of that I’ve seen uh Chase Brisco you know do some of that but none of them are doing it at the level that Kyle has something that Kyle made me aware of early on in our discussions when when he was you know coming to Hendrick he you know I don’t know we were just talking about dirt racing and all the different types of racing that that he does and you know his cup career and he he brought up yeah one thing I would love to do before I age out of my Prime is I think the way he kind of said it or while I’m still in my Prime is to do the n500 and uh that that just always stuck with me I mean we’ve seen guys do the double uh but we’ve never had the experience of it here at hendrik I never wanted to do the double I always dreamt of doing Indie and as soon as you know NASCAR my NASCAR career took off the way it did um it that seemed to always kind of be in the in the background for me I mentioned it to to Rick Hendrick and you know at first Rick was like I don’t know about that you know uh doubt we would ever do that and then you know few conversations down the road you know I I talk to him again about like I really think K would like to do this and and you’ve never been to the Indianapolis 500 um you sure you don’t want to do this and and he started getting more and more interested the more we talked about it and I mean he’s F he loves Indi right it it’s uh I think it’s been something that he’s always know you know watched and and really uh been drawn to it just never seems to have been a reality because of his commitment to NASCAR and um in a schedule and and so we started talking more and more and more and the next thing you know you know he’s he’s uh agreeing to to hey let let’s pursue this let’s let’s find out you know what team could we partner with obviously had to be a Chevrolet team and one of the first questions that Rick said cuz if anybody knows Rick they know he’s a huge car collector so not only did he want you know to um kind of take this leap and and go compete and have Kyle Drive in the n500 um but he wants own the car and and so owning the car doesn’t mean just owning the car for the n500 it’s putting this car in your your collection um you know when when the race is over so um so yeah so you know we had those conversations and and again you know we it it’s about a team collaboration and and you know that’s what um Erol McLaren was was you know open to and wanted to do as well and and so I think it’s now now become evident to Rick that this event means a lot more than just um you know just going to Indianapolis for this race I mean he’s he’s in truly invested in it because you know his company is on the car his name is on there as car owner and this car is going to go into his collection one day and and um you know he he’s all in and taking in the the nd500 experience and the what we’re calling the h1100 experience it’s going to be quite a day you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with and that’s true with with the NASCAR teams and I think that’s the same way that we look at this uh at Indianapolis especially if if Rick’s going to be involved if Hendrick cars is going to be on uh as a sponsor just want to make sure that it’s done at the highest level and and give um the whole team but give Kyle the best opportunity uh you know to to have a great finish maybe even win the race um and of course having uh a Chevrolet tie was critical um and and so you know we started going down the list of of those Chevy teams and um certainly there were conversations between Roger Pinsky and Rick as their their friends um but you know U that that didn’t work out and ultimately um you know I was able to call Zack Brown and and we’ve been friends for a long time and to see if they were interested in doing this and it happen good timing cuz I think some others were actually talking to them about possibly uh you know taking up that that that fifth car so but but when we do things we we try to integrate ourselves into it as much as possible and and that’s what I loved about era McLaren is that they wanted to do the same so there’s been a lot of back and forth where their team has come to Charlotte come to our facilities what can they learn to be better for indie car what can we learn from them to be better with NASCAR and and so it’s truly been a team effort it’s been a lot of fun to you know get to know a lot of people understand how they do things um how much different it is but also how much alike it is because it’s it’s still racing um and and yeah I think I think it’s made just the whole experience really fun and comfortable a lot of work a lot of effort I mean um because there’s tons of logistics that that are going to take place in order for it’s not just Kyle going back and forth right it’s going to be Rick and Linda Hendrick it’s going to be um a camer crew cuz you know we’re documenting it it’s family it’s friends it’s other crew members I mean it’s there’s going to be a lot you know going on there um but I think the most number one you know key thing was was partnering with the right group that would allow us um you know to be one team in through this effort and and Erol McLaren was was very open to that there’s certainly a lot of nuances that are different Indie Car versus NASCAR there’s a lot more going on in the steering wheel a lot more adjustments inside the car and so you know and just the way that they go about a test plan and making laps and getting up to speed is is is quite a bit different and and not to mention just the the inputs that you have in the car at those speeds around Indianapolis um the speeds that you’re traveling how much faster the corner comes up so it’s it’s you know to me that adaptation that that he had and that’s why I think you know going from Sprint cars to stock cars like he does now I think has helped him for this because um there’s quite a bit of difference in the way those cars drive the speed differences too so I mean listen this is a tough race to win and he’s got a huge learning curve not just from now to get to race day but on race day itself I mean there’s just things that experience that a lot of the competitors have in the field that you can’t just get overnight or in in you know the month of May uh but I think if anybody can do it uh it’s Kyle Larson one of the most dominant Seasons that we have seen in recent history I mean I I consider him the Moder day Mario Andrey and and I think doing India is certainly going to even put him higher up into that that class or that category because uh you know not only is he driving a lot of different cars but he’s excelling in pretty much everything and that you know that just hasn’t been done for for so many years at a minimum he’s top five for his first nd500 start and and to me it’s I mean yeah Tony I think is certainly on that list of of guys that did it um I’m not on the list I I’ll be honest I’m not but but certainly Mario and AJ um you know knowing what they did back in those earlier you know days where you could go from dirt to to to Indie um they did it and they did it well and and NASCAR as well so yeah this is uh this is this is rare air he loves racing he’s a he’s a fan of racing himself he just happens to be a really good race car driver that can drive anything um and I think people that that like racing that are race fans they respect that talent and ability and I they’re they’re certainly drawn to that if you’re a Nascar fan um you might have another reason to watch the Indie 500 if you don’t typically watch it um if you are going to watch the n500 you’re going to probably want to know what happens in the 600 that evening in Charlotte so yeah no doubt this is going to bring a lot of people together and even within the industries themselves um there’s going to be a lot of people from Nascar and and on Race teams that are going to be following they’re already following all these races that happen on that day cuz the greatest day in racing with Monaco and Indie and in in the 600 uh but I think they’re all going to be really anxious to see how does Kyle Larson do because you know if you’re if you’re a NASCAR whether you’re a driver Nascar or a team you’re rooting for him to do well because you know you want him to represent um you know the sport and the drivers and the abilities and the talents to be able to go there and show them what what NASCAR drivers are capable of doing um and I think that that you know him taking on this challenge is earning the respect of the Indie Car community and that industry and so um and I think every you know most the guys in the field they they they know who Kyle Larson is that they know he’s talented but I’m sure in the back of their minds they’re going yeah but he doesn’t drive a rear engine you know hi down for c car uh around Indianapolis and and he’s he’s going to have a lot to learn he’s unique and and he’s passionate about it and and you know he he does these things because he cares so much about um the sport and and his place within the sport and and his legacy and I think I think this is uh this is a big piece of that hi folks Lee DIY from NBC 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