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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 05: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, and Jeff Gordon, Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports talk on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 05, 2021 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 05: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, and Jeff Gordon, Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports talk on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 05, 2021 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Recently, former NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon spoke about Kyle Larson. The #5 driver is the newly crowned Cup champion and will be anxiously waiting for the new season to kick off. Gordon confessed that he would have loved to see Larson at Hendrick Motorsports and finally got his wish.
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He said, “I even go back to dirt racing because I have a sprint car and midget background. I’ve been watching him [Larson] for a long time. To be able to see him win on so many different levels in different series. And to see him finally get to Cup with Chip Ganassi. I always admired him and he and I became friends, because we’re from a similar area in California. So we somehow always run into one another and talk at races.”
Jeff Gordon desperately wanted Kyle Larson at Hendrick Motorsports
Obviously, it was a bit of a shame when Larson was dropped halfway through the 2020 season. So when Jimmie Johnson hung up his boots, Hendrick Motorsports pounced on the free agent. It is also worth mentioning that Jeff Gordon kept pestering the team owners to consider him for a seat.
READ MORE: Jeff Gordon Reveals the Biggest Thing He’d ‘Miss’ Following His New Role at Hendrick Motorsports
Gordon expressed his desire as to how he always wanted to have Larson as a part of the team and so he took hold of the opportunity when it arose. He stated that it was Rick Hendrick’s desire as well and it is an “unbelievable” year because all of these ideas have been coming together.
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HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 20: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AXALTA Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 20, 2015 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Now, the four-time Cup Series champion will have a chance to work closely with the defending champion. This is because Gordon is officially the vice-chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. So, he will have an opportunity to work alongside the #5 driver ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
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In the coming season, Larson will have a tough job ahead of him, because defending a title will be harder. Bearing in mind that we have the Next Gen cars debuting, no one knows who has the advantage over the other. Let us know what you think about this in the comments.
