It is an unbelievable feeling when you see your childhood dream come true. It happened with NASCAR superstar Kyle Larson after it was announced last month that he’ll be racing in the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Interestingly, he’ll also be racing in NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. The 30-year-old Californian would become the fifth driver to run “The Double” on Memorial Day weekend in May 2024. The last driver to achieve this feat was Kurt Busch in 2014.

Considered “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” it is certainly a prestigious moment for any racer to participate in the Indy 500. Interestingly, the current Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, once had hopes of participating in this iconic race.

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Growing up in Pittsboro, Indiana, Gordon used to watch the Indy 500 and even went to several IndyCar races. Despite trying hard to enter those races, his destiny saw him end up in NASCAR for the entirety of his career. Unfortunately, he could not achieve it. However, he ended up playing an instrumental role in ensuring Larson achieved it.

Kyle Larson goes gaga over Jeff Gordon

While the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series winner is ecstatic about this opportunity to race in Indy 500, he recently expressed gratitude to the legendary motorsport driver. Speaking on The Race IndyCar podcast this week, Kyle Larson couldn’t hold back from thanking Jeff Gordon. He said, “After we announced it all a couple of weeks ago, yeah I just reached out [to Gordon] and told him thanks again. Without him, it wouldn’t have been possible you know. I was leaning on him quite a bit to be quite the middleman between me and Rick [Hendrick].”

Gordon was quite important in helping it materialize as Larson continued his appreciation. The Hendrick Motorsports driver added, “I thanked him again […] he is gonna enjoy it. He is kinda living this experience through me in something that he wanted to when he was younger, but didn’t get the chance to do it. Yeah just very grateful for Jeff especially and Rick Hendrick for letting me live out a dream and in a way live out Jeff’s dream in a sense.”

The four-time Cup Series champion is an inspiration for Larson, and their bond has only got stronger with time. Under Gordon’s guidance, the Californian driver could go on to achieve a lot more in his career.

Jeff Gordon was instrumental in reviving Larson’s career

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Not many expected Kyle Larson to bounce back in his career as strongly as he did since his NASCAR suspension in 2020. Jeff Gordon was the one to offer him a second chance and get him on board to join Hendrick Motorsports. Since then, the Californian driver has never had to look back.

Gordon and Rick Hendrick’s belief in Larson has paid off immensely well so far. Larson’s 2021 championship triumph is one of the strong indicators of how this partnership has panned out. It will be interesting to see how their teamwork will fare in the Indy 500.

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