WATCH: Martin Truex Jr. claims Kyle Lason proved ‘how good NASCAR drivers are’ with his impressive Indy 500 run

Martin Truex Jr. praises Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 attempt.

WATCH: Martin Truex Jr. claims Kyle Lason proved ‘how good NASCAR drivers are’ with his impressive Indy 500 run

Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Larson (Via IMAGO)

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson attempted the iconic Double last week with his Indy 500 debut. While his NASCAR side of the double didn’t go as planned due to the Coca-Cola 600 being cut-short due to rain, he left his mark at Brickyard. Larson seciured a P18 finish at IMS only because he got a speeding penalty, other would’ve easily scored a top-10.

Kyle Larson was given the Rookie of the Year award for his Arrow McLaren stint and many drivers in both side of the garage has urged him to attempt the double in 2025, as the 2024 outing was nothing but normal due to heavy rain. Recently while talking about the same before the Gateway Cup race Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Martin Truex Jr. has explained how significant Larson’s race was.

The 2017 Cup champion pointed out that Kyle Larson proved to the IndyCar garage that the NASCAR drivers are hard competitor and are super talented. He believes with the impressive performance by the 2021 Cup series champion, IndyCar drivers will have a newfound respect for the premier stock car racing drivers.

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And you have a guy like him go over there and show, you know, just how good he is. So, they kind of get the understanding of, okay, yeah, those, you know, a lot of those cup guys are really good because, you know, Arsenal tells them how good a lot of the guys here are. And it's just kind of, you always drill out and think that, but you don't really know until you race against someone.
Martin Truex Jr. said at Gateway.

Martin Truex Jr. reveals how drivers of different disciplines find respect for each other

The future Hall of Famer pointed out that he found new respect for drivers from other championships when he raced in the International Race of Champions. He believes racing each other is the best way to learn each other’s style than just watching them on TV.

Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch (Via IMAGO)
Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch (Via IMAGO)
You know, I remember back years ago doing IROC and racing against some of those guys that ran IndyCars. And it just gives you a different level of respect and appreciation when you get on the track with them and you see it and you see how they do things. So, it's definitely always easier to have that respect when you race a guy rather than just watching on TV.
Martin Truex Jr. said.

The JGR veteran has a point that IndyCar grid might have a newfound respect for the NASCAR drivers. If Larson had secured a better finish at Indy, the impact would’ve much better. But Larson will most probably will have the opportunity next season.

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