NASCAR Chicago 2014: Jeff Gordon: Kyle Larson is the ‘real deal’

JOLIET, Ill. -- In a week where the collective attention was focused on the 16 drivers comprising the Chase for the Sprint Cup, rookie and non-qualifier Kyle Larson nearly played the role of spoiler in the playoff opener Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.

Starting in a backup car after a practice crash Friday, Larson wasted little time making his way to the front. By the latter stages he was out front and appeared poised for his first career win.

That victory never materialized, as Brad Keselowski completed a bold pass of Larson and Kevin Harvick with 16 laps remaining, then pulled away. Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon and Larson engaged in a spirited battle for second with Gordon ultimately prevailing as Larson scraped the wall.

“The last restart, me and Jeff had quite a battle,” Larson said. “I got in the wall and he was able to get by me. I held on for third. Stinks we got third. Coming up close as often as I have this year is going to make that first win feel that much more special.”

Impressed with his determined drive from the back of the pack, Gordon walked over to Larson on pit road to tell him “how proud” he was following the conclusion of the MyAFibStory.com 400.

A sprint-car prodigy, Larson frequently draws comparisons to Gordon and Tony Stewart, and Gordon has long been an admirer of the 22-year-old. The respect is more than mutual.

“I know Jeff thinks a lot about me and I think a lot about him, too,” Larson said. “It was fun racing him. I definitely wanted to beat him. I was trying all I could. Just tried a little bit too hard. Was running probably an inch or two off the wall all day and finally got into it.

“But it’s nice whenever Jeff comes around or I read all the stuff he says about me. It’s cool.”

A self-described “big fan” of Larson’s, Gordon also had ulterior reasons why he wanted Larson to win. In the Chase himself, Gordon would have preferred if someone could have beaten Keselowski, the No. 1 playoff seed and one of the favorites to win the championship.

“I think this kid is the real deal,” Gordon said. “He’s going to be a star in this series for a long time. I really wanted to see him win because I like him and I know he’s going to win a lot of races, but I also didn’t want to see those other guys win.

“I like seeing young guys out there driving like that. That’s so much fun. That’s what this sport is all about. I just want to let him know what a great job I thought he did.”