"Once in a lifetime type guy": Tony Stewart extremely clear about Kyle Larson's 'polarizing' supremacy amid comparison with F1 superstar

Months after Kyle Larson made his supremacy over reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen known, Tony Stewart has given his take on who is the best driver in motorsports. While the four-time Cup Series champion didn't sideline Verstappen's ability to compete in stock car racing, he expressed being sure of the Hendrick Motorsports driver as a "once-in-a-lifetime type guy."

Larson is arguably one of the best motorsports drivers in the world, and his dominating resume speaks for itself. Not only has he bagged the 2021 Cup Series title, but the HMS driver also boasts 29 wins at NASCAR's premier level. The Californian has aced three All-Star races and has swept every crown jewel race win except the Daytona 500.

Moreover, Larson has exercised his supremacy in other motorsports disciplines as well. Be it clinching three Knoxville National titles, the world's biggest sprint car battle, two Chili Bowl National championships, or multiple Late Model race victories.

Tony Stewart opined on Larson and Verstappen, saying the former is a rare breed of driver who can become indomitable on the asphalt. Speaking to Fox Sports, the Stewart-Haas Racing owner said:

"I know it's a huge debate, and I've been standing watching. I'm obviously a huge Kyle Larson fan. Love what he does in a sprint car, I watched him run his first dirt late-model races and he's had success there...I think you can take him and drop him in any race car and he's gonna be up to speed pretty quick and he'll figure it out pretty quick," Stewart said.

Tony then commented on putting Max Verstappen in a Cup car and seeing a competitive performance.

"I think you could, I don't know how long it would take him but you could. Could you take him and bring him into a winged sprint car? I believe yes mainly because...Kevin Magnussen, Haas' f1 driver, brought him to a dirt track in North Carolina and put him in a 360-winged car. And by the end of the night, he was within two-tenths of a second of me and that in four runs that he made," he said.

Stewart also highlighted Kyle Larson's polarizing capabilities, saying:

"I just like watching him drive a racecar. He just polarizes people with what he can do behind the steering wheel and...he's a guy that's once in a lifetime type guy. It seems like every generation has that one guy that stands out above the rest and Kyle's that guy," Stewart concluded.

Max Verstappen replies to Kyle Larson's take about the former being incapable of winning except in IndyCar and F1

After the versatile driver etched his third Knoxville title, Kyle Larson bragged about his supremacy over Max Verstappen. He said that the F1 prodigy can't win at the Knoxville and Chili Bowl sprint car races, let alone outperform him.

Larson wasn't done with his verdict and added that Verstappen doesn't stand a chance to upset the Cup Series regulars at Bristol Motor Speedway, also known as the 'World's Fastest Half-Mile Oval.' Thus, he said he was confident that the F1 star couldn't defeat him in any motorsport event, except in open-wheel racing- IndyCar and F1.

Following Larson's comment, the Red Bull driver was asked for his take. He responded with a short one-liner and said:

“That’s fine,” he said. “Everyone thinks their own way, right?” Verstappen said, via The Athletic.

It would be interesting to see how the race would pan out if the two greats from their respective motorsport categories lock horns in the future.