“He’s incredibly strong”: Kyle Larson earns praise from lauded 1994 Olympic Gold winner Dan Jansen

Earlier this year, Kyle Larson attempted the Double. It was to be two back-to-back races in completely different racecars and disciplines of racing. Of course, his Double attempt came undone because of a delayed start in the Indy 500 and the rain in Charlotte that didn't allow him to race in the 600. Nevertheless, Larson was prepared.

And a big part of his preparation was his physical and mental fitness, something with which Dan Jansen helped him.

Jansen is an Olympian who famously won the gold medal in the 1994 games in 1,000-meter speedskating. Currently, he helps Chevrolet drivers like Larson in reaching their full physical and mental potential.

He was part of Josh Wise and Scott Speed's team, that trained Kyle Larson for his big day in Indianapolis and Charlotte, preparations for which started a year in advance.

And it was in training the #5 driver that the Olympian learned of Larson's impressive strength.

"He has no idea how strong he is for his body type and size. He’s incredibly strong. Not like weightlifting strong. He’ll make fun of himself because he can’t benchpress a lot but with the body-to-weight ratio, he can do things most can’t. For instance, most people can’t do a pistol squat, meaning you’re on one leg, you go all the way down, touch your butt to your ankle and then get up. Most people can’t do one. He can do 20 straight on each leg," Jansen said of Larson as per NBC Sports.

While Kyle Larson agreed he can go "on and on and on" with the pistol squats, the 2021 Cup champion admitted he's "pretty weak" at the rest.

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Kyle Larson credits Josh Wise for having Dan Jansen on his team

Speaking about the inclusion of Dan Jansen in Josh Wise and Scott Speed's team, the Hendrick Motorsports driver credited Wise for having the Olympic Gold medalist, claiming he is "really good at assembling people."

In fact, Larson believed that training with someone with the background of Jansen is a testament to the prowess of Josh Wise's team that helps Chevrolet drivers reach their maximum fitness levels.

"Bringing Dan in, who has competed at a super high level and represented a country, I think having the diverse people and backgrounds is really what makes Josh’s company elevate. He’s assembled a great team, and Dan is one of many people that helps push us all to get better,” Larson said.

But while Kyle Larson isn't the only NASCAR driver Dan Jansen works with, and given that all drivers are very different as individuals, the Olympian claimed that the general outline is "similar for all of them." What's different though, are the specifics as per Jansen.

He revealed that every NASCAR drivers' training schedule is bound to be different because of their sponsor commitments in any given week. Jansen noted that it wasn't the case for him during his speedskating days.

But in the world of NASCAR, things are different.