Jeff Gordon on Kyle Larson’s NASCAR Legacy and Key to Ending Slump

Jeff Gordon is as big a name as there is in NASCAR.

The legendary race car driver helped NASCAR reach a boom in popularity during the 90s and 2000s, becoming arguably the biggest name in the sport during that time frame. Gordon is a four-time Cup series champion, has won the Daytona 500 on three occasions and has completed three career grand slams. His 93 career wins are also the most in modern-day NASCAR history (1972-present).

The 54-year-old keeps busy these days as the Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, the team he raced for full-time from 1993 until 2015.

The current team of Hendrick Motorsports comprises reigning Cup series champ Kyle Larson, alongside Chase Elliott, a two-time Cup series champ, William Byron, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, and Alex Bowman.

Gordon and Larson are two key figures in "The Double" documentary, which will be released on Amazon Prime on May 21. The documentary covers Larson's quest to complete the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 500 on the same day, becoming the fifth driver to attempt the feat.

"I think it starts from a kid's dream of wanting to be one of the best race car drivers in the world, and has a successful NASCAR career going and always dreamed about racing in Indy," Gordon said in a one-on-one interview for the documentary. 

"And the only way to get to do that is you've got to do The Double and do them both in the same day. Once we knew that this was something that Kyle wanted to do or was interested in doing, we started putting all the logistics and all the thoughts together, putting the team together and trying to make it a reality. 

"Luckily for both Kyle and me, Rick Hendrick is a guy that loves to make dreams happen, so that's kind of where it started," Gordon continued. 

"This is really special, not many people have ever done this before, we should document it. And thankfully, we did because it was just a journey."

Larson is a full-time NASCAR driver and is not an IndyCar driver; that's what makes the feat so difficult to accomplish and it's the reason why he's the first driver in 25 years since Tony Stewart to try it.

However, the 33-year-old Larson has a lot of versatility, and his deep resume includes a history of dirt track racing. Gordon details that this versatility, along with Larson's temperament made him the perfect candidate to accomplish "The Double."

"What separates him is being a guy that races all kinds of different cars and has success behind the wheel of all of them," said Gordon of Larson. 

"When you have that kind of mindset and that determination and willingness to do that, then he's a perfect candidate for it and he's done it successfully. Sprint cars, late models, stock cars, in many ways, Indy 500 as well. If you looked at how he performed year one (he finished 18th in 2024) especially."

Larson Was The Perfect NASCAR Driver For 'The Double'

The documentary goes through the ups and downs of Larson's ride through attempting "The Double." 

For example, one of the years saw his quest wiped away due to weather conditions at the Indy 500, something that's out of his control.

Larson has said he is unlikely to do "The Double" again and said he'll only do the Indy 500 if he's able to focus his full attention on it. 

That would likely mean he won't try it again until after his NASCAR career is over. 

"He's super chill. To get emotion out of him, it takes a lot, and you'll sense that and get that in his personality through the documentary," said Gordon. 

"But he's got the perfect attitude for being a race car driver, because you're in every race that you run, heck every lap you run, you're going to go through these highs and these lows of, 'I missed my mark there, and I could have gone faster here. I could have put this part of the race together.' But you can then easily put that in your rearview mirror and focus on the next lap and focus on the next race, and I think that's definitely Kyle. I think he can compartmentalize extremely well and handle the pressure extremely well." 

Gordon On Larson's Legacy: 'He's Already One Of The Best'

One of the key things covered in the documentary is Larson's idolization of Gordon while growing up. Both are California natives who eventually made their way out east to pursue their NASCAR careers. 

Larson still has a number of years left in his racing career, but said he would like to race until at least 40 years old. Gordon said his "diversity" in his racing resume is what will make Larson one of the best drivers of all time when it's all said and done.

"He arguably is not just one of the best race car drivers there is today, but especially see what he does over the next eight to 10 or however many years that is, be one of the best that's ever been behind the wheel," said Gordon of Larson. 

"I think that was a lot of his goal with doing The Double, because it's been done so few times. You're recognized as one of the greats to do that and to drive different cars and different disciplines and be successful at it. I mean to me, I think he's already one of the best. He's certainly one of the best that's out there right now. But you look at his diversity of being able to go to dirt, pavement, different types of cars, different types of tracks, all these things, I think that speaks for itself as far as his talent, his ability, and kind of where he goes down in history."

As Larson looks to repeat as the Cup series champ, he hasn't gotten off to a great start in the 2026 season. With the Coca-Cola 600 on the way this weekend, Larson is still looking for his first race win of the season. Furthermore, he's currently ranked No. 8 in the standings.

"That's the other thing about Kyle: he maintains a tremendous amount of confidence in his abilities and also puts in the work," said Gordon. 

"He really turns over every stone to try to be his best, and that means that you've got to dig deep within your team, contribute, gain knowledge and share information and gain information. To just stay on top when everything's going well, when things are not going well, you've got to dig even deeper and go back to what got you there and to the basics, the processes, and work with your team."

Gordon said Hendrick Motorsports needs to give him a "better race car" so Larson can further excel on the track.

"We owe him a better race car," said Gordon. 

"That's the commitment from Hendrick Motorsports that we've got work to do. Some tracks we seem to be better at than others, but we know if we give our drivers the right race cars to drive, they're going to excel on the track. I know Kyle will be able to get on that hot streak when we do that."